Oregon Ducks name starting quarterback for Fresno State opener

The Oregon Ducks have named their starting quarterback for the 2021 season opener against Fresno State, according to Jarrid Denney of Scoop Duck.

Oregon head coach Mario Cristobol said the Ducks are going with senior Anthony Brown, who brings a wealth of experience at the collegiate level, unlike the freshmen he was competing with in the quarterback room.

“Anthony Brown will be the starter for us,” Cristobal said. “The No. 2 quarterback position is still up for grabs and those guys will continue to compete.”

Cristobol is referring to freshmen Robby Ashford, Jay Butterfield and Ty Thompson who were all in contention throughout the open competition in fall camp.

For Cristobal, Brown emerged from the pack and earned the chance to lead the Ducks’ high-powered, explosive offense.

“Anthony has done a great job. Quite frankly, he’s the starter because he’s done a great job,” Cristobal said.

The Oregon coach elaborated on exactly why the senior got the nod over the trio of freshman competing for the sole position as the Ducks’ starting signal caller.

“The way he handles and has command of the offense, his presence amongst the players at the line of scrimmage, his ability to improvise — sometimes negotiate throws in tough situations, his ability to run the ball, he’s been really accurate and his explosive play ratio has been really high against a defense that we feel is really good,” Cristobal said.

Anthony Brown on leadership as starter

Brown has spent most of his career waiting for this chance.

In a limited role with the Ducks last season, Brown went 15-of-23 passing for 164 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 40 yards and a pair of scores on seven carries. He made his Oregon debut in the Pac-12 Championship Game and completed 3-of-4 passes for 17 yards and pair of touchdowns.

The new Ducks starter summed up his mindset as the potential starting quarterback during Oregon Ducks football media day earlier this summer.

“Being what the team needs me to be [a leader].” Brown said at Oregon football media day. “Whether that’s being a leader for the guys in the room. Them criticizing me or something that I need to work on. Leader is not just a concrete term that a lot of people like to throw around it’s very abstract as well. Leadership isn’t just a solid thing right now, it’s very fluid and just being where my team needs me to be.”