Dan Lanning says Ty Thompson was 'great' in scrimmage
Oregon quarterback Ty Thompson looked great in the Ducks’ spring game, according to head coach Dan Lanning.
Thompson has to fight for the starting gig with veteran Bo Nix back in the fold. Nix opted to return for the 2023 season and Thompson, a former five-star, made a move during the spring portion of the offseason.
Lanning came away very impressed.
“Yeah, it’s great, you know, Ty did an awesome job,” Lanning said. “(He took a big shot today and) turned it into a big play touchdown opportunity. So it’s good to see him out there operate and execute at a high level.”
Lanning was asked in general about starters and backups moving forward. But the Oregon head coach didn’t make any final decisions this early in the offseason.
“Yeah, a lot of moving parts there,” Lanning said. “I don’t have clear indications necessarily right now for that. There’s gonna be more than 11 guys that can play for us on offense. There’s gonna be more than 11 guys that can play for us on defense. The goal is how many can we have? Right? As many as many as we can. That’s how many we want to be able to use.”
Thompson appeared in seven games last season but only threw 20 passes in his second season on campus. He tossed for 72 yards and two interceptions.
In 2021 as a freshman, Thompson was seven-of-15 for 87 yards, two touchdowns and one interceptions. He has yet to be unleashed as far as what he can do.
Nix had the best season of his career after he transferred from Auburn. With the extra year of eligibility, Nix opted to return to Oregon rather than go to the NFL Draft.
The veteran signal caller finished 2022 with 3,593 yards, 29 touchdowns, seven interceptions, a 71.9% completion percentage, 510 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
At this point, Thompson is likely still behind the veteran.
As a member of the Class of 2021, Thompson was a five-star recruit out of Gilbert (Ari.) Mesquite, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 6 quarterback in the class and the No. 31 overall prospect in the class.