Oregon Ducks Announce 2-Deep Depth Chart; Starting QB Is...

Thank goodness. The Oregon Ducks have finally announced that Marcus Mariota, the Flyin' Hawaiian, will be the starting quarterback in the 2012 season. And, on a day that has become almost more important than Christmas in the state of Oregon, Nike has shown us the new Duck uniforms.

Now perhaps we can get on to the business of actually playing some football.

But first, U of O sports information director Andy McNamara released the 2-deep depth chart for the Ducks today. The QB position is the most glamorous, but there are 21 other key roles on Oregon's football team, some of which feature very intriguing position battles.

Check out the depth chart and let's discuss.

Offense

WR 16 Daryle Hawkins—11 Bralon Addison

LT 64 Tyler Johnstone—74 Kyle Long

LG 60 Ryan Clanton—63 Mana Greig

C 55 Hroniss Grasu—78 Karrington Armstrong

RG 61 Nick Cody—54 Hamani Stevens

RT 75 Jake Fisher—71 Everett Benyard III

TE 85 Pharaoh Brown or 45 T.J. Daniel or 80 Koa Ka'ai or 15 Colt Lyerla

WR 1 Josh Huff—19 Eric Dungy

WR 7 Keanon Lowe—23 B.J. Kelley

QB 8 Marcus Mariota—2 Bryan Bennett

RB 24 Kenjon Barner—6 De'Anthony Thomas

Defense

DE 66 Taylor Hart—9 Arik Armstead or 44 DeForest Buckner

DT 65 Isaac Remington—97 Jared Ebert

DT 92 Wade Keliikipi—90 Ricky Heimuli

DE 96 Dion Jordan—91 Tony Washington

MLB 47 Kiko Alonso—34 Rahim Cassell

WLB 46 Michael Clay—22 Derrick Malone

SLB 25 Boseko Lokombo—33 Tyson Coleman

CB 27 Terrance Mitchell—3 Dior Mathis

CB 14 Ifo Ekpre-Olomu—2 Troy Hill

FS 20 John Boyett (John Boyett for Heisman)—31 Avery Patterson

SS 12 Brian Jackson—4 Erick Dargan

Specialists

PK 93 Rob Beard—41 Alejandro Maldonado

KO 41 Alejandro Maldonado—93 Rob Beard

P 49 Jackson Rice—41 Alejandro Maldonado

KR 6 De'Anthony Thomas—1 Josh Huff

PR 6 De'Anthony Thomas—14 Ifo Ekpre-Olomu

LS 39 Drew Howell (punts)—59 Jeff Palmer (PAT/FG)

HLD 49 Jackson Rice—2 Bryan Bennett

The positions that surprise me are LT with Kyle Long not getting the starting nod. No one doubts his talent, but he is still a bit raw. He will be starting before the season is over.

The tight end position is listed exactly as the U of O listed it. Clearly, there are still questions about Colt Lyerla, and the true freshman Pharaoh Brown continues to impress.

It's great to see Rob Beard as the place kicker! Maybe now we can quit having the nightmare about Maldonado missing the field goal in the USC game. It's also wonderful to see Brian Jackson get the nod to replace Eddie Pleasant.

So, what do you think? Are the Ducks ready?