Anthony Brown added some intrigue to the upcoming Oregon football season when he announced his intention to transfer from Boston College. The three-year starter was off to a career best start for the Eagles prior to being sidelined for the season with a knee injury suffered in October of last year.
He joins the Ducks as they lose four-year starter Justin Herbert to the NFL, with sophomore Tyler Shough having been QB2 last season and the presumed QB1 heading into fall camp.
With the newly competitive quarterback roster Duck Sports Authority’s panel of Scott Reed, Dale Newton and A.J. Jacobson try to answer the latest DSA Roundtable question:
Who will start for Oregon at quarterback against Ohio State?
Reed: In my opinion, Brown was brought in as the most likely backup and change of pace quarterback. While Moorhead is the offensive coordinator, the head coach is still going to want to set the overall tone of the program and one thing we know about Mario Cristobal is that he wants to protect the ball and he does not want to be ‘behind the sticks’ in down and yardage.
Therein lay the problem with Brown as a starter, while he does not have a high interception rate, his completion rate for his career is not very good. Through his three seasons as a starter, Brown completed just 54.9-percent of his 680 pass attempts. In his best season – albeit his shortened junior season – Brown completed 59.1-percent. By contrast, Herbert completed 59.4-percent in his worst season and 64.0-percent for his career!
What we have seen from Shough is limited, so the comparative value is practically nil, but in person and on film, he appears the more accurate of the two and I think his overall athleticism along with his better accuracy and arm talent will win him the starting job; but I also think that we could see a sort of ‘two-QB’ game in the opener as the Ducks look to experiment some ahead of Ohio State and get a better feel for the two in ‘real time’ game situations in this new offense.
This is all presupposing, of course, that there is an opener and second game of the 2020 season.
Newton: At this point it's uncertain whether the much-anticipated clash with the Buckeyes will happen, but if it does, pencil in Tyler Shough to start at quarterback.
Brown's coming in facing an accelerated calendar while coming off knee surgery.
Shough has worked with the Oregon receivers for two years, studying film and the Moorhead offense since the former Penn State offensive coordinator was hired.
Shough has more upside and three more seasons to play. He's a better passer. He's smart and athletic. Brown is a career 55% passer with a history of knee injuries.
In his limited exposures the sophomore from Arizona, 6-5, 220, has shown the ability to improvise with a great feel for the game, totaling three touchdowns and no interceptions over his first 15 throws, 12-15 passing.
It's a limited sample, but in his spring game auditions he also looked poised and smart. He's the likely Oregon starter, also likely to be the Ducks next capable and successful QB.
Jacobson: In order to predict who will be the Ducks’ starting quarterback will be against Ohio State I will make a couple assumptions. 1. Everybody in the unit is healthy entering the game 2. Tyler Shough, Anthony Brown, Cale Millen, Jay Butterfield and Robby Ashford are the five scholarship QB’s on the roster when the Buckeyes come to town.
Actually when I think about it, the second assumption doesn’t really matter because Tyler Shough will be the starter if he is healthy. Yes, Anthony Brown will add great depth, competition and locker room presence for the Ducks. And I doubt he would be transferring to Oregon if he did not think he could win the starting spot.
The big advantage Shough has is knowledge of the system and players. With Joe Moorhead taking over as offensive coordinator some things will change, but overall Shough will hit fall camp running, whereas Brown will be a veteran rookie. Could Brown’s experience as a three-year starter be enough for him to beat out the heir apparent with two years in Eugene under his belt? It is certainly possible.
Tyler Shough has shown the potential to be the next fine Oregon quarterback and has all the tools to do so. I expect Anthony Brown to push him with some healthy competition, but on September 12th when the Duck offense takes the field against Ohio State, I expect Shough to be QB1.
