Oregon will hand the keys to its quick-hitting spread offense to another athletic quarterback this season.
The seventh-ranked Ducks named transfer Vernon Adams Jr. starting quarterback heading into the start of the season according to the depth chart released by the school yesterday.
By Cory Burrell
Adams attended Eastern Washington University, a FCS school, where he was the Eagles’ starting quarterback for three seasons. In those three season, Adams made a name for himself as one of the most explosive quarterbacks in the nation.
Over the course of his career at Eastern Washington, Adams completed nearly 65 percent of his passes and threw for 110 touchdowns and more than 10,000 yards. As a starter, he led his team to a 28-6 record, including a stunning 49-46 win over Oregon State in 2013. Adams threw for 411 yards, ran for an additional 107 yards, and scored the go-ahead rushing touchdown with seconds remaining in the shocking upset. It was one of only four times a FCS team defeated a FBS team.
Adams was a two-time runner up for the Walter Peyton Award, given to the top player in the FCS, for his outstanding play at Eastern Washington.
Adams was accepted into Oregon’s graduate school upon finishing his undergraduate studies at Eastern Washington. Adams has one year of NCAA athletic eligibility remaining, which he will use to play for the Ducks.
Adams’ transfer to Oregon ran into a few snags. Even though he received his diploma on stage during Eastern Washington’s graduation ceremony, Adams was a class short of finishing his degree at Eastern Washington. According to a report from 247 Sports, Oregon was aware Adams would need to finish a summer class before he could official join Oregon’s football team. Adams completed this final class without issues, but it did delay him from joining summer workouts with the Ducks.
Despite Adams’ success in the past three years, the transfer delay appeared to open the door for junior Jeff Lockie earning the starting position, at least for the start of the season until Adams became comfortable with the offense. Lockie, Marcus Mariota’s backup for the past two years, saw limited game action, throwing for 264 yards and one touchdown last season. The gap in system experience ended up not making enough a difference in the eyes of head coach Mark Helfrich.
While there is little question of Adams’ talent running a collegiate offense, he does not project as an NFL talent. According to Optimum Scouting’s Pac-12 preview, Adams ranked fourth among senior QBs in the Pac-12. This speaks more of the lack of pro-caliber quarterback talent in the conference than of Adams chances in the NFL; Optimum Scouting does not expect Adams to be drafted in the 2016 NFL Draft because of his lack of ” a lot of NFL-level skills.”
Adams will deal with lofty expectations this season as the successor of Heisman winner and now NFL starting quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota led a high-scoring Oregon team to rank fourth in the nation among offenses and an appearance in the national championship game.
Adams and the Ducks will begin their season with a game against Adams’ former team, Eastern Washington, September 5th at home. While Oregon should have little trouble with the Eagles, the match does carry an interesting narrative; When Adams announced his plans to transfer to Oregon, he was prohibited from using Eastern Washington athletic facilities or working out with the team in the four months between the end of the 2014 football season and his graduation from the school.
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