Sometimes, there are quotes – the few words that stick out from the rest – that make you turn your head and perk your ears up like a bewildered puppy. One, from Oregon coach Mark Helfrich, made me channel my inner, intrigued canine, and prompted a few questions.
Shortly after the national championship, in response to speculation over the future of Oregon’s starting quarterback position after the departure of Heisman-winner Marcus Mariota, Helfrich said Oregon would “exhaust every path to find the right guy, the right fit.”
Helfrich: “We’re going to exhaust every path to find the right guy … but we certainly believe in who’s on campus and what’s to come.”
— Ryan Thorburn (@rgduckfootball) January 19, 2015
*Perk ears, and head turn*
Eventually, that path led to Vernon Adams Jr.
Throughout the entire process, from backup Jeff Lockie – who looked prepared to replace Mariota – starting the spring game and working as the team’s starter all throughout spring and summer camp, to Adams’ infamous “math test results heard ’round the college football world,” that quote from Helfrich has stuck in the back of my head.
Is college football’s version of free agency a good thing? Is it OK that a player can finish out his four years of eligibility at a school to pursue a graduate degree at another school – a degree that football graduate transfers complete at a measly rate of 24 percent, according to ESPN’s Ivan Maisel – with an attractive football situation? And should the player who has acted as Mariota’s understudy for the past three years have to ride that same, exhausted path looking for an outside player to compete with?
I had those questions, and reservations, leading up to Oregon’s season-opening game against Eastern Washington.
And while there will still be plenty of people against graduate transfers in college football, what I saw was a validation of the system.
There was no better arena to showcase the pros and cons of college football’s faux free agency than Autzen Stadium on Saturday night, where Adams made his Oregon debut against Eastern Washington, the team he left and the place he starred at four three seasons.
Adams, aside from a second-quarter fumble, was spectacular, filling Mariota’s proverbial Nikes well by throwing for 246 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-25 passing. Adams also ran for 94 yards on 14 attempts while pacing the blitzkrieg attack that is the Oregon offense on its way to a 61-42 win.
This game had almost everything you could have wanted. It was full of fireworks and emotion. Both offenses excelled, posting a combined 103 points and 1280 yards; Adams’ former teammate, linebacker John Kreifels, knocked a sliding Adams out of the game with a late hit to his head. After the game, Adams celebrated his dazzling debut by kissing his tired, 14-month-old son on the cheek in front of a barrage of cameras and impressed Oregon fans.
Who knows what would’ve happened if graduate-transfers weren’t allowed to transfer, and Lockie was starting at quarterback for Oregon against Eastern Washington. But it wouldn’t have been as fun to watch as what we witnessed on Saturday night.
And for that, we have college football free agency to thank.
Follow Joseph Hoyt on Twitter @JoeJHoyt