Oregon Ducks quarterback Vernon Adams officially completed his graduate transfer to the seventh-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 two weeks ago, and it appears that was all the time he needed to seize a starting gig.
According to GoDucks.com’s Rob Moseley, Adams has been listed as the starter on the team’s updated depth chart, which was released Friday.
Adams wasn’t able to join the team until he passed his final math class at Eastern Washington University, but he finally graduated Aug. 13, as his Instagram post indicated at the time:
Adams has been competing with junior Jeff Lockie for the starting job, and as Bleacher Report’s Ben Kercheval noted, it looked like Lockie had a good shot at nabbing the No. 1 spot prior to Friday’s announcement:
Playing for an FCS program at Eastern Washington, Adams turned heads by tossing 55 touchdowns during the 2013 campaign before throwing for 35 scores and rushing for six last season.
As Oregon assistant athletic director for communications Andy McNamara noted, the transition to Pac-12 play shouldn’t be a difficult one for Adams:
“Vernon is doing a great job,” Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost said Aug. 18, according to ESPN.com’s Chantel Jennings. “I can see why he has been a great player at the lower level. I can see why he has won a lot of games. Whoever was coaching him before did a great job with him.”
Considering Adams is entering his final season of collegiate eligibility, it isn’t a surprise Oregon is opting to trust his talent in the starting role right away.
Once Adams’ career in Eugene is done, the door could open for Lockie to grab control of the starting job after playing the role of understudy behind Adams and former Oregon QB Marcus Mariota.
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