Vernon Adams Has Tremendous Opportunity, Challenges At Oregon

Vernon Adams, the star quarterback of FCS giant Eastern Washington University, announced on February 9^th that he was utilizing the graduate transfer rule allowed by the NCAA and would therefore be spending his final season suiting up for the Oregon Ducks. Anyone who has seen an Eastern Washington game in the past two years understands just how big of a difference maker Vernon Adams can be, and Oregon fans are rightly excited about the possibility of such performances while wearing green and yellow (or black, white, gray or pink). In the past two seasons at Eastern, Adams totaled 8,477 passing yards and 890 rushing yards to go along with 100 total touchdowns. These are video game-level numbers that compare favorably with just about any quarterback in the nation. Just for comparisons sake, in the same time span, Marcus Mariota threw for 8,119 yards and rushed for 1,485, while scoring 98 total touchdowns. Obviously they played different levels of competition week in and week out, but the two games Adams has played (both on the road) against Pac-12 competition in Oregon State and Washington, he threw for 9 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and 876 yards.

With all that said, I still have a measure of trepidation about Adams immediately taking over Oregon’s starting job from Mariota and expecting the offense to continue on like nothing has changed. First and foremost, Adams isn’t Mariota. No one is. Marcus Mariota is a Heisman Trophy winner and is the greatest player to ever put on an Oregon uniform. It’s not only unrealistic, but also unfair to Adams, to expect him to simply walk in and run the offense the same way Mariota did. Adams is a different player with a different skillset, and the Oregon offense will be different as a result if he is the one under center.

But the biggest concern is Adams’ limited time to not only pick up the timing and intricacies of the Oregon offense, but also to gel and become comfortable with his teammates. A great deal of the success of Oregon comes from rhythm and tempo; one play after another, never letting the defense take a breath. Will Oregon still be able to run a play every 14-18 seconds if Adams is under center? Will that be enough time for him to immediately know what’s called, what every player is going to do, and what his reads and responsibilities are?  By the time Oregon played the National Championship Game against Ohio State, Mariota had been in the Oregon offensive system for four full seasons, and knew it like the back of his hand. Adams won’t even have 4 months to familiarize himself before the season kicks off against, ironically enough, Eastern Washington.

Understandably, many are pointing towards Russell Wilson as a comparison for Adams’ situation, and there are some parallels. After all, both are sub-6 foot quarterbacks with mobility who had experienced success at their former schools, and both utilized the graduate transfer rule to become immediately eligible at their new school. However, Russell Wilson went from North Carolina State, an ACC school, to Wisconsin. While there might be a slight talent difference from the ACC to the Big 10, it is nowhere near the jump that Adams will be making this season, going from the FCS to the Pac-12. Instead of weekly matchups against the likes of UC Davis, Montana, and Idaho State, Adams will now be playing UCLA, USC, and Arizona State. Additionally, Adams (assuming he wins the job) will carry a far larger burden as the playmaker in Oregon’s offense than Wilson did at Wisconsin. While Wilson was excellent in his one season at the helm in Wisconsin, his running back (Montee Ball) finished 4^th in the Heisman voting that year.

Vernon Adams transferring to Oregon is undoubtedly exciting. Watching any highlight package of his should cause Oregon fans everywhere to dream of touchdowns and big plays all over the field. But he also has a tremendous amount of work to do in a short period of time to prepare himself to succeed a legend. This is a good day for Oregon football, and should be celebrated as such. But Oregon fans also need to keep in mind the challenges Adams will face before they start clearing space for more trophies in the Casanova Center.