The book is closed on the 2019 season, and what a season it was for the Oregon Ducks, who capped off a true golden decade for the program by notching a fourth conference title and third Rose Bowl victory during that span.

It’s the end of undoubtedly the most turbulent chapter in the modern history of the program, as well. With the end of the 2019 season, the Ducks wave goodbye to a remarkable senior class that would unwittingly serve as the proverbial bridge between the woebegone end of Mark Helfrich’s tenure and the irresistibly hopeful start to the Mario Cristobal era – plus Willie Taggart in between.

Specifically, Oregon says farewell to one of its most decorated quarterbacks of all-time (Justin Herbert), one of its most accomplished defenders of all-time (Troy Dye), and four-fifths of an offensive line (Shane Lemieux, Jake Hanson, Dallas Warmack, Calvin Throckmorton, plus a special shout out to Brady Aiello) that helped set the blueprint for what the Ducks aim to be under Cristobal moving forward.

Though Dye’s void will be felt, particularly in terms of leadership and on-field presence, the Oregon defense should have enough between the returning talent and an incoming recruiting class headlined by two genuine five-star linebackers to offset that loss.

Offensively, it’s much murkier.

Most Duck fans would be quick to agree that swapping Marcus Arroyo (now head coach at UNLV) for Joe Moorhead (the former Penn State assistant and Mississippi State head coach) is an upgrade at offensive coordinator that moves Oregon closer to a return to the flash and dash days of Chip Kelly than what was seen on offense at the end of both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. However, it remains to be seen what Moorhead does with the offensive ingredients at his disposal.

And the offensive ingredients at quarterback, in particular, are the most unknown and unfamiliar.

For the first time since 2016, the Ducks will open the season with a player not named Justin Herbert taking snaps from center, leaving many to wonder whether Oregon should use its one known available scholarship on a grad transfer quarterback.

It would hardly be the first time the Ducks have dipped their toes into the transfer market to help fill a void at the position. In 2015, Vernon Adams served as a brilliant one-year stop-gap following the departure of Marcus Mariota. The next year, Adams was succeeded by Dakota Prukop, the former Montana State star who ultimately relinquished the starting job to Herbert after an uninspiring start to the 2016 campaign.

In a way, that two-year stretch was the perfect example of the imperfection that exists when it comes to relying on the transfer portal to fill a need. Which begs the question, does Oregon need a grad transfer to help fill a perceived need at quarterback?

When he’s gotten his chances, Tyler Shough has quite often looked the part of an effective successor to Herbert, though is a player who has attempted just 15 career passes entering his redshirt sophomore season. Beyond him, redshirt freshman Cale Millen has been with the team a full year, but a shoulder injury has stymied his development as he enters his second spring in Eugene. Though both are incoming true freshmen, Jay Butterfield and Robby Ashford have essentially the same amount of collegiate experience as Millen, and only Butterfield will be on campus this spring to provide competition to the aforementioned “veterans.”

But even with this obvious lack of experience at the game’s most important position, Oregon’s depth at quarterback in 2020 feels much different than it did back in 2015 or 2016.

Unlike those seasons, it doesn’t appear as if the Ducks will be relying on fringe FBS quarterback talent to help maintain the momentum of previous seasons. While Shough has only attempted 15 passes in two years on campus, those around the program talk glowingly about the Chandler (Ariz.) native’s potential, which has been on impressive display in back-to-back spring games and mop-up duty this past year (80% completion percentage, 144 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions).

Meanwhile, four-star recruit Jay Butterfield is regarded as one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects despite fighting for attention in a stacked 2020 quarterback class from his home state of California, which produced a pair of five-star recruits in Bryce Young and DJ Uiagalelei.

With highly-touted options like Jamie Newman (formerly of Wake Forest, now at Georgia) and D’Eriq King (formerly of Houston, now at Miami, Fla.) off the board for the Ducks, is it worth potentially disrupting the growth, development, and enrollment status of any one of Shough, Millen, Butterfield, or Ashford in order to land other rumored grad transfer candidates the likes of Anthony Brown (formerly of Boston College), K.J. Costello (Stanford), or Chase Brice (Clemson)?

From this perspective, it seems that the available scholarship could carry more value should it be used for a grad transfer or late recruiting cycle pick up along the offensive line or at tight end, two areas where Oregon has lost multiple senior starters and contributors and will be comparatively thin given the unproven depth at both groups heading into next season.

Of course, much of this decision is to hinge on Moorhead and the input he’s received from Cristobal, Moorhead’s own evaluation of Oregon’s rostered quarterbacks, and the pair’s collective vision for the Oregon offense.

But considering the available talent at quarterback compared to the quarterback talent already on campus (or set to arrive) in Eugene, it feels more prudent to address depth concerns elsewhere on the roster while allowing your young signal-callers to come into their own, free of further impeded opportunity.

Top Photo: Oregon QB Tyler Shough (Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)