Spring Game Report 2021: No Further Questions
In which we settle literally every debate so thoroughly that there is almost no point in playing any games this Fall.
The 2021 Spring Game has come and gone. Thankfully, it answered literally all of our questions, and us fans don’t have anything left to debate about.
First off, the first real round SAVE MAC COURT shirts have officially been ordered. I’m set to get them all in about two weeks, and then I’ll follow up with everyone who ordered on shipping and such. Thanks to everyone who ordered for supporting The Cause.
And now, some football.
Saturday’s scrimmage in an empty Autzen Stadium ended in a score of 36-35, in favor of the Offense. So—in case anyone at home can’t crunch those numbers—we can rest assured knowing that our Offense is exactly one fake-Spring-Game-point better than our Defense.
Aside from that clear and informative measurement, here’s everything else the Ducks learned from playing with themselves:
Brad Yaffe, QB1?
I’ll start with why you’re all here.
Anthony Brown Jr. has been widely reported to be QB1 throughout spring ball, and it ain’t looking like that’s changing any time soon.
AB completed 20 for 29, 200+ yards, with 1 TD and no picks. He was clearly the most efficient and even-keeled of the four QBs.
You can say he missed some deep balls, and you’d be right.
You can say that sometimes developing a younger guy is more of a long term gain than starting a grad transfer, and you’d usually be pretty much right there, too.
But if you watched that Spring Game and you still don’t think that Anthony Brown Jr. gives Oregon their best chance at beating Ohio State, then you’re dead wrong.
There’s lots of talk about ceilings and floors, too.
“Brown has the highest floor, but Ty Thompson has the highest ceiling!”
That was the non-controversial thing to say about 72 hours ago—but hell, after Saturday, I think Robby Ashford might have the highest ceiling of any QB on the roster.
And Thompson looked like the worst of the four.
It’s become clear that some folks are overly eager to be the first person to christen Ty Thompson as the next greatest thing to happen to Eugene, but the tricky thing about that is that it’s impossible.
Literally nobody who says, “ooh, watch out for Ty Thompson,” is the first to say, “ooh, watch out for Ty Thompson,” because he’s a five star quarterback and people have been saying that about him his whole life.
Maybe the guy is going to be QB1 some day down the line. He’s the highest rated quarterback recruit in the history of the program, so if he never became the starter, then he’d be the definition of a bust.
But it’s also okay for even the smartest pseudo-scouts in the room to admit that he’s not the most ready of every QB on the roster right now. He has plenty of time to get there.
I’m the dumbest pseudo-scout in almost every room, but at least I know that Anthony Brown Jr. is QB1—and that Jay Butterfield is probably QB2.
Also, I say “four” quarterbacks because we all really know that it’s Brad Yaffe’s QB Room, and that the other four are just livin’ in it.
Cruising Down Franklin
As I’ve widely reported in my Football Practice Report Reports, Troy Franklin is the real deal.
I also had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t imaging that Franklin was playing out of his mind while wearing green and yellow.
Just to take an easy victory lap: So many UDub twitter heads were adamant throughout the recruiting cycle that Troy was a lock to become a Husky. But alas, they held a Spring scrimmage in Seattle on Saturday too, and I can confirm that big number 11 was playing much further South than Montlake.
And I’m damn glad that he was, because Troy and his fellow freshman pass catchers; Dont’e Thornton, Kris Hutson, Terrance Ferguson, and Moliki Matavao; played so well in their Autzen debuts that they almost overshadowed the quarterback storylines.
Back in my Report Reports, I made a statement about this receiving corps possibly being in the running for Top 3 All-Time at Oregon. And don’t get me wrong, the young guys played well, the veterans are stellar, and Jaylon Redd didn’t even play due to injury, but they were also going up against UO’s way back up secondary, so I think I’m going to reserve any further hyperbole until after we’ve seen something in the Fall.
Still, if they are anywhere in the orbit of Top 3 in program history, it’ll be because Troy Franklin is Day One ready.
Growing Up Flowe
It was also fantastic to see Justin Flowe out there—right next to Noah Sewell.
The whole front seven looked great—racking up nine sacks from nine different players. But the real treat of the day was getting to see those two young guys (plus Keith Brown, and plus Adrian Jackson, and plus everyone else) finally give us a sneak peek at the healthy, dream linebacking group of the future.
It looks like DeRuyter is going to mostly run with just two down lineman at any given time—just as KT promised us—and that means that depth, speed, strength and a whole lot of responsibility are going to be at a premium all along the second level.
Everyone is going to have to grow up fast, and I can’t wait to watch them do it.
So, now we all go get vaccinated, wear our damn masks for one more damn summer, and then hopefully we can breathe all over each other in Autzen this Fall.
Go Ducks.