In the speculation about Vernon Adams fans wondered how he would adjust to tougher competition week in and week out, but he’ll also have better blocking, a stronger running game, and faster receivers, while working with a coaching staff with a great track record for evaluating and developing quarterbacks (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images).
Vernon Adams announced today on Instagram that he’s going to join the Oregon Ducks, completing a 5th-year transfer after graduating from Eastern Washington this summer.
His announcement read, “Oregon it is! First off, I want to thank God for this amazing opportunity. I want to thank all of Eagle Nation for all the love and support. Want to thank every single one of my teammates for pushing me to be a better man/athlete everyday these past 4 years. Definitely want to thank Coach B, the coaching staff, and the everybody upstairs who has something to do with my success. Thank you Coach B for being the first school to ever offer me, you’ll always be a good friend of mine. I also want to thank all the other athletes and coaching staff’s here at EWU for all the love & support. I’m going to love & miss yall forever Cheney/Spokane but I have to do what I think is best for me and my family. All love. GOD BLESS #GoDucks #WTD”
Coach B is Beau Baldwin, head coach of the Eagles.
The decision was complicated for Adams. He led EWU into the FCS playoffs in each of the past two seasons, falling just short of the national championship game. He has an infant son back in Cheney.
After receiving little Division One attention out of high school after a strong career at Bishop Alemany High in Pasadena, Adams threw for for 110 touchdowns, 10,438 yards and 31 interceptions while completing 64.8 percent of his attempts in his three seasons as EWU’s starter and added 11 rushing touchdown. In two games against PAC-12 opponents Washington and Oregon State, he had 11 TDs and no interceptions, beating the Beavers 49-42 in the 2013 season opener in Corvallis.
Last season he led the nation in passing efficiency at 183.13.
That came against Big Sky competition, and now Adams will have a chance to prove himself in the top rung of college football against a schedule that includes his alma mater in game one, then Michigan State, then top-rated squads from Stanford, Arizona State and USC before the season is over.
He’s elusive and resourceful at quarterback but small, listed at 6-0, 190 but probably smaller and shorter standing next to his new linemen. He plays tall, often compared to savvy, nimble qbs like Russell Wilson or the much-thicker Johnny Manziel.
For the Ducks, Adams is a one-year bridge between Marcus Mariota and the future at quarterback, which will include incoming freshman Travis Waller, redshirt freshman Morgan Mahalak or 2016 verbal commit Seth Green. Jeff Lockie also has two years of eligibility, and he’ll battle the EWU star for the job, in absentia during spring practice.
Rob Moseley reported the Ducks held their first workout of the winter on National Signing Day, climaxed by an up/down competition, the team divided into two groups by weight, doing up/downs until exhaustion.
Lockie was the last man standing, so you know he’s conditioned, tough and determined. Yet he has never started a college game, and Adams has started 34 of them with an overall record of 32-5, the Eagle’s full-time starter in each of the last two years, twice runner-up for the Walter Payton Award.