Jay, here.

A couple of weeks ago, a thread (”DuckD’s In-Depth Pre-Spring Depth Chart”) from one of the eDuck message boards came across my desk here at Duck Sports News and caught my attention.

So, I decided to shoot an email to DuckD to see I could share his analysis with other Duck fans through Duck Sports News. Upon completing his preview, he was more than happy to email his entire entry (Thank you, DuckD).

Instead of publishing the entire entry here, I’ve decided to break it up into more bite-size parts over the course of several days. Here’s a look at the schedule:

Offense
Friday, March 21st: Quarterback
Saturday, March 22nd: Running Back
Sunday, March 23rd: Wide Receiver
Monday, March 24th: Tight End, Half Back
Tuesday, March 25th: Offensive Line

Defense
Wednesday, March 26th: Defensive End
Thursday, March 27th: Defensive Tackle
Friday, March 28th: Linebacker
Saturday, March 29th: Cornerback
Sunday, March 30th: Safety

Here’s DuckD’s preview of the Quarterback position:

DuckD’s Spring Preview: QUARTERBACK

Photography courtesy of Oregon Duckcast Network and Cameron Resnick.

Probable Starter: Nate Costa so.
Depth: Justin Roper so., Cade Cooper jr., Cody Kempt so.
Incoming: Darron Thomas fr., Chris Harper fr.

Analysis: As long as Costa is fully recovered, physically and mentally, from his knee surgery we should be in great shape at QB. He has a terrific grasp of the system and has shown real leadership potential since he’s arrived here, and particularly with the way he has taken Darron Thomas under his wing this winter.

Roper showed in the CW and Sun Bowl that he is definitely capable of running the show. He would make a decent starter and will prove a very good #2. The offense may not be as explosive as it could be with Roper at the helm, but it could still be very good.

Kempt really needs to show marked improvement, in my opinion, to even remain in the discussion for QB. If he doesn’t make some big jumps in the spring, I think he either gets moved, switches to baseball, or looks at transferring.

Cooper is one of the guys we’ll all be watching this spring, and I think he’s kind of been lost in the shuffle with the additions of Thomas and Harper. He was strongly in the running to start for BYU before he got hurt, and it will be interesting to see if he can make things interesting for Costa and Roper.
Thomas has a little head start on his fellow freshman because he’s been here for all of winter workouts and conditioning. He’s got some limited time with Chip Kelly to work on his mechanics, and he’s gotten a good amount of time with the offensive players running Oregon’s plays. Not to mention a lot of 1-on-1 time with Nate Costa, learning the finer points of this offense. I don’t expect him to push for the starting job, but he very well could push to be the #3 guy and travel.

Harper seems to be the least “polished” as a passer right now, and unless he makes some quick improvement under Chip Kelly’s guidance this spring, I think he’s destined to redshirt. Assuming of course that his desire to see action this fall doesn’t lead him to switch positions. If he switches positions, I could see him playing a decent amount this fall. The only question would be: what position? I would guess, in this scenario, WR and RB would be the two most likely spots to see his talents quickly. Either way, I think these 2 freshmen will be watched very closely this spring to see how they develop.

Tomorrow: RUNNING BACK

Tags: Costa, DuckD, Ducks, Football, oregon, Roper, Spring Game, Spring Practice