Oregon Football: What QB Jeff Lockie Must Prove in Ducks Spring Game

Oregon quarterback Jeff Lockie has stood in the shadows long enough. This Saturday, he plans to fully emerge from them and stay visible. 

The redshirt junior backed up Marcus Mariota—a surefire first-round pick in the NFL draft on Thursday—for the past two seasons. With Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams Jr. set to join the team for the 2015 season, the belief is that Lockie will once again be a backup. 

Not if he can help it. With Adams yet to arrive on campus, the Ducks' final scrimmage before the summer months is going to be the Lockie show first and foremost.

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"Jeff has the upper hand [in the quarterback competition] as the guy that is the most experienced," head coach Mark Helfrich said on Thursday's Pac-12 teleconference. "He's confident in how he goes about his business. I think the guys around him on offense and defense believe in him.

"And then it's everyone else."  

Lockie's job on Saturday is simple when you look at it on paper. "Score points and take care of the football," Helfrich said. But is it easier said than done?

For as good as Mariota was during his Heisman run in 2014, even he wasn't perfect in the latter category. The easy stat to pay attention to was Mariota's four interceptions. That was the lowest of any quarterback in the country with at least 400 attempts. However, Mariota also fumbled the ball seven times, losing three. 

Helfrich is more than aware that whoever starts—whether it's Lockie, Adams or someone else—is going to be unfairly held to Mariota's standard. But if there's one area in which Lockie can be better than his successor, it's in ball security.

Lockie will have the chance to prove he can do both of those things on Saturday. He'll be paired with Morgan Mahalak on Team Pathway for the spring game, while quarterbacks Taylor Alie, Ty Griffin and Travis Jonsen will be on Team Oregon. 

Now that we know what Helfrich is looking for, it's safe to assume Lockie has already been moving the chains and holding on to the football during practices. And unlike Adams, Lockie has a three-year head start on the playbook. That counts for something. 

To be clear, the quarterback competition will continue into preseason camp. Helfrich didn't give a specific timetable for announcing a starter, but he said the ideal time is about a week-and-a-half before the first game of the season—which, for those keeping track, will be against Adams' old team. 

"You have to install the offense for your team. That can be fair or unfair to a certain quarterback on any given day," Helfrich said. "You have to install the things that they all do well." 

Lockie is more of the well-rounded type. When asked to name the one thing his most veteran quarterback does well, Helfrich instead gave a variety of responses. "He's a smart guy, he does a great job of motivating others," he said. "He has a quick release, he knows the offense." 

Ideally, Lockie will show he is the front-runner to win the job exiting spring. Once Adams joins the team, the competition will likely come down to those two. Adams is the public favorite, but there's something to be said for a locker room veteran who makes good decisions and knows his way around the playbook effortlessly. 

Helfrich reiterated: "Who produces? Who takes care of the ball?"  

If Lockie does both of those things in the spring game, he could make the Ducks' quarterback competition tighter than expected. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.