Lockie finally gets a start at Oregon
By backing up Heisman winner Marcus Mariota, Oregon quarterback Jeff Lockie paid his dues.
Smart, skilled, popular among teammates, the 2012 Monte Vista-Danville graduate appeared ready and certainly willing to collect the keys to one of college football’s most highpowered offenses.
Then Vernon Adams, a threeyear starter and 2013 FCS National Performer of the Year for Eastern Washington, transferred to Oregon for his final season of eligibility.
After a close competition in the spring and summer, Adams was named the starter a week before the team’s opener. Lockie, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior, took his defeat with class.
“Everyone wants to be the guy,” he told reporters. “I think we all know in life some things don’t go your way, and I think the only response is have your head up and keep going because I think there’s a lot of bigger things going on here than myself.”
Adams played well in two games (41-for-64 for 555 yards, 200 yards rushing, five total touchdowns) but also threw three interceptions in a win and loss. He also injured a finger, thrusting Lockie into his first college start Saturday, a 61-28 home win over Georgia State.
Lockie completed 23 of 31 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Had the Ducks turned four field goals into touchdown drives, Lockie might have made an even stronger case to remain the starter in Saturday’s home game and Pac-12 opener against Utah.
“We had some miscues with myself and some calls,” Lockie said. “We’ll take what we can fix and keep going. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We didn’t score touchdowns (on some possessions), and that starts with me.”
Said Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich: “He ran the show pretty well.”
Lockie backers aren’t especially pleased with how Helfrich handled the quarterback situation. Adams was ruled off-limits to the media by the coaching staff until after the first game, leaving Lockie to shoulder the media load throughout.
None of it sat well with Monte Vista coach Craig Bergman, who watched Lockie pass for 5,815 career yards and 58 touchdowns and rush for 13 scores in high school.
“Of course, (Lockie) wasn’t happy about it,” said Bergman, a former University of Arizona quarterback and assistant coach at San Jose State. “Who would be in his spot? It wasn’t handled very well. But Jeff is a team guy and didn’t want to be a distraction. That’s the kind of kid he is. That’s why his teammates respect him so much and why he’s such a leader on that team.”
Briefly: Deer Valley-Antioch graduates and twins Nzuzi and Simba Webster are contributors at Eastern Washington. Nzuzi starts at cornerback and Simba is a backup receiver and returner. … McClymonds-Oakland graduate Marcus Peters has two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, as a starting cornerback for the Kansas City Chiefs, prompting former NFL head coach and current analyst Brian Billick to tweet: “If he can keep his head on straight, Marcus Peters is going to be an elite shutdown corner in this league. Skills beyond his years.”