EUGENE -- It's no secret fans, scouts and media types often praise Oregon junior quarterback Marcus Mariota's elusiveness in a spread offense.

Now add the "Hawaiian Chill Factor" to his ever-growing list of attributes.

Oregon's Heisman Trophy candidate was discussed at length on ESPN's "College Football Live" on May 23, from his running to last season's sprained MCL to his laid-back island attitude. Here were some of the comments by ESPN's "College Football Live" crew, as transcribed by Mike Griffith, Michigan State's beat reporter for MLive.com:

Ivan Maisel: "I love Marcus Mariota. I think before the end of last season, before he got hurt, he was the Heisman leader, and I think they've got a lot of guys coming back and there's also a hunger there with Oregon because of what happened last year.''

This isn't the first time Maisel, the network's longtime college football correspondent, has written or talked about Mariota this spring. After visiting Eugene during spring practice, Maisel wrote a recent ESPN.com piece about where the quarterback stands entering summer regarding his knee recovery and his goal of being a better leader. All spring, Mariota told the media he had been asked to become a better leader by improving his body language. Here's how he explained it to Maisel:

He is, by all acclaim, gentle by nature, which is not a quality that translates well onto the football field.

"It's still harder for me," Mariota said. "I've got to go through constant reminders. 'Hey, you gotta pick your voice up a little bit.' I think the biggest thing for me is my body language. Coach Helfrich is always in the back, saying, 'Body language. Body language.' "

Which means what?

"Just asserting more confidence," Mariota said. "Just portraying confidence. Coach Helfrich has been on me since I was a freshman. We've built a relationship where he expects more out of me and I really expect more out of me. I really hold myself up to that standard."

Back on the set of "College Football Live," analyst Jesse Palmer evaluated the other side of Mariota's leadership.

"I know Chip Kelly used to talk about he loved the, quote-unquote, 'Hawaiian Chill Factor' that Marcus Mariota brought, and he loved the calm that he brought, in that chaotic environment with that uptempo environment with all those weapons around him," Palmer said. "I do agree, I think Marcus Mariota is big this year, he takes that next step as a leader, to really help this high-octane offense achieve its ultimate goal.''

Mariota rushed for 715 yards and nine touchdowns and passed for 3,665 yards, 31 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2013.

Just in case you weren't keeping track, Oregon's Aug. 30 season-opener against South Dakota is in 95 days.

-- Andrew Greif | @andrewgreif

H/t Mike Griffith at MLive.com