Oregon position preview: Quarterback

Just like last year, Oregon enters fall camp needing to name a new starting quarterback. Only this time around, instead of handing the reins to a largely untested Tyler Shough, sixth-year collegian Anthony Brown is the front-runner.

Over the past two recruiting cycles, Oregon has added considerable talent to the quarterback room. And we’re seeing the benefits this year, with four highly capable scholarship quarterbacks battling for playing time.

While Brown is the presumed starter, three youngsters are hoping to close that gap. Let’s take a look at the Oregon quarterbacks heading into the 2021 season.

Anthony Brown

Brown played in just two games last year, but he completed 15 of his 23 passing attempts for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 40 yards on the ground and two more touchdowns.

Brown has been the presumptive starter ever since Shough transferred to Texas Tech, but those precocious pups are nipping at his heels. What does Brown need to do to stay at the head of the pack?

In his final year at Boston College, Brown averaged 9.1 yards per pass attempt; at Oregon, he averaged just 7.1 yards. To be fair, it was a small sample size, but Brown really took a step forward at BC once he was more aggressive with the football.

Brown is an ideal leader for the Joe Moorhead offense, which puts quarterbacks in positions to succeed in the air and on the ground. Brown has been tagged, unfairly, with the label as a run-first quarterback, but the most yards he’s ever gained in a season on the ground was 210 – and that was in his freshman year.

While his rushing ability is a great addition to the offense, it’s still going to ultimately come down to making plays with his arm.

Brown has a career completion percentage of 55.2, but he’s improved in that category every single year. He ended 2020 with a 65.2 completion percentage, and he’ll look to carry that success into this fall.

If he’s able to reach that 60% benchmark consistently, Brown could be in for a highly productive year.

Ty Thompson

Thompson has been the talk of the town since even before he stepped foot on campus in January. And the buzz surrounding Oregon’s highest rated QB signee ever only increased with positive reports coming out of fall camp.

The true freshman has an uphill battle to climb the depth chart, what with two redshirt freshmen ahead of him on the roster. But from everything we’ve seen and what the coaches have shared, it sounds as if he’s doing everything he can to move up in the pecking order.

Thompson was impressive in the team’s first fall scrimmage, when he had an excellent day in front of hundreds of season ticket holders. Many thought he looked like the best quarterback on the field, and Mario Cristobal didn’t disagree.

Granted, success on one day early in fall camp does not make Thompson the starter. But he’s definitely worked himself into the conversation.

It’s incredibly hard for a true freshman to start at quarterback, and Oregon’s plethora of talent makes it all the more challenging. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of camp plays out for Thompson. If he doesn’t beat out Brown, will he be No. 2 or a bit lower on the depth chart?

Regardless of what happens, Thompson has shown that he has a bright future ahead of him.

Jay Butterfield

The 6-6 signal-caller enters his second season in Eugene in a peculiar position.

While the other scholarship quarterbacks are known for making plays with their feet, that’s not Butterfield’s bread and butter. His strengths are his solid decision-making and his ability to stand in the pocket and deliver strikes.

I remember watching Butterfield last spring, and I was incredibly impressed. He has a fluid passing motion and was winging beautiful passes all over the field. He didn’t see any game action last year, but that definitely could change this year.

If Brown does win the job, it’s going to be an absolute battle for that backup spot. Butterfield is interesting option for Moorhead, who typically prefers a mobile quarterback. So if Butterfield does earn the backup role, we’ll know it’s for good reason.

Butterfield can be a lethal passer. And with the amount of talent in the receiver room, he could be a great fit to utilize them.

Robby Ashford

Ashford also enters his second season at Oregon. He didn’t see the field last year, but that was to be expected; many viewed the raw, two-sport athlete as needing more seasoning.

Still, all you have to do is turn on some of Ashford’s high school highlights to see the talent burst through the screen. He has an incredible arm – as he demonstrated as a baseball center-fielder — and he’s a true dual-threat quarterback who would give Oregon a lethal weapon in the backfield.

It will be interesting to see where Ashford ends up on the depth chart at the end of fall camp. Is he making progress toward becoming a complete quarterback? If so, could he be a guy who’s in the mix for a backup role and fighting for a starting spot this time next year.

It’s probably for the better that he came into a situation where he can spend a year or two to become more of a polished quarterback. If he’s able to put it all together, the sky’s the limit for this dynamic athlete.