When Nate Costa suffered an unfortunate career-ending knee injury last Saturday against Washington, I, and everybody I talked to, felt terrible for the guy.
I haven’t spent a ton of time around the Oregon football program, but I did have the opportunity to chat with Costa for a few minutes after a recent practice and was impressed. By all accounts, Costa is a model citizen, and his contributions to the University football program can’t be measured by stats alone. He deserved a better fate.
On the surface, Costa’s absence doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of difference on the field.
Darron Thomas will continue to start, and probably take every snap, barring injury. It’s safe to assume that if Oregon jumps to a big lead, Oregon coach Chip Kelly and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich will probably dial down the play calling to preserve Thomas’ health.
Depth, however, is an issue. Talented but raw true freshman Bryan Bennett was elevated to No. 2 on the Oregon depth chart, and Daryle Hawkins, who has played receiver for most of 2010, is No. 3.
The plan, as of now, is to preserve Bennett’s redshirt year and keep him on the sidelines unless Thomas can’t go.
At first glance, there’s nothing too controversial about that decision. But, some recent history suggests otherwise.
In last year’s National Championship Game between Texas and Alabama, Longhorn starting quarterback Colt McCoy was injured in the first quarter and had to leave the game.
He was replaced by redshirt freshman Garrett Gilbert, who had only attempted 26 passes in his college career before being thrust into the national spotlight.
Predictably, Gilbert struggled to replace McCoy. Facing a talented Alabama defense, Gilbert completed only 15 of his 40 pass attempts and threw four interceptions. Some argued that if Gilbert had more experience under his belt, he would have stood a better chance at leading Texas to the national title.
Especially considering how many hits Thomas takes in Oregon’s offense, the question has to be raised.
If Oregon finds itself up by, say, 30-odd points early in the third quarter against Cal this weekend, should Chip Kelly put Bennett in the game and turn him loose to get him valuable game experience?
As Duck fans know well, the opportunity to play for and win a national championship doesn’t come around every year.
There’s a valid argument to go for broke this year, and burning Bennett’s redshirt and getting him game experience gives Oregon the best chance to win in the event Thomas is injured.
Nobody wants to deal with a what-if scenario, such as: What if Bennett got just a few more snaps, maybe he wouldn’t have made a critical fourth-quarter mistake against Auburn?
Okay, so that’s definitely worst-case scenario. But the point remains, and it’s a valid one.
That said, after considering both sides of the issue, I think Oregon should do whatever possible to preserve Bennett’s redshirt.
It’s obviously not an automatic choice, and Oregon quarterbacks have gotten injured in inopportune times in the past, but the downside of Bennett losing a year of eligibility isn’t worth the potential reward.
The thought of having a fifth-year senior quarterback on the roster in a few years is enticing, to say the least.
We’ve seen the impact Costa had on the 2010 Duck team, and there’s no reason to think it would be any different with Bennett.
Moreover, it’s the right thing to do by Bennett, who has been working on the Oregon scout team this season. He deserves the right to come back for a fifth year, if that’s what’s best for him.
Finally, while many think getting Bennett game experience would help him if he needs to fill in for Thomas, I’m not sure that’s the case.
If Bennett struggles in his limited game experience, will his confidence be shattered if he’s forced into action in a critical moment?
I’d rather have a confident and 100 percent healthy Bennett to throw at an opponent in a national title game situation.
There would be no tape for an opposing team to review, and no risk that Bennett gets hurt accumulating game experience.
It’s not an easy call, but Bennett shouldn’t play unless Thomas can’t. Really, why make such a huge sacrifice for a situation that might not even play out?
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