Behold! Football season is nigh!
Believe it or not, mere weeks separate us between now and the start of fall camp for the Oregon Ducks. As preseason camp fast approaches, we at WFOD will be rolling out a series of previews to help fully prepare you for the upcoming season.
Saturday marks the launch of our Fall Camp Questions series, which aims to address the most pressing questions surrounding each position group in the build up to the 2018 campaign.
Today’s question…
Who backs up Justin Herbert?
The Willie Taggart drama not withstanding, the tenor of 2017 for Oregon was established just before the month of September came to a close. With the Ducks leading 17-0 following Justin Herbert’s touchdown plunge in the first quarter of their Pac-12 home opener vs. Cal, hopes for a spectacular debut season for Taggart were abruptly upended. During the play, Herbert fractured his collarbone after taking a hit from a Cal defender as he crossed the goal line; an injury that ultimately sidelined the star quarterback for the next five games, effectively dashing any hopes the Ducks had for a resounding bounce back season following 2016’s 4-8 finish.
Though Herbert would return in mid-November to lead the Ducks to wins in two of their final three games, the damage had already been done in the weeks prior, as Oregon dropped four of the five games in which Herbert was forced to be a spectator. If anything proved just how integral Herbert was to Oregon’s success, it was that five-game stretch. With Herbert in the starting lineup, the Ducks possessed one of the nation’s most potent offenses, scoring just over 49 points per game and averaging 516.5 yards of total offense. Without him, the Oregon offense went into a complete tailspin, scoring 15 points per contest and averaging 320 yards of total offense by comparison.
Herbert’s replacement at quarterback during that five-game span was true freshman Braxton Burmeister; a player originally expected to redshirt before being thrust into the lineup after former walk-on Taylor Alie went down with an injury of his own in the Cal game. Burmeister’s time at the helm of the Oregon offense was truly trial by fire, as the San Diego area native completed only 56 percent of his passes while tossing two touchdowns against six interceptions. Though the scheduling gods did him no favors pitting him against the class of the Ducks’ schedule during Herbert’s five-game absence, Burmeister showed little improvement over the course of the season, as opposing defenses routinely stacked the box against Royce Freeman, daring Burmeister to beat them with his arm.
Now a sophomore with a full offseason under his belt, the expectation is that Burmeister’s game has taken significant strides after he was thrown to the wolves last season. While he didn’t make any glaring mistakes in the spring game this past April, he didn’t exactly demonstrate the kind of marked improvement that was perhaps expected of him beyond his natural ability as a scrambler. In fact, many would say he was largely outperformed by true freshman Tyler Shough, a former four-star recruit from the Phoenix area who arrived on campus prior to spring drills.
Though he reportedly experienced expected growing pains of his own during the course of spring practices, Shough’s towering potential was on full display during the spring game, as he showcased a strong, accurate arm en route to completing 5-of-8 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
WFOD’s Prediction:
Similar to last year, a lengthy injury to Herbert could once again spell doom for the Ducks, though they should be slightly better positioned in the event disaster strikes twice. Burmeister is a year older and presumably better equipped to handle the starting job should he be pressed into duty, but given what Shough has already displayed on the field, in addition to the buzz he’s generated this offseason amongst his coaches and teammates, it feels like only a matter of time before he assumes the backup role. The first three games of the regular season will be particularly interesting, as Oregon’s opponents in Bowling Green, Portland State, and San Jose State should provide ample opportunity for Burmeister and Shough to acquit themselves in mop up duty. In the end though, expect Shough to get the nod as QB2 for the Ducks.