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A veteran transfer pitted against a heralded redshirt freshman? Count us in.
Veteran quarterbacks are good at highlighting their strengths. And in Bo Nix’s first media availability since his transfer to Oregon, the three-year Auburn starter wasted no time making a few connections for everyone.
On a question about Oregon’s offensive line:
“Like me, they’ve played a lot of games,” said Nix, who started 34 games between 2019 and 2021 for the Tigers. “A lot of those guys were playing when I played them as a freshman.”
In case anyone forgot, Nix quarterbacked Auburn to a thrilling win over Justin Herbert and Oregon in 2019. It was his first career start — something Ty Thompson, his main competitor this spring, has yet to make.
Nix has played in big games. Nix has beaten top-25 teams. Nix has a previously strong relationship with Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham — his OC his freshman year at Auburn.
Thompson, a redshirt freshman, has none of those things. It makes for an intriguing spring quarterback battle, pitting the veteran quarterback up against the freshman with potential.
“I think the main goal is being successful as a team,” Thompson said. “So, whether it’s me giving Bo a tip, or him helping me out — because he’s played a whole lot at a high-level — using Bo, [sophomore Jay Butterfield] and Coach Dillingham as resources is the best thing I could possibly do.”
Thompson lost most of his head start because of the coaching change. But he’s 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and still carries the badge of “highest rated quarterback to ever commit to Oregon.” He will get looks — like he did last week when he spent the early portion of open practice playing with the first-unit.
The two are battling to become the eighth starting quarterback to open the season for the Ducks since 2010.
“I think anybody that plays would like to finish that piece of the puzzle on offense,” Nix said. “All 11 have to be playing together, all 11 have to be playing as one, and regardless of who’s playing quarterback they have to go out there and do their job for their team.”
Only one will start against Georgia in Atlanta. So, what can we learn from the spring? Let’s look back at some of Oregon’s other spring battles since 2010.
2010: Darron Thomas vs. Nate Costa
Replacing: Jeremiah Masoli
The story: With Masoli suspended for the season — and soon to be dismissed for the team— Thomas and Costa took to Chip Kelly’s second spring as head coach neck-and-neck for the starting job. .
“We have enough playmakers at the other spots that the quarterback in this offense does not have to be the focal point,” Kelly told reporters that spring. “He’s got to be more like a point guard in basketball and distribute the ball to the right guy at the right time.”
Many believed that Costa, an oft-injured senior, could fill that role. But Thomas, an athletic sophomore, certainly made a push, and his flea-flicker touchdown pass to D.J. Davis certainly turned some heads at the spring game.
“I’m going to be working my hardest to give you guys a show this fall,” Thomas said after the game.
What happened: The competition continued into the fall, with Thomas being named the starter just before Week 1. He went on to win 24 of his 27 starts at Oregon, leading the Ducks to their first national championship game appearance.
2012: Marcus Mariota vs. Bryan Bennett
Replacing: Darron Thomas
The story: Maybe Thomas saw the writing on the wall. Take it from former Oregon assistant John Neal, who once told me this story about the first time he saw Mariota run a 40.
“There’s 20 guys at the 40 line and when he runs by us it’s one of those, ‘Oh, my god, I don’t think I got it right,’ moments,” Neal said. “Then we all started looking at each other, holding our clocks up, and everybody around is validating that this guy ran a 4.4 at 6-foot-5. And he kept running. Literally, he ran about 80 yards before he slowed down. We made him run again — because there was no way he did that. Then he did it again.
“That was the beginning of Marcus.”
Bennett was believed to be a good player in his own right. He was a tough runner who rarely took any zip off his throws. Linebacker Tyson Coleman once joked that nobody on Oregon’s defense wanted to intercept Bennett in practice because he threw too hard. Most inside the building knew Mariota had an edge coming into that spring, then the spring game flushed any doubt after his 202 passing yards and 106 yards on the ground.
“I couldn’t tell you where I stand,” Mariota said after the performance. “I just do what I can control, which is to get better every day. I’m looking forward to fall camp.”
The result: Mariota was named the starter the last week of August and became the first freshman quarterback to start the season for the Ducks in 21 years.
He ended up being pretty good. Meanwhile, Bennett backed up Mariota in 2012, then transferred to Southern Louisiana to finish out his collegiate career.
2015: Jeff Lockie vs. The Field
Replacing: Marcus Mariota
The story: Jeff Lockie was Oregon’s clear QB1 in the first spring after Mariota. But it came with a bit of an asterisk thanks to the pending arrival of Vernon Adams Jr., who would join the team during fall camp.
Lockie’s spring was clearly better than those of Travis Jonsen, Morgan Mahalak and Taylor Alie, though Lockie didn’t think that should have been much of a surprise.
“Of course you want to go out there and show that you can be the guy,” Lockie said that spring. “They’ve seen me play in hundreds of practices. I’ve taken thousands of snaps. They have a pretty good feel for where I’m at.”
That might have been the thing — even though Lockie was 9-for-9 for 223 yards and three touchdowns in the spring game, coach Mark Helfrich seemed to douse the flames a bit.
“I think the spring game is way overblown in terms of its value,” Helfrich said. “But yes, Jeff had a great spring. I thought he did a pretty good job today in terms of what he was asked to do.”
The result: Lockie held No. 1 status on the depth chart through the first week of fall camp — until Adams finally became eligible and completed his transfer to Oregon. Adams won the job out of camp and led one of the premier offenses in the country — when healthy.
2016: Dakota Prukop vs. Jeff Lockie vs. Terry Wilson
Replacing: Vernon Adams Jr.
The story: After the success of Adams, the Ducks went the transfer route again, bringing in Dakota Prukop from Montana State. The difference? Prukop arrived in time for spring practice, giving him the clear head start against Lockie and a pair of freshmen.
“I get to the facility every day, look around, and I pinch myself,” Prukop said. “This is an amazing place. It’s just a place of opportunity. You feel like you can have success here. That’s such a neat feeling. Just wow, I’m at Oregon.”
What happened: Prukop went into the season as the starter and won his first two games before the wheels fell off. By Week 4, Oregon wasn’t playing competitive football and coaches decided to turn to a true freshman named Justin Herbert who had just joined the team that summer. Herbert went on to pass for 19 touchdowns and 4 interceptions the rest of the season.
2017: Justin Herbert vs. Braxton Burmeister vs. Travis Jonsen
Replacing: Justin Herbert
The story: Despite Herbert’s stellar performance as a freshman, Willie Taggart didn’t seem all that impressed when he took over the program heading into the 2017 season.
“I’m looking for more than just throwing touchdowns. I’m looking for a guy that can lead this football team,” Taggart said when announcing an open competition for the job. “A guy that’s going to rally everybody on this team, not just the offensive guys, but defense and everyone. When we can find that guy, that’s when we are going to name a starter.”
Anyway, why use words when you can use a photo?
What happened: Credit to Travis Jonsen, who became an NFL-caliber wide receiver after his transfer to Montana State. And credit to Braxton Burmeister, who started at Virginia Tech last year after his transfer from Oregon and will start this year at San Diego State under head coach Brady Hoke.
And credit to Justin Herbert for being Justin Herbert.
2020: Tyler Shough vs. Jay Butterfield vs. Robby Ashford
Replacing: Justin Herbert
The story: It was Shough’s time. The four-star quarterback was Herbert’s understudy for two seasons and came into the spring of 2020 feeling like the job was finally his to be had.
“You have to treat every game like you’re the starter,” Shough said before the spring. “I try to put myself in situations as if I’m going to be playing. It is different when you’re starting and you’re the backup, but in your head you have to make it as real as you can. The goal is to play and I have to be ready.”
Unfortunately, Oregon’s spring lasted just four practices before the pandemic hit. It cut into Shough’s time to get ready, but also put him out front as the clear front-runner over two true freshmen heading into an uncertain future.
What happened: The season was delayed until November, and by that time Oregon’s quarterback room looked awfully different. While Shough started every game for the Ducks, he had Boston College transfer quarterback Anthony Brown Jr. on his heels. It came to a head in the final two games of the year when Brown played significant snaps in the Pac-12 championship game and Fiesta Bowl.
2021: Anthony Brown Jr. vs. The kids
Replacing: Tyler Shough
The story: Thanks to Shough’s transfer to Texas Tech, Oregon coaches didn’t get the open spring competition they wanted between him and Brown. Instead, the Ducks got a spring where Brown was the clear-cut No. 1 ahead a trio of freshmen. Thompson, with his lofty recruiting status, certainly added some intrigue, but the 15 spring practices didn’t provide nearly enough reps for him to mount a charge at Brown. They were, however, enough to give him some space above Butterfield and Ashford.
Cristobal, of course, kept everything open.
“We think Anthony is the one,” Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said after the spring game. “But we’re not going to let [the QB competition] die.”
What happened: Brown started every game for the Ducks. Oregon reached the Pac-12 championship game. Everyone was happy.
— Tyson Alger
