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Dan Lanning praises Oregon QB Ty Thompson; "I continue to be excited about his development"

Jarrid Denneyby:Jarrid Denney•10/12/22•

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(Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

When Ty Thompson arrived in Eugene prior to last season, he was the top-rated quarterback recruit to ever sign with the Ducks.

Thompson was a 5-star and the No. 31 overall prospect in the class of 2021, according to the On3 Consensus, and was expected by many Oregon fans to quickly establish himself as the program’s quarterback of the future.

This fall, the redshirt freshman has been serving as the backup to Bo Nix but has come under heavy criticism from a section of Oregon’s fan base after a couple of shaky cameo performances in late-game scenarios.

In four games this season, Thompson is 10-of-18 passing (55%) for 80 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

During his Tuesday press conference, Oregon coach Dan Lanning was asked how he has seen Thompson progress, and how he would assess his performance so far this season.

“I continue to be excited about his development,” Lanning said. “I talked to our players as a whole — not just Ty, but the entire team. If you’re the same player you were in Week 1 right now, shame on you. We should be better. And Ty’s a guy who’s getting better.”

Lanning noted that there are some moments that Thompson would like to have back, but also said he’s had some good moments, too.

The majority of Thompson’s snaps have come alongside a group of second- and third-string players. But even still, many Duck fans have taken issue with his perceived inability to accurately throw the ball downfield. He is averaging just 4.4 yards per passing attempt, while Nix has averaged 8.2 yards per attempt this season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Thompson has attempted just three passes longer than 10 yards in 2022 and completed none of them.

But it’s difficult to know what is being asked of him by offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham during his late-game appearances. Lanning praised the pre-snap decisions Thompson made during Oregon’s win over Arizona last Saturday.

“He made some really good run-checks this past game,” Lanning said on Tuesday. “He was able to assess what the defense was in. He looked really good in practice (Tuesday); did some good things in practice.”

While Lanning was not necessarily prompted to discuss Thompson’s perceived struggles, he seemed to be coming to his defense.

“You guys don’t always see all the work,” Lanning said. “You see the game film, right? We see all the work in practice. And every one of our players, we want to see them continue to develop.”

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