In an ESPN+ article, college football writers Tom Luginbill and Tom VanHaaren selected their freshmen All-Americans at each position for the 2021 season and just one Duck managed to get mentioned and it’s probably not the one most expected.
According to VanHaaren, Oregon freshman quarterback Ty Thompson is his pick to be an All-American, despite all indications he’s going to be Anthony Brown’s back-up. This is what the ESPN scribe had to say about Thompson.
This one was probably the most difficult position to gauge because there is really good depth across the board. Thompson is probably behind Boston College transfer Anthony Brown, but maybe that changes with fall camp. Thompson had a really good scrimmage for the Ducks recently but has some competition to get to the front of the line. He might not win the starting job, but if he keeps progressing and getting better, there’s a chance he makes an impact.
Luginbill chose Notre Dame’s Tyler Buchner as his top freshman signal-caller, but it’s an interesting analysis on Thompson. While the second scrimmage was closed off to the fans and the media, a general consensus is that Thompson made huge strides and has actually turned the starting quarterback job into a legitimate competition.
With the Fresno State game just 11 days aways, Thompson can still shock the world by claiming the starting nod over Brown. But it would be a shock, especially with Ohio State looming at Week 2.
Thompson would have to be extraordinary in the coming days in order for Mario Cristobal and Joe Moorhead to have enough confidence in the true freshman to go into Columbus and lead the Ducks to victory. But it’s almost a given Thompson will see the field against the Bulldogs in the season opener and how he performs against a live defense in front of a full Autzen crowd of 57,000 will go a long way into making that choice.
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