Starter Decided: Oregon Duck Fans Get To Know Darron Thomas (plus video)

After months of battling it out through spring drills, the spring game, and summer camp, the starting quarterback has been named for Oregon and its Darron Thomas.

Thomas is a redshirt sophomore and has seen minimal game action. Its time for Ducks nation to get to know their new offensive leader.

The Who and Where

Darron Thomas is a 6'3", 212 lb redshirt sophomore. He is from Houston, Texas and attended Aldine High School.

High School

During his senior year in high school, Thomas threw for over 2500 yards and tacked on an additional 900 yards in rushing.

Was named a 4-star recruit by Rivals.com and listed as the sixth best player at his position.

The Recruiting Plan

Entering the 2008 season, the plan for Thomas was to redshirt him his first year on campus and get him up to speed on the offense.

At the start of the year, the Ducks had an immense amount of depth at quarterback but quickly saw that depth decline after they lost Nate Costa and Justin Roper in the first two weeks of the season. This would pave the way for an early viewing of Darron Thomas in a Ducks uniform

Home against Boise State

After losing both Nate Costa and Justin Roper, the Ducks entered the game against Boise State with Jeremiah Masoli as the starter.

Early in the game, Masoli was knocked out with a concussion on a late hit. As the game wore on, the Ducks found the hole getting deeper and deeper as Chris Harper was ineffective all game after coming in for Masoli.

As a last ditch effort, Coach Bellotti put in Darron Thomas and ended his redshirt season.

Thomas played better then anyone could have expected, going 13-25 for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns. Even though the Ducks lost, many were buzzing about Thomas's potential.

Troubles Away From Home

After seeing time against Boise State, the Ducks coaching staff gave Thomas some limited game time.

The next week, Oregon had a sizable lead against Washington State, so in came Thomas. Unlike last week, Thomas had little success going 0-3 passing but did carry the ball 6 times for 24 yards and a touchdown.

Knowing that a year of eligibility was being used, the Ducks continued to use Thomas but the next week he saw the field on the other side of a lopsided score.

Thomas stepped on the field with the USC game out of reach. He again saw minimal time and results, going 2-4 for 23 yards.

Finishing up 2008

With the USC game behind him, Thomas only saw the field for two more plays. His first duty after the USC game was to kneel the ball down once to end the Arizona State game.

His more memorable play was his second, when we took a reverse in the Civil War Game and threw a 35 yard pass which was complete.

Thomas ended the year 16-33, 268 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception. He also added a touchdown and 27 yards on 13 rushing attempts.

The Official Redshirt Season

While the plan may have been for Thomas to redshirt his first year, plans change but he was successful in redshirting his sophomore year.

Thomas was a part of the traveling team and did dress for all 13 games but at the end of the year found himself with three years of eligibility remaining, right on schedule.

Spring Game 2010

Entering his third year at Oregon, Thomas figured to be spending another season getting to know the offense and work on his throwing accuracy.

Due to some off the field issues, the quarterback competition at Oregon was blown wide open and Thomas found himself as one of the top two options.

Thomas had a solid Spring Game, going 15-23 for 196 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Thomas displayed his strong arm when he hit D.J. Davis on a 64-yard deep ball.

Summer Scrimmage: Final Exam

As the quarterback battle entered the final week, Coach Chip Kelly continued to state the race was dead even. In the final scrimmage and maybe the final audition, Thomas outplayed senior Nate Costa, going 14-23, 125 yards and  three touchdowns.

The scrimmage took place one day before Coach Kelly announced Thomas as the starter versus New Mexico.

Roll The Film

Here is a glimpse of what Duck fans can hope for this year, when Thomas steps under center.