It’s hard to remember an Oregon Ducks offseason that brought as much change as this most recent one.
With a new head coach comes new offensive and defensive coordinators, bringing a new look to both sides of the football.
Factor in new skill position players on offense and a significant chunk of new starters on defense and you have a team that will be very hard to pin down in the early part of the season as they put all the pieces together.
Perhaps no area is drawing as much attention as the battle to start at quarterback this season, a battle that will likely come down to sophomore Ty Thompson and Auburn transfer Bo Nix.
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Both Thompson and Nix are learning a new offense as well, a process that Thompson called “never-ending” while talking to reporters at media day.
“It seems like we’re almost done learning the offense and then Coach (Kenny) Dillingham will pull up a whole nother binder,” Thompson said. “We’ve got eight more installs and I feel like it’s never-ending, but that’s a good thing.”
Thompson is thankful that – amidst a team filled with turnover at nearly every position – the offensive line remains mostly intact heading into the 2022 season.
If Thompson does end up as Oregon’s starting quarterback, he will line up behind potential Rimington Trophy award winner Alex Forsyth, and having experience up front is a big relief for the sophomore gunslinger.
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“That just kind of clears your head a lot, especially up front protections is probably the most important thing as a quarterback to get right,” Thompson continued. “And when they’re making you right most of the time, it just makes your job a lot easier, especially with the senior O-line. Them playing together, them communicating with each other and you at the same time. Like it clears your head a lot of just unnecessary noise.”
Dan Lanning has less than one month to make a final decision about who will get the ball first when the Ducks take on his old school, the Georgia Bulldogs, on September 3 to kick off the season.
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