EUGENE -- Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota can still remember the anxiety he felt heading into the 2012 spring football game last April.

Embroiled in a heated competition with Bryan Bennett, Mariota made his first public appearance as an Oregon quarterback that sunny Saturday and dazzled the fans and the coaching staff with his dual-threat abilities.

Heading into the game, however, Mariota admits he was a bundle of nerves.

"I was pretty stressed out," he said. "I'm not going to lie to you. It was the first time a lot of people would see me play."

A year later, Mariota is much more relaxed heading into Saturday's spring game at 11 a.m. at Autzen Stadium.

For starters, he's the unchallenged starter after passing for 2,677 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushing for 752 yards and five touchdowns while helping lead the Ducks to last season's Fiesta Bowl championship.

Secondly, Mariota might not play that much given that he has little to prove.

Look for Mariota instead to spend much of his time on Saturday watching the competition between redshirt freshman quarterbacks Jeff Lockie and Jake Rodrigues.

"I think I'm more excited for the younger guys, Jeff and Jake, to see what they are going to do out there," Mariota said.

Coaches were expected to draft teams either Monday night or Tuesday. The two split squad teams will practice as respective units on Wednesday, the final day of spring practice before Saturday's game.

Defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said the coin toss for the No.1 pick probably wouldn't involve Mariota hanging in the balance given that his time will be limited.

Instead, the team with the advantage, Aliotti said, would probably be the one that gets the best play out of Lockie or Rodrigues.

"I think the most important draft pick is going to be who's the best second quarterback," Aliotti said. "Because that guy is going to play (a lot)."

But the coach isn't sure which of the two young quarterbacks has the edge in the competition to be Mariota's backup.

"I've been scouting it really hard these 13 days," Aliotti said. "I'm not sure I know right now."

The entire spring game could be tweaked if bodies don't begin to heal.

All in all, coach Mark Helfrich said the spring, his first in charge, has been productive. But the injury bug has been a problem.

"We've got a few nicks and dings that obviously you don't you want to have, but it's part of life," he said. "Luckily, knock on wood, not too many long-term deals. Just kind of annoying enough to affect guys' development ... Overall we've improved a lot. I'm happy about that."

Helfrich said he would meet with the medical staff to see where the walking wounded stand and then decide from there how to proceed.

If the team has enough bodies to field two full units, a traditional spring game will be held. If healthy players are at a premium, then the game could be limited to offense vs. defense with no clear teams.

"It's just going to depend on overall health," Helfrich said.

-- Aaron Fentress

Follow @AaronJFentress