Freshman quarterback Travis Jonsen sits at a table by himself and fields seemingly endless  questions at Oregon’s media day on Aug. 8.
Does he see himself as a dual-threat quarterback? Is he completely healthy? If he were a Pokemon, which one would he be?
Jonsen sheepishly smiles and answers all the above. He is admittedly shy about jumping into an open quarterback competition at one of the top college football programs in the nation.
“You gotta appreciate [the spotlight],” Jonsen said. “I was never a big guy about that stuff, but it’s kind of nice, I’m not gonna lie. But I’m still not used to it.”
Just behind him at a separate table sits graduate transfer Dakota Prukop, a 22-year-old senior who already has two seasons as a starter under his belt from his decorated career at Montana State. Prukop answers similar questions in a confident, more matter-of-fact fashion. He isn’t worried that he hasn’t claimed the starting job yet despite his seniority, and yes, he knows that he will need to avoid big hits to survive at the Pac-12 level.
Coming off its worst season in almost a decade, Oregon desperately needs to find consistency at the quarterback position to maintain its status as one of the top programs in the country. In Jonsen and Prukop, the Ducks possess two players with similar flashy playing styles who could stabilize the program in vastly different ways—but neither of them have ever taken a snap in an Oregon uniform.
Prukop, a two-star recruit who scratched and clawed his way to the Division I level, could prove to be another one-and-done superstar in the mould of Vernon Adams Jr.
Jonsen, the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2015, offers Oregon a chance to build continuity at the position over the next several years.
The only question left now is which player gets the keys to the Oregon offense.
“Dakota has worked really hard to use the experience that he has to grow as a quarterback within our system,” Oregon quarterbacks coach David Yost told reporters. “With Travis, he has a good understanding of the offense. Now it’s just getting reps of it over and over and over again. They’re kind of at two different points in the learning curve.”
For all of Prukop’s in-game experience — he accumulated over 7,000 total yards in two years at Montana State — he is still the less-experienced of the two when it comes to engineering Oregon’s up-tempo offense.
Jonsen arrived on campus in spring 2015, his senior year of high school, and has been working in Oregon’s system for nearly 18 months. He could have been thrown into Oregon’s chaotic quarterback battle last year, but was forced to redshirt after suffering a foot injury.
During his redshirt season, he made sure not to suffer the same pitfalls that derail so many quarterbacks during their gap year. He kept going to team meetings and never stopped throwing; if he felt down, or bored, he would grab some footballs and throw into a net.
“I wish when I was Travis’ age, I was as good as he was,” Prukop said. “He’s a very talented guy who’s highly rated for a reason. There’s no fluke there. He can run, he can throw it, he can do everything that needs to be done in this offense.”
A.J. Gass, Jonsen’s former coach at Servite High School in Anaheim, California, has had the chance to watch both Jonsen and Prukop evolve during their respective careers. Prukop’s father, Tim, was an assistant coach at Servite in the late ‘90s, and he and Gass met through a mutual friend. Since then, Gass kept tabs on Prukop’s career while also coaching Jonsen as he grew into one of the top dual-threat recruits in the country.
“[Jonsen] is the type of kid who will flourish in a system like [Oregon’s],” Gass said. “If you need something done… He’s going to demand it in a way that others will want to succeed for him. He’s not a flashy guy when you talk to him; he’s not an all-eyes-on-me guy. But once you put him on the field and under the lights, he really comes out of his shell.”
After Oregon’s first live scrimmage of fall camp, Helfrich said Prukop has been the Ducks’ most consistent quarterback and has begun to separate himself in the race for the starting job. Helfrich said he’d like to name a starter roughly 10 days before Oregon’s season begins on September 3rd.
Numerous Oregon players have said that there isn’t much difference in playing style between Prukop and Jonsen: They each have zip on their throws, the ability to place the long ball and the athleticism to break off big runs.
If Prukop indeed wins the job, it could simply be because he has experience at the college level, while Jonsen hasn’t. But it will also partially be due to the confidence and leadership he displayed when he arrived early to Oregon during winter term.
“I think (Prukop) came in and he learned everything so fast,” redshirt freshman receiver Alex Ofodile said. “It’s kind of tough to come in when you don’t know the ropes or know things well and he did a good job just preparing and knowing his stuff. I think that has helped him come in and kind of take a leadership role.”
No matter which one Helfrich chooses, one of the most talented offensive groups in the nation will be controlled by a player who has never played in a Pac-12 game.
Follow Jarrid Denney on Twitter @jarrid_denney