As Chip Kelly used to say, we'll miss you, but we'll get along without you.
Rumors are still swirling about De'Anthony Thomas' pending decision to enter the NFL draft or return to Oregon for his senior year. Today is his birthday, and the deadline for announcing is January 15th.
The "will he stay or will he go?" is intriguing, and the hints are contradictory. There was the "One More Year" Instagram post. But another picture surfaced that showed Thomas had played in the Alamo Bowl with a Rolex watch on his wrist.
Oregon didn't use DAT properly in 2013, and some think he was just marking time until his departure to the NFL.
If Thomas does declare for the draft, that role in the offense remains in good hands. Incoming freshmen Budda Baker and Tony James are very similar in skill set, each fast and shifty, dangerous broken field runners. Both come from top programs with winning traditions. They're serious and mature, highly-motivated leaders. They could give the Quack Attack all the explosiveness they got from the Momba without the distracting sideshow.
Additionally, Scott Frost has indicated that both Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner have the speed, hands and versatility to run all the plays Oregon currently runs for the Crenshaw High speedster, giving the offensive coordinator another way to use them in a backfield loaded with talent. After adding Baker, James, and 6-0, 225 bruiser Royce Freeman, the Ducks are in great shape whether The Black Momba stays or goes.
On the other side of the ball, the decision of cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is far more crucial. Ekpre-Olomu, a second-team All-American and certain first rounder in most NFL mock drafts, wound give the Ducks a lockdown corner and inspirational leader in a young secondary. Already John Neal has to replace three starters with the graduation of safeties Brian Jackson and Avery Patterson, and Terrance Mitchell's decision to leave for the NFL.
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