Not too long before Oregon faced off with Michigan State in East Lansing last week a report came out saying quarterback Vernon Adams had an index finger injury. It turns out it is broken, although he may not miss any playing time because of it. That should be a nice relief for Ducks fans.
According to a report this morning from Aaron Fentress of Comcast SportsNet Northwest, the injury was suffered in Oregon’s season opener against Eastern Washington (Adams’ previous school) and it made gripping the football more difficult against the Spartans last week. For now it appears Adams will continue playing through the injury, even if it means losing a bit of touch on the football until the injury heals in the coming weeks.
Against Michigan State, Adams completed 22 of 39 pass attempts for 309 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted twice. While the injury likely affected his game, nobody at Oregon is using the injury as an excuse. Unless the pain becomes insufferable for Adams or the lack of ball control becomes a significant concern for Oregon’s offense against teams not as defensively strong as Michigan State, there may be no reason to take Adams out of the offense. However, offensive coordinator Scott Frost will have Jeff Lockie prepared to step in should it come to that.