No Separation in Oregon Quarterback Battle Following First Scrimmage of Fall Camp
Saturday was an important day for Oregon football, as the Ducks completed their first scrimmage of fall camp inside Autzen Stadium.
There were some explosive plays and head coach Dan Lanning gave a tip of the cap to the offense early, but noted the defense came on strong in the end with some big stops in the two-minute period.
One of the main focuses of camp has been the quarterbacks. Moving on from Anthony Brown a season ago, there are three talented arms pushing each other and duking it out each day. So far, the battle still seems like a close, with each contender emerging from the scrimmage on equal footing.
"I think everybody's had shining moments and I don't feel like there's one that's just separated themselves out from the other," Lanning told reporters Saturday. "I think there's certainly room for improvement for each one of those guys. They've all had really good moments and they've all had really poor moments. I feel really confident we have quarterbacks we can win with, which is a big positive."
READ MORE: Dan Lanning reacts to Oregon's first scrimmage of fall camp
Each of Oregon's quarterbacks, Bo Nix, Ty Thompson and Jay Butterfield had similar performances in the scrimmage.
"All of our quarterbacks, you actually pull their stats afterward and you're like 'wow' they kind of had very similar days," Lanning said. "I think all of them had success, all of them scored touchdowns."
Ball security and decision making remain a central focus for the group after each passer threw an interception in the spring game. Now three weeks away from the opener that's still an area the offense hopes to tighten up after some turnovers Saturday.
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"Two threw picks, we talk about taking care of the ball, but in general very similar performances across the board by those guys," Lanning said.
Only a handful of Pac-12 teams enter the season with a returning starter running the offense and Oregon's quarterback battle was expected to endure throughout fall camp. As such, Lanning isn't concerned that a clear top option hasn't been revealed.
"I like to know that you have multiple quarterbacks you feel really good about and that's where I'm at right now is I feel really good about that."
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