Who is Vernon Adams? Maybe the next quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. Daily rumors are swirling as to potential candidates to become the next quarterback at Oregon. Monday, Head Coach Mark Helfrich said, “We’re going to exhaust every path to find the right guy, the right fit, but we certainly believe in who’s on campus and what’s to come.” One intriguing “path” — Eastern Washington’s junior quarterback, Vernon Adams.
Adams is scheduled to graduate this spring and still has one year of eligibility remaining, making a transfer to Oregon possible. Can this kid play? Husky fans know. Back in September, Adams lit up Husky Stadium for 473 yards passing and seven touchdown passes in the near upset of the heavily-favored Huskies.
Is Adams a legit possibility for the Ducks?
Following the UW game, likely first-round NFL Draft choice Shaq Thompson said of Adams, “The quarterback was better than I thought; he can throw on the run, scramble and he can run.”
In another Pac-12 showdown last season against Oregon State, Adams led the Eagles to an upset victory with 518 total yards (411 passing, 107 rushing) and six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing).
For the Eagles, Adams finished his junior season with nearly 3,500 yards passing and 35 touchdowns as compared with only eight interceptions, despite missing four games with a broken foot (an average of 350 yards and 3.5 touchdowns per game).
Upon graduating from Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California, Adams held only two scholarship offers, from Eastern Washington and the Portland State Vikings. Generously listed as 5’11” and 180 lbs, size definitely played into Adams’ lack of interest from FCS schools.
However, Ducks fans remember another vertically-challenged signal caller in Jeremiah Masoli, who took the Oregon program to the Rose Bowl in 2010. NFL.com‘s Charles Davis compared Adams to Johnny Manziel and others to Vikings great Fran Tarkenton.
Pac-12 analyst and NFL great Ronnie Lott said of Adams, “The guy is special. Sometimes you see special and recognize special . . . this kid is special.”
It remains to be seen if Oregon coaching staff has interest in Adams or visa versa but this story is definitely something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
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Living literally walking distance from Husky Stadium in the heart of Husky country, Adam is a passionate Duck fan originally from Salem, Oregon. Adam is a long-time season ticket holder and owner of no less than five Duck jerseys he proudly rotates and wears to work every Friday during the fall. Adams works as an Account Executive in the Cloud Software business and in his spare time, hangs out with his wife Rachael and daughter Addison. Go Ducks!