Season In Review: Quarterback
01/22/20 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Justin Herbert wrapped up his storybook career with an epic final chapter for the Ducks in 2019.
Reviewing Oregon's 2019 season and looking ahead to spring drills.
DEPTH CHART
QB: Justin Herbert, Sr.; Tyler Shough, RFr.; Cale Millen, Fr.; Bradley Yaffe, RFr.
Starter: The final chapter in the storybook career of Justin Herbert was an epic in and of itself. Born and raised in Eugene, a fan of the Ducks long before becoming a star quarterback at Sheldon High School and then Oregon, Herbert remained in school for his senior season and led the Ducks to a Pac-12 Conference championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl. He finished his career as the program's all-time leader in completions and attempts, finishing 827-of-1,293, and is second all-time at Oregon behind the great Marcus Mariota in both completion percentage (64.0 percent) and passing yards (10,541).
Herbert's senior season begin with a 28-of-37, 242-yard performance in the opener against Auburn. He put up more than 300 yards in abbreviated appearances against both Nevada and Montana, then was 19-of-24 for 259 yards and three touchdowns in a win at Stanford. Playing well away from home was a goal for the Ducks in 2019, and Herbert led the way most of the season, throwing for 280 yards and four touchdowns to lead a dramatic comeback at Washington, and going 21-of-26 for 225 yards and three touchdowns in another win at Southern California. In between, he led a second straight game-winning drive as the Ducks beat Washington State in Autzen Stadium.
The positive mojo on the road ended in late November at Arizona State, in what ended up being the Ducks' only conference loss, an uncharacteristically off night for the passing game. But Herbert bounced back by leading the Ducks to a Civil War win, after earlier in the week stepping up to address the team after a practice, about how much he appreciated his teammates and also the chance to play one more time with them in Autzen Stadium. At that point in the season Herbert had exactly one rushing yard in 12 games, but the reins came off in the postseason – early runs in the Pac-12 Championship Game helped loosen up Utah's defense as the Ducks romped their way to a conference title, and Herbert had a career-high three rushing touchdowns against Wisconsin to cap his career as offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl.
Reserves: After three brief appearances without a passing attempt while redshirting in 2018, Tyler Shough got a couple chances in 2019 to show what he might do at the helm of Oregon's offense. And what fans saw, they liked. In four appearances relieving Herbert, Shough was 12-of-15 for 144 yards with three touchdowns. He tossed two scoring passes against Nevada and one at USC, taking full advantage of his opportunities. Shough took a considerable step from year one to year two in the program, and by the end of the 2019 season his teammates had full confidence in his ability to take over in the wake of Herbert's departure.
Developmental squad: Early in the season Cale Millen was a participant in Oregon's Friday scrimmage period for the developmental squad, but his freshman year with the Ducks was cut short at midseason by shoulder surgery. In the practice time he got, Millen demonstrated impressive athleticism that made him a real threat running the ball; he was throwing the ball despite injury prior to the surgery, so a true evaluation of his ceiling as a passer awaits this spring and beyond. Bradley Yaffe was at the helm of the scout-team offense throughout the season, and opened some eyes. On at least one occasion, a coach remarked while watching the Friday scrimmage period that if the Ducks had to turn to Yaffe for some game reps down the road, he could be capable of managing them.
ROB'S TAKE
SPRING PROJECTION
QB: Tyler Shough, So.; Cale Millen, RFr.; Jay Butterfield, Fr.; Bradley Yaffe, So.
What to Watch: Shough will have the chance to back up his teammates' confidence when he presumably gets the first reps with the No. 1 offense come March. He's got all the intangibles you want to see in a quarterback, in terms of charisma and leadership, and like Herbert before him he's a sneaky threat in the run game. One question will be how the offense looks under new coordinator Joe Moorhead, but the good news is there's nearly two months to learn new concepts before hitting the field for spring practice. Millen began working his way back into strength and conditioning drills with the team during bowl season, and it will be exciting to see what he looks like now that his lingering shoulder issue has been repaired. He'll be pushed by the newest addition to the quarterback room, freshman Jay Butterfield, who like Shough before him as made an early impression as far as having the commanding presence expected at the position.
Players Mentioned
