Marcus Mariota backed up who at quarterback in high school in Hawaii?

Published Jan. 8, 2015 1:16 p.m. ET

foxsports

When Jeremy Higgins was starting at quarterback for the St. Louis School in Hawaii, he had no idea he would become the answer to a trivia question.

That's the way it usually happens in sports.

Higgins was running the offense for the St. Louis School. He was doing a solid job, notching numbers such as 26-for-30 for 391 yards and six touchdowns in one game.

Higgins would go on to accept a scholarship at Utah State.

And the backup who stepped into Higgins' starting job once he graduated turned out to be Marcus Mariota.

While Mariota ended up winning the Heisman Trophy and will lead Oregon to the first National Championship Game in the College Football Playoff era against Ohio State on Monday, Higgins' college football career provided far fewer highlights.

After a year as an Aggie, Higgins transferred back home to the University of Hawaii. His career did not take off, however.

After sitting out his transfer year of 2011, Higgins threw for 335 yards and one touchdown in 2012, appearing in six games with one start. As a junior, Higgins appeared only against Nevada, throwing for 51 yards.

And his senior season, which ended in September with a fractured left hand against Colorado, provided no more highlights.

"It's really a tough deal and we feel really badly for Jeremy," Hawaii head coach Norm Chow said after Higgins' injury. "He's the consummate teammate and team leader who worked really hard in his career to get where he's at. It's very unfortunate but Jeremy will still be around the team, serving as a student assistant. He wants to get into coaching and this will be a good start for his career."

Meanwhile, Mariota, heads into the National Championship with a slew of hardware and assuredly will be a high selection in May's NFL Draft.