CFB: Breaking Down the Oregon Quarterback Battle

Breaking down Oregon’s Quarterback battle, it seems like it’s Anthony Brown’s to lose, but the QB room is bursting with talented options.

There’s plenty of weight on the shoulders of Mario Christobal and the Oregon Ducks. An extremely talented roster that fell way short (if you could say that) of expectations in 2021 despite winning a de-facto Pac-12 Championship.

The QB room was a mess after the departure of Justin Herbert. The combination of Tyler Shough (1559 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions), now at Texas Tech, and Anthony Brown (164 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions) underwhelmed, especially in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Iowa State.

Now with Shough out of town, the quarterback room is back open for competition. Brown is viewed as the preemptive favorite, but all four quarterbacks saw action in Oregon’s spring game a couple of weeks ago. Let’s break them down.

Anthony Brown (Senior, 6’2 226)

By far the most experienced member of the quarterback room. Brown began his career at Boston College in 2016, redshirting his true freshman season. The now-sixth-year senior started three years at BC before transferring to Oregon after the 2019 season. Brown sat on the bench behind Tyler Shough for much of the 2020 regular season before out-playing the then-sophomore in the Fiesta Bowl.

As the dust settled from that NY6 loss, Shough transferred out of town and Brown is in a prime position to take the starting job. Brown played the most during Oregon’s spring game and was inconsistent for the most part. He finished 20/29 with 230 yards and a touchdown through the air. He missed some throws down the field and took four sacks.

Now in his sixth year, we know what Brown’s limitations are. We saw Cristobal use Brown in gadget situations, more as a pure runner or receiver than quarterback, a bunch in 2020. His downfield passing is limited, but Cristobal was very comfortable using Brown in big spots last year. It didn’t seem like his grip on the job shrunk at all during the spring game, as the coaching staff seems very content with the veteran under center.

Jay Butterfield (Redshirt Freshman, 6’6 212)

Butterfield is a consensus four-star recruit across the major recruiting rankings (ESPN, Rivals, 247Sports), and took a redshirt for the 2020 season after leading Liberty HS to a 32-5 record while tossing for 7,270 yards with 85 TDs and 21 interceptions across three years as a starter.

The redshirt freshman saw limited action in the spring game, completing 6/9 passes for a touchdown and avoided being sacked. He completed a couple of strong throws down the field but lacked mobility in the pocket, a concern that the coaching staff could have in the future. Most programs have moved past the statue pocket-passer quarterback, barring improvement that limits Butterfield’s upside. The one thing he does have going for him is more experience than the next two guys on this list, having already been in the program for a year.

Ty Thompson (Freshman, 6’4 215)

Thompson is the guy everyone has their eyes on. The highest-ranked recruit Cristobal has brought in, ranked as the No. 9 overall player in the country by Rivals and the first-ever five-star quarterback to sign with the Ducks. Safe to say the expectations are high for the freshman, who threw for 9,891 yards and 100 touchdowns in his career at Gilbert High School while rushing for 1,145 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The Ducks might take it slow with their freshman quarterback, who completed just 5/9 passes and was sacked once in the spring game. His youth showed, but the talent and fit in Joe Moorehead’s offense is undeniable with Thompson’s legs. He definitely has the most upside of anyone in the quarterback room, and even if he doesn’t win the job out of camp, a late-season switch to Thompson could still be in the cards.

Starting a true freshman star QB has been trending more and more recently. We saw Trevor Lawrence force his way into a starting role early in his career. Same with Sam Howell, Jayden Daniels, Kedon Slovis. None of these programs regret making these moves, and the Ducks could soon follow.

Robby Ashford (Redshirt Freshman, 6’3 225)

Ashford is the wildcard of the four scholarship quarterbacks. The Ducks snatched Ashford right out of the heart of the south, a former four-star recruit and the No. 1 quarterback in Alabama in 2019. He redshirted in 2020, not seeing action in any games.

Ashford finished the spring game 7/8 for 123 yards while being sacked twice. He might have the best wheels of anyone in the quarterback room, showing off in scramble drills during the scrimmage. He’s an excellent baseball player as well, ranking as the 121st best player in his class in 2019 by Perfect Game (hitting .200 in 35 at-bats for the Oregon baseball team at the moment).

Nonetheless, Ashford sits fourth on the depth chart as of now and will be interesting if he can move his way up while focusing on baseball during the summer.