Tag: Ty Thompson

9 biggest takeaways from a first glance at Oregon’s 2021 depth chart

We finally got a look at the Ducks’ depth chart, and while much of it was expected, there are a few surprises sprinkled throughout the roster.

Releasing the first official depth chart of the season is the equivalent of giving a dog a bone for media members. All throughout the summer and fall camp, we have been watching players at practice and listening to coaches talk about their development, trying to formulate how things might look on the field. There have been position battles aplenty, and at long last, we finally get to see a semblance of how things shook out when we were unable to watch.

Of course, all of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as well. No depth chart is written in stone, and players will often play based on situation, rather than a hard and fast ranking of skills and talents. Even still, there are numerous instances on the Ducks’ depth chart where an (or) is listed next to a player’s name, signaling that a position battle is still ongoing.

While a lot of what we saw from Oregon’s organizational chart was what we expected to see, there are still several outcomes that come as a bit of a surprise. Here are our instant takeaways:

Ty Thompson switches jersey numbers ahead of Week 1

Oregon Ducks quarterback Ty Thompson switched his jersey number from 13 to 17 to accommodate the new NCAA rules about having the same number as a teammate at the same position.

 

Oregon Ducks quarterback Ty Thompson changed his jersey number from 13 to 17 in order to abide by the new rules in the NCAA, which prevents players who play the same position from wearing the same number.

13 is the number currently worn by senior Anthony Brown, who was announced last week as the official starter for the Ducks heading into Week 1’s bout against the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Brown was initially crowned the starter back in August, but arm fatigue slowed him down in camp, and Thompson, along with Jay Butterfield and Robby Ashford, all performed well enough to put the position in question – but it ultimately will still be Brown’s job to begin the campaign.

Many fans were hoping the freshman Thompson would win the starting job, but Brown has the support of the players and coaching staff.

It is unclear if the starting role was the determining factor for wearing number 13, or if Brown got to keep it based on his seniority, but for now he’ll be the one under center and wearing the lucky number when the team kicks things off on Saturday.

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Examining what went into decision to name Anthony Brown the Ducks’ starting QB

Mario Cristobal made it clear that Anthony Brown earned the trust of his teammates in fall camp, which should give fans confidence heading into 2021 season.

There may have been some bumps along the way throughout the Oregon Ducks’ fall camp, but as the final practice came to a close on Friday afternoon, head coach Mario Cristobal was ready to make an announcement for the second time in less than a month — Anthony Brown would be the starting quarterback going into Week 1 against Fresno State.

While we ended up in the same place, ultimately, there was definitely some indecision over the several weeks of fall camp. Brown, who was named the QB1 heading into August, temporarily experienced some arm fatigue, and the play from freshmen QBs Ty Thompson, Jay Butterfield, and Robby Ashford all warranted a second look at the position as a whole. Following the Ducks’ first scrimmage of fall camp, Cristobal was open and honest about the situation, alluding to the fact that it was a competition once more.

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What happened from there on out could be significant for the Ducks’ 2021 season, with the sixth-year senior showing his poise and keeping his grasp over the top rung of the depth chart. For now, at least, he will trot onto the field with the No. 1 offense and look to lead Oregon in a dream season that many fans have high aspirations for.

But how did we get here? What was it about Brown that ultimately won him the starting job over his uber-talented freshman counterparts?

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

The mention of explosive plays is certainly noteworthy, as that was a major factor in Brown seeing the field over Tyler Shough near the end of the 2020 season. While Shough ultimately transferred to Texas Tech over the offseason with an understood belief that the QB1 job was Brown’s to lose, the coaching staff definitely didn’t just give him the starting spot on a silver platter.

“I think he earned it,” Cristobal said. “We’re still going to make it hard on the guy. I don’t think you hand anything over, why would you? Why would you ever create a team and a culture where stuff is just handed over? He’s done that, and he’s been pressed hard. He’ll tell you, I press him hard, really hard because I can’t simulate thousands of people yelling and screaming and that type of duress, so we’ve got to create that in practice.”

There certainly will be a lot of fans screaming and yelling in just about a week’s time as the Ducks open up their season against Fresno State at home on September 4th. A week after that, the real test comes in the form of 104,944 wild Ohio State fans.

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Throughout this summer and this fall camp, Brown has done enough to prove to the coaching staff and his teammates that he is the right man for the job. As they head into the season with one of the biggest games in Oregon history looming a couple of weeks away, the transfer from Boston College gained the trust of his new brothers. Regardless of the fans who wanted to see the freshman phenom take the stage right away, you have to believe that Brown is the man for the job at the moment. The coaches do, and that’s all the convincing you should need.

“Just a lot of credit to him,” Cristobal said. “He’s been through a lot, pretty much across the country. And when you do that, if it’s not real, it’s hard to earn the trust and the backing of your teammates. He’s done a really good job and we expect him to keep going as a leader.”

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Anthony Brown announced as starting quarterback for the Ducks vs. Fresno State

Mario Cristobal announced on Friday that Anthony Brown would be Oregon’s QB1 vs. Fresno State, while the battle for the No. 2 spot is still open.

In the end, we got to the same place ghat we started at; Anthony Brown is the starting quarterback for the Oregon Ducks.

However, it was a bit longer of a road to get there than we expected, with head coach Mario Cristobal announcing during the middle of fall camp that the competition for the QB1 spot was again open, noting that the three freshmen — Ty Thompson, Jay Butterfield, and Robby Ashford — had played themselves into contention.

While Brown was dealing with some arm fatigue after the first week of camp, there was a feeling that Thompson, a true freshman, could take over the top spot with his continued high level of play. However, as the Ducks close out camp and head into their first game week of the season, it’s clear that Brown has secured that spot at the top going forward.

Behind Brown, Cristobal said that there is still an open competition for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. It is unclear when that decision will be announced, but Cristobal said that he hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

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One ESPN writer says Ty Thompson is a freshman All-American

ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren says Oregon’s Ty Thompson is his Freshman All-American at quarterback.

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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Where the Oregon Ducks QB competition stands after second scrimmage of fall camp

With two scrimmages in fall camp in the books, the QB competition remains at Oregon, and head coach Mario Cristobal says “it’s tight.”

Coming into fall camp for the Oregon Ducks, we didn’t quite expect to be here, wondering which player was going to be named the starting quarterback for Week 1 against Fresno State.

However, that’s where we currently are, after true freshman Ty Thompson seemingly played himself into contention with Anthony Brown, who has also been dealing with some arm fatigue over the past week or so of practices.

The Ducks took to Autzen Stadium once again on Saturday morning to go through a scrimmage, their second of the fall, and while it was closed to media members and fans alike, all of the intrigue was about what happened at the quarterback position.

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According to head coach Mario Cristobal, who talked to the media after the scrimmage, all guys involved put on a show.

“Anthony had a really good day today, Ty had a good day today, Butterfield had a good day, and Robby continues to get better and better,” Cristobal said on Saturday. “It’s tight, you know. It’s one of those deals where, look, somebody is going to be disappointed at the end, and that part is not fun. But it is real.”

Throughout the summer months, Cristobal was very public about naming Brown the starting QB going into camp, and with the bulk of experience that he has over the rest of the group, all either second-year or true freshmen, it was easy to tell why.

However, the bulk of talent that the Ducks currently have at the position is enough to understand why an open competition may be beneficial to the team in the long run, creating a meritocracy where the best player can ultimately come out on top.

If it ends up being the super-senior this year, that in no way closes a door for the others down the road.

“One thing, if you look at it from what it is, every one of those quarterbacks should be enthused about their future, because they’ve all got a shot,” Cristobal said. “They’ve all got a shot to be the guy, or to be the guy that’s competing against the guy. They’re all right there. We did a really good job of evaluating guys with high character who want to compete and we’ll find out. We’ll find out what we’re about here in a little bit.”

While position competitions in fall camp are common and encouraged, having an unknown at the QB spot just a couple of weeks before the first game of the season may not be ideal. While the Ducks could probably get away with some uncertainty against Fresno State, there is no room for hesitancy at the most important position on the field when traveling to Ohio State in Week 2.

Luckily for Oregon, they seem to feel that no matter who they end up sticking under center when the time comes, he will be able to get the job done. Yes, that includes being on the road, playing in front of 104,944 raucous fans.

“We feel if we played our quarterbacks, we’re going to win football games,” Cristobal said. “Anthony continues to get better, and he allows himself to get pushed really hard. That’s how we work. And we don’t cross the line of demanding and demanding, because we know that right now we’re playing in front of an empty stadium, and pretty soon that thing is going to be filled up, and we’re going to go places that are filled up and make a lot of noise and make things difficult. So we have to create that type of duress and that type of pressure to see what type of response we get.”

In short, we didn’t learn much about the QB competition on Saturday, other than the fact that one still remains. Without being able to watch the scrimmage, there is no telling who looked better, or who struggled. We don’t know the state of Brown’s arm fatigue, or if Thompson has taken a slight lead in the race for the No. 1 spot.

What we do know, though, is that the Ducks feel confident in who they have, and whenever they decide to ultimately name the guy, he has the support of the coaching staff and team alike.

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How concerned should we be about Oregon’s sudden QB controversy?

An unexpected QB competition between Anthony Brown and Ty Thompson has sparked questions just weeks ahead of Oregon’s season opener.

All throughout the summer, we’ve known one thing for sure about the Oregon Ducks football team: Anthony Brown Jr. was the starting quarterback.

Mario Cristobal made that clear after Oregon’s Spring Game, and throughout the summer months, he even reaffirmed that proclamation by saying that Brown was the QB1 heading into fall camp.

But now that we are a few weeks away from the first game of the season, a new question has come up: Are we sure that Anthony Brown is the starting QB still?

It’s not a question that has risen due to distrust of the coaching staff, but rather a sudden change in situations. After Oregon’s scrimmage on Saturday night, it became clear that the Ducks may not be completely solid at the QB position. It’s not an overreaction to say that Brown’s 5 completions on 11 attempts were underwhelming, and his 1-for-6 success rate in the third-down period was less than ideal.

In comparison to Brown’s lackluster scrimmage, true freshman Ty Thompson — the highest QB recruit in school history — really did look the part, converting 5-of-6 tries in the third-down period.

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On Monday, Cristobal was open and honest about the situation, declaring that it was Thompson who looked the best of all passers in the scrimmage and that there was some concern about Brown’s arm in the meantime.

“We’ve pulled him a little bit, felt that his arm was overused and we got to rest him so we don’t cause any issues,” Cristobal said after Monday’s practice. “Today, those guys all took turns with the twos and they performed well and we think they keep getting better. There was some very positive play by all those guys.”

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So your assumed starter is dealing with an ‘overused’ arm after one full week of fall camp, and your true-freshman QB is ascending. It’s too soon for us to declare this a wide-open competition for the QB1 spot, but it’s at least something to consider.

While the Ducks continue to practice over the next couple of weeks and prepare for their season-opener against Fresno State on September 4th, all eyes will now point toward the quarterback position. Day in and day out you’ll hear reports on who was taking first-team reps, which quarterbacks were throwing, and how the hierarchy may be positioning itself.

This isn’t a place that we imagined we’d be a month or two ago, but the reality has become apparent. Whether it’s due to injuries or a real comparison in talent and ability to lead the team, we are close to what looks like a battle for the QB1 spot.

Ty Thompson is throwing his hat in the ring and giving Oregon’s coaching staff a tough decision to make. Let’s just hope they figure out what the game plan is before Week 2 vs. Ohio State.

 

Cristobal and staff grade young players in first fall scrimmage

Oregon conducted its first scrimmage of fall camp inside Autzen Stadium where the defense had the advantage.

It was almost like the real thing.

For the first time this fall camp, Mario Cristobal’s Oregon Ducks football team scrimmaged inside Autzen Stadium in front of the season ticket holders and other fans.

“It was great to have our fans out here because they’re a big part of what we do at Autzen Stadium. It was just great to see them,” Cristobal said after the practice under the lights. “We’re very grateful for them being here and we know they can’t wait to be a big part of Sept. 4.”

As expected, the defense out-performed the offense as this Oregon defense has a chance to become something special. Despite missing cornerback DJ James and safety Jamal Hill because of an earlier incident with law enforcement, the secondary came to play.

Redshirt freshmen Trikweze Bridges made a case to become a starter with some of his play. He’s 6-foot-3 with a wingspan of 7-foot-2, which should be considered a huge cornerback and is a big advantage.

As for the offense, it was a  mixed bag, according to Cristobal.

“I thought Anthony (Brown) early had some pressure,” he said of the Ducks starting quarterback. “(He) delivered some good balls. Some were more accurate. Some were not. There were some bright moments and some you’d like to have back.”

To be fair, it’s going to be difficult to judge the offense’s ability to move down the field on a consistent basis early on this fall. At least offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead has three weeks to iron everything out before Fresno State comes calling.

Zachary Neel – USA TODAY

Cristobal also gave praise to freshman quarterback Ty Thompson, who looks leaps and bounds better than he did in the spring thanks to a summer workout program and just being around his teammates and the facility.

“He was decisive tonight. When there was pressure, he found a way out most of the time,” Cristobal said. “Towards the end of the two-minute drill, he didn’t eat the ball. Sometimes a freshman with think, ‘I don’t want to throw an interception.’ He was very precise for most of the evening. I thought he made good decisions in the running game as well.”

Some of the other young players hoping to practice well enough to see playing time are linebacker Treven Ma’ae and running back Seven McGee, who might have the upper hand at being the starting punt returner.

The Ducks will take Sunday off from the field, but they’ll continue to weight train and have a speaker come talk to the team. Cristobal said he’s planning to have one or two speakers a week come in and share their insight on the topics they happen to specialize in.

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The starting quarterback spot is Anthony Brown’s to lose at this point

All of the buzz surrounding true-freshman Ty Thompson hasn’t derailed the Anthony Brown train, who easily leads the QB competition.

Many fans of the Oregon Ducks football team looked ahead at the upcoming 2021 season and saw it as a chance to start the Ty Thompson era in Eugene, ready to marvel at the first five-star quarterback recruit in school history.

However, with 10 spring practices now in the book, it appears that there is a different plan for Mario Cristobal and his team, who has put graduate senior QB Anthony Brown under center with the first-team offense for every rep so far.

“Anthony has earned the reps that he has gotten,” Cristobal told reporters Thursday. “We don’t sense any entitlement from him. Instead what you see is a guy who has really taken ownership and has a lot of pride in what he does. He’s a guy who you can coach hard and who responds to that. He’s a guy who’s also grooming the younger guys knowing that they’re going to thrust into a situation where they compete for reps.”

Brown came to Oregon last season with hopes of being the starter and boosting his draft stock before the end of his collegiate career, but his coming-out party was delayed thanks to Tyler Shough, who got the starting reps until late in the season. However, by the end of the year, it became clear that Brown was the more talented option, and he took the reigns, though coaches still deployed a split-rep system between the two.

Now that he is set in a clear-cut competition again, Brown doesn’t intend on giving up his spot at the top.

“For him to get the reps that he’s had and to respond and have the success that he’s had, every day he gains more and more trust from the players and the coaching staff,” Cristobal said. “With that being said, the other quarterbacks are gaining a lot of trust as well.”

So will things change over the course of the summer as we inch closer to fall camp and real games being played? It would be irresponsible to say no, especially with the talent that we know is possessed by Thompson. But at this point, it seems like the QB1 job is Brown’s to lose, and he doesn’t seem very intent on losing it.

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Mario Cristobal says Ty Thompson is ‘as talented as a freshman you’ll see’

Though he is still working in a backup role, freshman quarterback Ty Thompson received a rave review from coach Mario Cristobal.

There were a lot of things that we can take away from our first live glimpse at the Oregon Ducks at Saturday’s spring scrimmage, but one thing that everyone had an eye turned towards was the competition at the quarterback spot.

It remained senior Anthony Brown who took the first-team reps, and he certainly looked polished and capable throughout the day. However, that was expected. What fans really wanted to see what their first look at freshman QB Ty Thompson, the program’s first five-star recruit at the position.

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The 6-foot-4, 215-pound future phenom did some impressive things on the day, but his youth was still present. After all was said and done, though, head coach Mario Cristobal had some encouraging words.

“Ty is about as talented as a freshman you’ll see,” Cristobal said, via The Athletic‘s Tyson Alger. 

A program that has seen its fair share of talented freshman over the past several years — both Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe last year, plus Kayvon Thibodeaux a couple of years back — that is some high praise coming from Cristobal. It appears that Brown is still the heavy favorite to get the start once fall camp begins, but the things we’ve seen from Thompson so far have been encouraging.

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