No. 13 Oregon has a crucial game against No. 18 Utah on Saturday, and the Ducks don’t yet know who will start at quarterback Saturday evening.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Ducks offensive coordinator Scott Frost said the finger injury that sidelined Vernon Adams last week can not get any worse than it already is, but that does not mean he’ll automatically be named the starter.
Scott Frost wouldn't name a starter yet for this week, but said Adams finger is past the stage of possible further injury.
— Tyson Alger (@tysonalger) September 21, 2015
The Eugene Register-Guard, though, reported Monday “the Ducks plan to fly” with Adams.
As for the man himself? “I hope so. My finger is really good,” Adams told reporters after practice, adding he could have played in Oregon’s 61-28 blowout of Georgia State. Jeff Lockie completed 23-of-31 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns in Adams’s place.
Adams connected on 22-of-39 throws for 309 yards with a touchdown (plus one rushing score) and two interceptions in Oregon’s 31-28 loss to Michigan State on Sept. 12.
“I would have loved to see him have his chance on a big stage like that and be 100 percent. He wasn’t,” Frost said of Adams’s performance at Michigan State. “That being said, you’re never going to play a game 100 percent, so that happens across football and it’s no excuse.
“That was kind of his coming-out party for the world watching him, and for him to have the courage and competitiveness to go out there and play knowing he wasn’t at his best says a lot about him.”