A dream realized: QB Ty Thompson breaks down his first action as an Oregon Duck
The hype surrounding true freshman quarterback Ty Thompson was looming large before he even took an official snap for the Oregon Ducks.
As a 4-star recruit from Mesquite High School in Arizona, Thompson came to Eugene as the highest-rated QB to ever sign with the Ducks, and his place as the future phenom behind the center had already been cemented by many fans of the program. Some were even disappointed that it wasn’t Thompson to be named the starting QB at the beginning of the year, even though it’s become incredibly clear that Anthony Brown is the right man to lead this Oregon team.
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Regardless of your preconceived notions when it comes to No. 17, seeing him take the field on Saturday night was a boost of energy for the Ducks. Leading by only 10 points against an FCS team, with Brown knocked out of the second half with minor injury concerns, it was time for the freshman to show a bit of what he will bring in the future at Oregon.
He surely didn’t disappoint, and it lived up to his expectations along the way.
“Getting called upon coming out a half, it’s just some excitement I’ve never experienced before,” Thompson said on Tuesday. “Obviously, to play high school ball was real fun, but getting out in your first snaps on a college football field was a lot of fun. We were pretty successful, obviously moved the ball down the field a few times. And, you know, the team really took me under their wing, helped me so it was a lot of fun and a really good experience for sure.”
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A word that many coaches and players have used to describe Thompson so far is ‘poised.’ He showed that Saturday, going 6-for-9 passing with 82 yards and two touchdowns. He led four scoring drives in the second half, and helped the Ducks pull away from Stony Brook and pick up a blowout victory.
“He’s really poised,” said senior wide receiver Johnny Johnson III. “You know he’s having fun out there, he didn’t get big-eyed or real scared in the moment. He kind of just got comfortable, and you know, he had a job to do and he helped us win the game.”
Two highlights from his play were his pair of touchdown passes, both of which went to true freshmen in TE Terrance Ferguson and WR Dont’e Thornton. It acted as the first career touchdown for the trio of underclassmen.
“Hitting the field for the first time with all my guys and throwing my first touchdown pass to one of my best friend’s Terrence Ferguson; I couldn’t have dreamed of a better situation,” Thompson said.
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If things go right in Eugene, this should be one of the few times we see Thompson on the field for the rest of the year. As long as Brown can stay healthy — the starting QB is expected to play this week vs. Arizona — then the only need for the true freshman to return to play is in blowouts, like on Saturday.
At long last, though, we finally got to see what Thompson can do. We can walk away from his first action on the field and feel confident that he will be solid both in relief and in the future. Fans shouldn’t hope to see much more of him this season, but they can at least sleep well at night knowing that the outlook at QB in Oregon is in good hands with some incredibly high upside.
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