Dakota Prukop has never had weapons at his disposal like he does now.
He managed to pass for 5,584 in two seasons as the starting quarterback for Montana State without any legitimate receiving threats to throw to. None of his pass catchers accumulated more than 632 yards or caught more than 52 passes in a season.
Now, Prukop has Darren Carrington, Charles Nelson, Devon Allen and Dwayne Stanford — and those are just the proven guys. Touted underclassmen receivers Alex Ofodile, Kirk Merritt, Jalen Brown and Dillon Mitchell all look to make an impact.
“It’s a treat,” Prukop said about working with Oregon’s receivers. “I’ve caught myself a few times throwing a bad ball or not exactly throwing it where I’d like to, and the receiver goes and gets it, and I’m like, ‘Oh wow, I’m not used to that.’”
“In terms of turning a bad play into a good one, it just shocks me.”
Prukop prides himself on making consistent, high-percentage throws, which is ideal for a spread offense like Oregon’s that demands quick reads and decisions from its quarterback. With his new weapons at receiver, however, his concept of a high-percentage throw has changed.
In the past, for example, Prukop did not consider a receiver open if a defensive back tailed him closely on a flat route. But thanks to Oregon’s fast, talented receiving corps, that throw is now deemed high-percentage.
“With these guys, you can throw the ball and the receiver will go get it,” Prukop said.
Prukop said he is still adjusting to the speed of his receivers on deep routes. Quarterbacks coach Dave Yost said Prukop struggled with the deep ball in the first practice. Some of his long passes, Yost said, looked more like grenades that probably wouldn’t have killed anyone.
“We’ve got some fast guys on the outside,” Yost said. “We’ve just got throw it early and throw it far so they can run underneath and get it.”
“I’ve got to put those guys in better situations to make big plays,” Prukop said. “Instead of an under-thrown ball, let it hang out there and let them go get it.”
Prukop’s predecessor, Vernon Adams Jr., made a living throwing deep balls. Adams’ 10.2 yards per attempt was the second-highest in the FBS in 2015.
Prukop said he can throw a deep ball “extremely well.” His average attempt at Montana State was 9.2 yards, which would would have been seventh-highest in the FBS last year.
Former Oregon basketball player Dwayne Benjamin, who hinted at his return to football on Thursday, could find himself on the receiving end of some of Prukop’s deep passes this season. He was present during practice Monday, although Coach Mark Helfrich said he “didn’t do a lot” and was “just trying to get involved.” Benjamin is 6-foot-7 and was timed running a 4.5 40-yard dash.
Prukop hasn’t had the chance to throw to Benjamin yet.
“Im sure his head is spinning, putting in all this new stuff,” Prukop said of Benjamin, who has been out of football for four years. “I saw him out there running around and talking to [Carrington] quite a bit. It looks like they’re taking him right in.”
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