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Ducks “close” to deciding on starting quarterback

Jarrid Denneyby: Jarrid Denney08/22/21jarrid_denney
Ducks “close” to deciding on starting quarterback

Oregon coach Mario Cristobal said Saturday the Ducks are “close” to naming a starting quarterback. 

Following Oregon’s Saturday scrimmage, Cristobal spoke with reporters and said the team is nearing a decision on who will get the nod against Fresno State. But he did not elaborate on that answer. 

Anthony Brown entered camp as the de-facto starter, but Cristobal has said all along that Brown, Robby Ashford, Jay Butterfield and Ty Thompson would all have an opportunity to compete for the starting job. 

He was asked Saturday if the three freshmen have closed the gap on Brown, but he didn’t necessarily give a precise answer to that question. 

“They’re all better,” Cristobal said. “We feel if we played our quarterbacks, we’re winning. We’re going to win football games. Anthony continues to get better and allows himself to get pushed really hard. … (the freshman) are getting there, but Anthony is pushing ahead as well.”

In Oregon’s first scrimmage last week, Cristobal said Thompson played the best out of the four quarterbacks. 

He was asked Saturday if there is any separation between Ashford, Butterfield and Thompson at this point, and gave some interesting insight into the battle between the three freshmen. 

“I feel like they’re all different,” Cristobal said. “So they separate themselves in different ways. But none of them do some things poorly. It’s just that some excel at some things better than others. 

“At the end of the day, it’s about moving the chains and scoring points. We have enough in our offense where you could play differently with each one and not really come off the rails with the system.”

Friday night, Cristobal texted Ty Thompson out of the blue and said “if we run this protection, you tell me who’s got who, and what do you have?”

“He sends back a two page paragraph with details,” Cristobal said with a smile. “I thought I had him — maybe he had the playbook beside him and he was cheating.

“But those guys, they take a lot of pride in that.”

Cristobal said Brown had “a really good” scrimmage Saturday, then went on to compliment the three freshman quarterbacks, too. 

“It’s tight. It’s one of those details where somebody is going to be disappointed at the end,” Cristobal said. “That part, it’s not fun. But it is real. If you look at it for what it is, one of those quarterbacks should be enthused about their future. They’ve all got a shot to be the guy.”

The defense was overall better than the offense in Oregon’s first scrimmage. But the offense looked much improved in scrimmage No. 2, Crisotbal said. 

“Night and day difference,” Cristobal said. “It felt like that first scrimmage, the defense had their way for most of it. Early on in this one, the offense came out fast and strong. They finished drives.”

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