Preseason Camp Preview: Quarterback
By Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
Assessing where things stand for the Oregon football team entering the start of preseason camp Aug. 10.
QUARTERBACK
Who’s back: The only player on the roster who has thrown a pass for the Ducks is junior Jeff Lockie. He was 21-of-28 as the backup to Marcus Mariota last season, the vast majority of those numbers coming against South Dakota and Wyoming. That’s not Pac-12 competition, obviously, and it’s a very small sample size from which to project much. That said, Lockie was a different quarterback following those two extended appearances, showing an uptick in confidence and decisiveness over the next few weeks of practice. Then in spring drills he was easily the most advanced of the quarterbacks, capping the month with a 9-of-9 performance in the spring game, for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
Also back is veteran walk-on Taylor Alie, a poised local kid who ran Oregon’s PAT team last season. He’s held his own on the depth chart over the last year, too. The scout-team quarterbacks last season were two redshirts, freshman Morgan Mahalak and transfer Ty Griffin. Each is blessed with ability – Griffin is as dynamic an athlete as there is on the team – but drew mixed reviews over the course of the 2014 season.
Who’s new: One of two anticipated additions arrived for spring drills, that being freshman Travis Jonsen. He’s a smart, charismatic newcomer who got to work polishing his mechanics with Mark Helfrich and Scott Frost. The other is graduate transfer Vernon Adams, who recently told The Register-Guard of Eugene he plans to enroll the first week of preseason camp. Adams led the Football Championship Subdivision with a 183.13 passer rating in 2014, with 35 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
ESPN’s take: We’ll see: “We could easily place Oregon in the “Good shape” category by virtue of the weapons Oregon’s new quarterback has around him. But then Oregon fans wouldn’t have anything to complain about.”
ROB’S TAKE
Projected depth chart
QB: Jeff Lockie, Jr.; Vernon Adams, Sr.; Taylor Alie, So.; Morgan Mahalak, RFr.; Ty Griffin, So.; Travis Jonsen, Fr.
What to Watch: Based on how spring ball went for the returning quarterbacks, the assumption was that Adams and Lockie will go head-to-head to replace Mariota. As noted above, when given extended opportunities, Lockie has demonstrated repeatedly over the last 12 months that he can step up his game. He’s carried himself with a different demeanor all offseason; he remains outgoing, with a self-effacing brand of humor, but that’s been on display a little less, as Lockie has projected a more focused, poised demeanor, perhaps in a nod to the opportunity that’s at hand. That said, Adams would bring 37 games of experience at the college level, a massive factor in his favor. Assuming those two take the top spots on the depth chart, the question becomes who fills the No. 3 role on the travel squad. Alie’s experience with the PAT team gives him a leg up, presumably. And after Griffin was used in a variety of roles during scrimmages in the spring, will his duties expand beyond quarterback?
