Heading into fall camp, most of the conversation surrounding Oregon football will be about the competition between the late arrival of Vernon Adams Jr. and seasoned backup Jeff Lockie.
For the field general that earns the job, a rare opportunity will await him — one that doesn’t come around very often.
Two-time Walter Payton Award runner-up Adams (10,438 career passing yards, 1,232 on the ground) is expected to report to fall camp a few days late after scrambling to wrap up his graduation at Eastern Washington University.
Adams will have roughly three weeks to get up to speed with the up-tempo offense and his new teammates. If he can overcome this tough task, Adams has to like his odds of starting in the season opener against Eastern Washington — his former team.
Whoever earns the job will benefit from a generational combination of luck, timing and chemistry. His role will also be more about limiting mistakes than being the focal point of a seasoned offense.
Believe it or not, Oregon currently has all that on offense.
Everything starts and ends with Bralon Addison’s return to the field after tearing his left ACL last season. In 2013, Addison only trailed Josh Huff with 890 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
It will continue with the return of Devon Allen, who is also planning to come back from a torn ACL in the opening kickoff of the Rose Bowl. Allen finished 2014 with 684 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns before the season-ending injury.
But if you bet on the two being healthy this season, the numbers start to add up.
Then you have Darren Carrington (704 yards and four touchdowns in 2014), whose return to the field is up in the air. Last December, Carrington failed an NCAA-administered drug test that led to a half-season suspension just prior to the CFP title game. Oregon has yet to hear back from the NCAA after attempting to appeal the ruling. The appeal centers on the premise that they were the only team among the four CFP Playoff teams to be tested. According to a Fox Sports source, all four teams were randomly tested.
Barring any major setbacks – Carrington’s suspension holds, or Allen’s return is delayed – Oregon will be looking at unmatched depth at the wide out position.
Excluding the three above, the Ducks return Byron Marshall (1,003 yards and six touchdowns in 2014), Dwayne Stanford (639 yards and six touchdowns), Evan Baylis and Charles Nelson (if he ends up playing offense.) This list may also include seasoned tight end Pharaoh Brown, who suffered a gruesome right leg injury against Utah last season.
Barring a shaky offensive line – a big question heading into the season – the starting quarterback will have unlimited options to throw to, especially under a progressing spread offense.
Anchoring Oregon in the backfield will be sophomore Royce Freeman (1,365 yards and 18 TDs in 2014.) Despite the loss of junior Thomas Tyner (573 yards on 5.1 yards per carry average), who recently underwent a successful shoulder surgery, Freeman — a candidate for both the Maxwell and Doak Walker awards — will likely be the Ducks’ most potent offensive weapon. Expect Marshall and underclassmen, like Kani Benoit, to also help carry the load.
This year, Mark Helfrich and his coaching staff may just have the luxury of experiencing life at the top offensively. How they’ll fare against top tier defenses like USC, Michigan State and Arizona State will be the measuring sticks.
There’s certainly a lot of work ahead and many questions to be answered – nothing will matter unless Adams or Lockie performs – but there’s no doubt that the talent and potential is littered from top to bottom.
Life after Mariota starts now. All things considered, it doesn’t look so bad.
Follow Hayden Kim on Twitter @HayDayKim