Can Thompson Re-Write His Story This Spring?

[FishDuck Article]

There will be plenty of intriguing storylines to follow when Oregon kicks off its spring game this Saturday. Will Stein will be debuting his offense, newcomers will be donning the green and yellow for the first time, and as always, the depth chart is up for grabs, with a number of players battling for starting jobs. But perhaps the most ...

 

Can Thompson Re-Write His Story This Spring?

FISHDUCK.COM

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There will be plenty of intriguing storylines to follow when Oregon kicks off its spring game this Saturday. Will Stein will be debuting his offense…

[Pennsylvania Duck]

Enjoyed reading your article, Joshua. It's another year and another season of Ty Thompson pondering. In my opinion, his is not a case of lack of talent or even game scheme to fit. The reports indicate he does well in practice, at camps, and was a great high school QB. However, when you put him under the lights and in the pressure of an actual college game, he doesn't seem to have what it takes. It seems like he has never been mentally able to adjust to the speed and talents of defenses seen in college.

 

To be honest, I don't know that the Spring Game can give you the true answer to TT for this season. It is a team scrimmage. How would he do when an opponent actually schemes against him? With the tough schedule the Ducks have this year and the high expectations for the team, I am not sure I am at the point of trusting TT to take over if Nix gets hurt. There is just too much at stake in an improved Pac-12.

 

I know many have commented how admirable it is of him to stick it out with the Ducks all these years, but is he really the Ducks best option for this season? Our QB situation after Nix is a worry and perhaps someone better might be available from the portal after these spring games.

[Annie]

I'd love to see Ty realize his potential in games, but as PD mentioned, he seems to get stage fright or something when playing when it counts. Maybe by fall he will have matured enough to be able to step on that stage and perform brilliantly. We can only wait and hope.

[Duckhart]

I think TT given consistent minutes in some games, blow outs or certain plays, will help his confidence and improvement. Play to his strengths.

Once the light goes on for him he may start to shine.

[Drake]

I would love to see Ty thrive at QB for Oregon. At this level, you want a QB that thrives in the moment. Ty has not demonstrated that he can play at this level. However, not every QB thrives when thrust onto the stage. 
 

Herbert is always a good example. His first start as a true freshman was a lopsided loss at home against the Puppies. His first pass was an interception, and the score got lopsided very quickly. However, after that first pass interception, you could tell that he had the talent needed to play at this level. 
 

With Bo Nix starting, it will require Ty to have positive results any time he takes the field. I hope he thrives in his moments. 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Drake

[Haywarduck]

This is Thompson's year to establish himself as the back-up, and I don't think there are far better options now. If he fails to develop this season, then I would agree there will be better options, but, this season, Thompson is the guy.

 

The question I have is will Stein be a better qb developer for Thompson. I could attribute some of Ty's issues with the play calling, and maybe he wasn't in sync with Dilly. I hope this is the case because we will need a back-up ready to go. The spring game will be our first step in seeing if this is the case.

 

I do agree this will the biggest developing story this spring, fall and during the season. We are, again, one bad break away from being without a leader on the field for our offense. We can't put our back-up in and not have confidence he can throw, and lead the team down the field. Right now this is a big question mark. 

 

I would love to see Thompson really shine, and Novosad look like he can do some things. Right now I don't want either guy having to lead the team.

[WiseKwacker]

Man, would I love to see this kid play up to his potential. Watching him on the sidelines after yet another mediocre (or bad) on-field performance, he has that "deer in the headlights" look about him. Something about that tells me the problems are all in his head. 

 

To me, it almost feels like he needs someone on the field--or on the sideline--to make him angry. Sometimes, it seems, the most good-natured kids only tap into their potential when they are pi$$ed off at somebody or something. Pure speculation on my part.

 

The fact that he didn't transfer, though, gives me hope that he feels he can turn the corner here as well as he could anyplace else.  Hope so.

Edited April 24, 2023 by WiseKwacker

[Washington Waddler]

     Ty is a real head-scratcher. Not because lots of players don’t need time to gain confidence, but because it is so rare to see at his position.  As a group, QBs are the alphas - the leaders - on any team. Talent aside, they are drawn to the position because of that inherent characteristic. That’s what makes him so hard to understand.               
 

     He’s probably as puzzled by this lack as the rest of us. But, I have to admire his determination to solve this issue. Like his cheering section, he knows he needs to start saying I can, and stop saying I can’t.

     

     

[Charles Fischer]

I apply the FishDuck Axiom to this; "Greatness and Weakness Emerge Early, and Weakness can Never be Turned Into Greatness."  The best you can do when someone shows weakness early-on as a player, coach, employee, etc. is coach them up as best you can.  Then--the best this person will become is between below-average to average.  So the question then becomes, "is my time best spent elsewhere?"

 

You can't send Dodo birds to Eagle School; it does not work.  If you want Eagles...you go out and find (recruit) Eagles, and then see what they have.  Thus my reaction is to spend the quality time with the other QBs, as I believe Ty has had his chance to show his stuff.

 

There is one marginal exception to my rule: at Oregon Baseball--I've seen some pitchers who bordered on awful in the beginning, but the tools were there.  They then were coached well, and over time turned into a good pitchers for Our Beloved Ducks.

 

I think Ty has the tools, but....he does not have the "it" factor.  You can sense a presence when Bo is on the field; when Ty is out there--it is blah, a dud.  I would rather have put the time into Jay Butterfield.

 

[Jon Joseph]

Thanks, JW. Hope the young man can step up his game. 

 

But as you so correctly note today waiting in line to play often does not pay off. You are literally at risk of being behind a guy coming out of the portal and getting paid NIL-wise. 

 

Saturday will be fun. Love the see the crowd we saw in Boulder without the snow.

[Duckhart]

Man, between Bo & the new OC you'd think Ty would benefit big time. I believe he will!

 

[Utki]

Are there examples of someone repeatedly performing poorly that then turns into an above-average contributor? 

[woundedknees]

Dennis Dixon didn't shine until he returned from his experiment with pro baseball, for his senior season...

The big elephant in that room, was we at least saw flashes of potential. 

[Drake]

On 4/24/2023 at 4:24 PM, Utki said:

Are there examples of someone repeatedly performing poorly that then turns into an above-average contributor? 

Perhaps Danny O’Neil.
 

Performing poorly might be a bad characterization of his play, not sure I want to throw him under the bus. Initially he certainly wasn’t instilling fear to any opposing defenses. His QB rating started out relatively low, and by his third season he was definitely above average. 
 

 

[OhioDuck]

To this point I would compare Ty's experience to that of a student driver training in a simulator. 

Until you give him the keys to the car, it's hard to tell how well he will drive. 

 

My hope is that will not need to happen this year, since that would mean Nix is out with an injury. 

 

But if called upon, game planned for his skills, getting starter reps in practice, and stepping onto the field as the QB, at least for a game or two, he just may surprise us all.

[DUCKED]

Ty’s playing time has been so limited that he’s never really had adequate time to “get comfortable.”

 

In fact, he looks like a dear in the headlights. But the only way to work through that is to put him out there. It might hurt Bo’s Heisman numbers, but it might increase the Ducks’ chance for success should Bo go down.
 

When the Ducks, hopefully, are pounding Portland State in the fall, why not put him

in for a few series? Or in any other game when the outcome is not in doubt. 
 

I am not at TT fan. I’m simply saying throw him to the wolves, and give him a chance. We need a larger sample.

[Mudslide]

I'm a nickel psychologist and will give you four cents change.  But I've watched TT carefully when he is in a game.  He truly does have the look of someone not wanting to make a mistake.  I have yet to see him do a pre-snap read.  There is no scanning the defense.  He simply stares at the center's butt and readies perhaps one and only one movement and/or option on a play.  That spells fear of failure to me.  (Or it could be orders from HQ.  Hmmm....)

 

But that said, I hope for greatness from him, still.  (I disagree with Charles' thought that strength, or greatness, cannot be built from weakness.)  He has the tools, for certain.  For me....TT, like the little train, just needs to believe he can!

[Pennsylvania Duck]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:26 PM, Washington Waddler said:

Not because lots of players don’t need time to gain confidence, but because it is so rare to see at his position.  As a group, QBs are the alphas - the leaders - on any team. Talent aside, they are drawn to the position because of that inherent characteristic.

 

On 4/24/2023 at 11:29 PM, OhioDuck said:

To this point I would compare Ty's experience to that of a student driver training in a simulator. 

Until you give him the keys to the car, it's hard to tell how well he will drive. 

Hi WA Waddler & OhioDuck. I like the analogies with TT's problem. All QBs that are any good are alphas and they need to be. Leadership/confidence isn't something that has to be taught to a QB at the college level. The mindset is already there from a young age. I remember when my son played youth football, you could tell even then that the QB had an "it" factor and the wannabe QBs quickly fell to the side.  Alphas just don't lose it going from high school to college.

 

Being in a driving simulator to me is like being at practice. You learn at practice and take it into the game. This "deer in the headlight" thing is hard for me to get passed to give TT the keys to the offense. It is a mental/head case and I feel those are hard cases to solve. One never knows when the "headlights" are going to show up and it appears that with TT, it shows up too often. He has been in the simulator/driver's training for 2 years already.

 

I think the Ducks are going to be a very good team this year with Nix at QB. If we want to stay relevant in the conference/Natty race, there are not enough opportunities/time to build up TT's leadership skills and solve his "headlight" issues during a game. It would be hard for me to sacrifice a season in order for TT to hone his skills or find out that he is not the answer during the season if Nix is hurt.

 

Perhaps TT would be a better fit at a school where there is less pressure on the football team and the competition is not so strong each week. The expectations for Oregon football under Lanning are especially high. Personally, I think TT is a fine young man but I just don't think he fits the profile we need.