Free agency came to college football in the form of the transfer portal and it quickly obliterated everything avid fans thought they knew about recruiting and player development.
Three of the four schools in this year's College Football Playoff employ a quarterback from the portal: Ohio State (Justin Fields), LSU (Joe Burrow) and Oklahoma (Jalen Hurts).
The last three Heisman winners, Burrow, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield, were all transfer quarterbacks who won big after stumbling at their first stop.
Three weeks ago on Monday December 3rd, 61 players entered the portal in one day. The biggest reasons are coaching changes and playing time.
Recruiting has become just one leg of building a team. Even a strong organization has to be alert to the opportunity to add missing pieces or ramp up the competition at a position of need.
For Oregon, there's no greater need in 2020 than identifying a replacement for NFL-bound Justin Herbert, a four-year starter at quarterback.
The coaches have expressed a lot of confidence in the four internal candidates for the job, redshirt freshmen Tyler Shough and Cale Millen, 2020 recruits Jay Butterfield (signed) and Robby Ashford (committed).
Shough is the only one of the four with college experience. He appeared in 5 games this year, completing 12-15 passes (80%) for 144 yards and three touchdowns, rushing twice for 11 yards.
All of his appearances came in mop-up duty, except for an ill-fated emergency snap on 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter of the Auburn game. Herbert had to go to the sideline after an uncalled late hit. Shough handed off left to C.J. Verdell, who was stoned for a two-yard loss.
With Oregon in the midst of an offensive coordinator search after Marcus Arroyo accepted a head coaching job at UNLV, the 2020 quarterback competition and the possibility of exploring the transfer portal remains intriguing. After all, it's paid huge dividends elsewhere. All the big boys are doing it.
Yesterday Stanford's K.J. Costello entered the portal after an injury-plagued year that saw him lose his job to Davis Mills.
Just a year ago in 2018, the 6-5, 223 pocket passer led David Shaw's squad to a 9-4 record while throwing for 3,540 yards and 29 touchdowns.
He beat the Ducks and Justin Herbert head-to-head that season, winning in overtime 38-31, striking for three touchdowns and 327 yards as The Cardinal capitalized on some breaks and roared back after being down 24-7 at the half.
It's a mass defection down on The Farm. Costello is the 12th Stanford player to enter his name in the portal since September..
He's one of the most prominent and intriguing names for coaches looking for a quick fix or a bridge to the future. Michigan, Oklahoma and LSU have been mentioned as possible landing spots, as each of them graduate a starter this season.
The Tigers have to replace Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, who threw for 4.715 yards and 48 touchdowns in Joe Brady's high-powered pass attack.
If Costello opts for an NFL showcase closer to home, just a year ago East Carolina castoff Gardner Minshew parlayed a storybook year running Mike Leach's Air Raid into an NFL contract. Minshew piloted the Cougs to 11 wins while throwing for 4,779 and 38 touchdowns.
Costello hit 65% of his passes as a full-time starter in 2018, his best season as a Cardinal.
Other quarterbacks currently in the portal include former four-stars Felipe Franks (Florida), Jack Sears (USC) and Dillon Sterling-Cole (Arizona State).
The new OC would have a big say in whether Oregon chooses to develop from within or inject more experience into the competition.
Coming off a league championship season and a Top Ten ranking, there are pieces in place (on defense, at running back and receiver, Outland Trophy winner Penei Sewell at left tackle) to win big now.
It's a risk to put all that potential into the hands of a first-time starter, and it's a bigger one to ask that new starter to line up in game two next fall against current #1 Ohio State and Chase Young, the national leader in sacks this season with 16.5.
Many fans would prefer to trust the process and the promising QBs Oregon recruited. They're all intelligent and competitive, students of the game. Hire a coordinator who excels at developing passers and choose a starter who can carry on the tradition of Dixon, Thomas, Mariota and Herbert.
Renting a retread from somewhere else just doesn't sound like The Oregon Way.
Mark Helfrich resorted to it twice, striking gold with Vernon Adams in 2015, slumping to 4-8 after pulling Dakota Prukop out of the Big Sky.
For the current Ducks, scholarships are tight after signing 22 on NSD with one or two waiting until January to announce. They won't have room for any transfers unless they experience additional attrition, either early entries to the NFL draft, transfers out, or medical retirements.
Movement on the transfer front isn't likely until February, but the team's most urgent remaining needs appear to be additional depth on the offensive line and a big tight end.
Transfers Dallas Warmack and Juwan Johnson made significant contributions to Oregon's league title run this year, while D.J. Johnson showed promise in a part-time role as an edge rusher. The 6-5, 272-pound sophomore had 14 tackles, a pair of sacks and five tackles for loss while appearing in 11 games.
From the JUCO ranks, 2019 signee Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu and 2020 addition T.J. Bass could be Oregon's starting guards in the fall with Warmack and Shane Lemieux graduating. Bass is a 4-star from Butte College, versatile and athletic enough to be in the mix to replace center Jake Hanson instead.
It will be a competition with redshirt sophomores Steven Jones, Alex Forsyth and Dawson Jaramillo to see who wins those jobs. Some depth from the transfer portal could strengthen the rebuild, provided there's room.
