Taylor Alie Reportedly Named Oregon Starting QB vs. Washington State

Saturday's game against Washington State will be Oregon's sixth contest of the season, and the Ducks will reportedly be led by their third different starting quarterback in the form of Taylor Alie.

According to Justin Hopkins of 247Sports, the sophomore walk-on has been tabbed to start against the Cougars, although Jeff Lockie is expected to see some playing time throughout the contest as well.

The Ducks are in unfamiliar territory, as they have struggled to a 3-2 start. Life after Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota has proved difficult, with neither Vernon Adams Jr. nor Lockie taking a firm hold on the starting job.

That means Alie, who has seen action in four games this season, will get his opportunity to shine in a Pac-12 clash at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

Alie is unheralded and fairly inexperienced at the collegiate level, but Ducks offensive coordinator Scott Frost has plenty of confidence in him, per Brianna Amaranthus of CSNNW.com.

"I don't know (which quarterback) is our one, two and three guy right now," Frost said. "Taylor's gotten hundreds of reps since fall camp has started, so it isn't like he is sitting on a knee watching practice."

Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich is a big fan of Alie as well. While he is often overlooked due to his status as a walk-on, Helfrich believes Alie is comparable to Mariota in some ways, according to Daniel Uthman of USA Today:

"

I couldn't believe he came here. I really couldn't. I couldn't believe he didn't get a scholarship somewhere else. And it was one of those deals where we're sitting around watching his film and you start to put in your mind, That guy's going to end up at wherever. And then for whatever reason, doesn't end up getting a scholarship.

Marcus Mariota had one scholarship offer when we offered him a scholarship. So that's one scholarship away from being a walk-on in some ways.

Taylor was a guy who ran around really well, he's tough, he's smart, he's got great intangibles, and we have very high expectations of him.

"

Great quarterback play has been taken for granted at Oregon in recent years, but Ducks fans are likely starting to realize just how lucky they were. Adams and Lockie have combined for just seven touchdowns and five interceptions, while Alie has 96 passing yards, one passing touchdown, no interceptions and 134 rushing yards for two scores.

The Oregon offense seems to operate at its best with a dual-threat signal-caller under center, and Alie has been the Ducks' most dangerous quarterback from a running perspective in 2015.

If he continues to bring that to the table against Washington State, then he has a legitimate chance to establish himself as the starter moving forward.

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