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There has been a significant amount of attention paid to the Oregon Ducks this offseason as they look for the successor to Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota at quarterback. Former FCS star Vernon Adams made headlines when he announced he would be heading to Eugene as a graduate transfer to add his significant talents to the quarterback derby this fall. One issue that Adams ran into, however, was that he still needed to graduate from Eastern Washington. With his final class FINALLY out of the way and his degree secured, Adams can officially join the Ducks in fall camp and challenge Jeff Lockie for the starting job in 2015.
Adams was supposed to join the Ducks for summer workouts in June after signing financial aid documents back in February but had to stay at EWU through the summer to complete one last math class to complete his undergraduate degree. He took his last final on Thursday and made the move to Eugene official, ending a summer-long escapade of speculation about where Adams would end up. If he had not passed this final, the Eastern football program had made it clear he couldn’t come back and play there so the rumor was that he would end up in the CFL playing for the BC Lions.
But all of that is moot now as Adams makes his way to Eugene to join his new teammates. While he’s cleared that last hurdle to get to Oregon, though, he still has a ton of work to do if he hopes to win the starting quarterback job. Adams did himself zero favors by getting in late as the Ducks have already been in fall camp for an entire week with former Mariota backup Jeff Lockie leading the No. 1 offense. Lockie has put his best foot forward for the starter’s job in 2015 with a very strong spring performance that has helped him to build a strong rapport with the rest of the team.
The Oregon offense is loaded with talent and Lockie brings a “point guard” mentality to the position where he distributes the ball to the playmakers around him and puts them in positions to make big plays. He isn’t flashy in his own right, but he’s intelligent and has a strong grasp of the offense to avoid costly mistakes and keep the Ducks on the move when they have the ball.
That will be the biggest challenge that Adams will have to overcome if he wants to spend his last year of eligibility in control of Oregon’s high-octane offense. Lockie is entrenched now with his superior knowledge of the playbook and the trust of his teammates and coaches. Adams is a special player, as he showcased with the Eagles during his FCS career, and has the ability to take an offense to new heights with his combination of arm strength, athleticism, and toughness. Over the course of his three-year FCS career, he threw for 10,438 yards and 110 touchdowns while showcasing his talents against two Pac-12 opponents, averaging over 500 yards of total offense and throwing a combined 11 touchdowns to zero interceptions in a win over the Oregon State Beavers in 2013 and a near-upset of the Washington Huskies in 2014.
If Adams can pick up the Oregon offense (a tall feat in such a short amount of time), he has the kind of ability that can push the Ducks back into the College Football Playoff conversation. Jeff Lockie is a solid quarterback, but he doesn’t have that playmaking spark to take over a game, as evidenced by the coaching staff recruiting Adams in the first place. He will undoubtedly keep Oregon competitive in the Pac-12 title race and the hunt for a return to the College Football Playoff, but does he have the ability to take the offense to that next level when called on? It doesn’t seem like it.
So with degree in hand, the quarterback competition at Oregon can officially begin. Will the playmaking ability of Vernon Adams be enough to make up ground on the established leadership of Jeff Lockie?
You can follow Tyler Brett on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.
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