That was quick. Just under three months since Oregon last played in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship, spring football is starting.
With it, a question mark exists at the ever-so-important quarterback position for the first time since 2012. Marcus Mariota, a three-year starter and Oregon’s first Heisman Trophy winner, is gone. The 15 practice periods the Ducks are allowed to have – along with the annual spring game that is scheduled for May 2 – figures to start a quarterback competition that can’t even fully begin until August.
Vernon Adams, who was named the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player after throwing for 3,483 yards, 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions for Eastern Washington in 2014, announced that he will transfer to the University of Oregon in February. He isn’t eligible to suit up for Oregon until he graduates in June though, creating an interesting dynamic for the spring as the competition begins.
Jeff Lockie, who has served as Mariota’s backup for the past two seasons, appears to be the leader of this pack of candidates. He’ll be joined by redshirt freshman Morgan Mahalak, redshirt sophomores Ty Griffin and Taylor Alie, and incoming freshman Travis Jonsen. Jonsen, a four-star recruit in the 2015 class, is enrolled at UO for the spring.
Quarterback isn’t the only position on the team where there’s change. Oregon relied on a cast of upperclassmen like offensive linemen Hroniss Grasu and Jake Fisher, cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu and wide reciever Keanon Lowe who have all departed from the program.
But, the amount of injuries Oregon was consumed by last year meant an unusual amount of underclassmen were receiving playing time. That will be invaluable going forward, as Oregon also looks to have players returning from injury and freshmen-turned-sophomores with experience.
Here’s a rundown of what this spring may hold for head coach Mark Helfrich and his staff:
– Bralon Addison was the headlining story from last spring for all the wrong reasons. Now a redshirt junior, the receiver was coming off a career year in 2013 and was considered to be one of the featured threats the Ducks would have in their arsenal. But, his 2014 season was stripped from him in April after he suffered a torn ACL. Almost a year from the injury, he’s now ready to “get hit for the first time again,” according to the Oregonian.
– Oregon’s offensive line will experience a bit of a transition this spring. Fisher, Grasu and Hamani Stevens have departed. Yet, players like sophomore Tyrell Crosby and redshirt sophomore Doug Brenner received a substantial amount of experience they can carry into the spring at their respective positions. Tyler Johnstone is still rehabbing an ACL injury he had in August, but expects to be a key part of the line come September.
– Oregon’s defense won’t have much to replace at the linebacker position. Seniors Joe Walker, Tyson Coleman and Rodney Hardrick are returning, leaving just one position open. In the secondary, three players departed and the defensive line has plenty of questions associated with it, too.
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“I will say that it has to do with the initial first year, I do think that the school would benefit a lot, and honestly schools around the nation would benefit a lot, in changing their language requirement to a cultural requirement.” said David Colón, a senior from Puerto Rico. (Taylor Wilder/Emerald)
