Oregon’s secondary hasn’t been healthy all year. After losing John Boyett after week one, the Ducks have seen a defensive back carousel that has kept up with each conference foe aside from USC. Dior Mathis, Troy Hill, Brian Jackson@@http://www2.registerguard.com/cms/index.php/duck-football/comments/the-uo-defensive-two-deep-to-start-the-year-and-then-in-saturdays-second-ha/@@ — all have stepped up as others have fallen due to injury. Now, with the likely season-ending loss to breakout stud Avery Patterson, a new void appears. Sophomore standout De’Anthony Thomas was once the No. 1-rated high-school cornerback in the country, and a University of Oregon source said he wouldn’t be surprised if Thomas played both ways this weekend against Stanford.
Should De’Anthony Thomas play defense?
Yes, he should
Cornerback Dior Mathis said it best: “He’s De’Anthony. He can do anything he wants.” Thomas’s experience in the secondary in high school gives him a basic knowledge of the schemes, and his athleticism is more than enough to make up for a lack of playing time at the position in a collegiate level.
“His long-term future may best be served at corner where his size isn’t a liability,” Scout.com wrote back in 2011. In fact, Oregon’s commitment to giving him the ball was unique in his recruiting. And in the last season and a half, fans have seen enough to not question Thomas’s size, toughness or willingness to put the team over his own personal accolades.
Harken back to the second play Oregon ran from scrimmage against Arizona State. Quarterback Marcus Mariota drops the snap, and a massive Sun Devils lineman scoops it up to rumble forward before he’s stopped cold by the 5-foot-9, 170-pound speedster. The scrappy play went largely unnoticed during the general panic of thing’s not immediately going the Ducks’ way.
Surely it would be unconventional to put a weapon on Thomas’s talent on the other side of the ball. But what about Chip Kelly’s team is conventional? De’Anthony in the secondary would have Heisman voters drooling, but more importantly it would shore up a vulnerability threatening the Ducks’ chances at a national title.
Matt Walks, sports editor
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No, he shouldn’t
As positions in football become more specialized, the days of two-way college players fades more and more into the past. Players today are bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled. The transition from offense to defense, or vice versa, requires more than elite athleticism.
For a receiver or tailback to play cornerback, they need more than record-breaking speed. They need ball-hawking skills, they need to know how to bump and run, how to tackle at a collegiate level and how to find the middle ground between zeroing in on the ball and drawing a pass-interference penalty.
That is why the idea of De’Anthony Thomas becoming a two-way player is ridiculous. Sure, it might be an exciting experiment, but a team sitting at 10-0 should not be experimenting.
Last week, USC head coach Lane Kiffin mentioned something about star receiver Marqise Lee playing a few downs on defense. In the following game, Lee came out on a fourth and one as a safety, then Arizona State called a time-out and Lee returned to the sideline. Tuesday, when asked about a possible play on defense, Lee said it was not an option.
USC has had trouble this year in their secondary and Lee is an incredible athlete, but this was just a publicity stunt to help Lee’s case for the Heisman.
Many have been critical of Thomas getting fewer touches in comparison to last year, but playing defense is not the answer.
Oregon coach Chip Kelly is not the type to play a role in a publicity stunt or care about a player’s Heisman race. No player in that locker room is bigger than the team and the notion of Thomas becoming a two-way player — something that could certainly lead to embarrassment and play a role in a possible loss — is absurd.
Aubrey Wieber, sports reporter
