Quarterback Justin Roper was released from his scholarship during the weekend by head football coach Chip Kelly. Roper intends to transfer.
Despite a performance in the Spring Game in early May where the Georgia native completed 22 of 34 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns, redshirt junior Roper asked Kelly for his release late last week. He will have two seasons to finish his two years of remaining eligibility. Because he has already redshirted, he cannot use a redshirt to protect his eligibility if he transfers to a Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-A) school.
“Justin is a true competitor just like any other high-caliber athlete who wishes to be out on the football field as much as possible,” Kelly said in a media release. “I certainly can’t fault him for that. I wish him nothing but success wherever he decides to go.”
Roper, a 6-foot-6, 204-pound right-handed thrower, was pressed into emergency playing time as a sophomore in 2007 after injuries to Dennis Dixon, Brady Leaf, Nate Costa and Cody Kempt. He finished that season with a 17-of-30 performance for 180 yards and a Sun Bowl-record four touchdown passes in Oregon’s 56-21 win over South Florida.
He started the Ducks’ first three games last season, but after a knee injury in overtime against Purdue Roper never regained his job as UO’s top quarterback.
The man who took his job, Jeremiah Masoli, is now followed by sophomore Darron Thomas and junior Nate Costa on the quarterback depth chart. Former quarterback Chris Harper, who practiced with the wide receivers, and running backs on occasion during the spring season, could be used at the position as well.
The depth questions now presented to Oregon come only weeks after wide receiver Aaron Pflugrad departed the team for a transfer, leaving that unit similarly shorthanded with only one player returning with experience.
Roper finishes his three-year Oregon career with 952 career yards on 52 percent passing, with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.
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