Could go either way. There was that senior that competed with DT, and DT won out, and got the team to a Natty and a Rose Bowl win
It's fair to say that Kelly doesn't always award the job to the better QB. But either way, it'll be a good QB who captains the offense.
What were our other QB options at the time? Kempt and Roper were 3rd and 4th on the depth chart with nobody else behind them.
I put I kid I kid at the bottom in small text to signify I was joking. I remember all to well the reasons behind the playing time of those two
Costa was a better QB than Thomas. But as it was his senior season, Kelly went with a sophomore to groom to lead for a few years. That's not uncommon.
I don't agree with that assessment at all, and along with a big section of Duck fans never did. It's fine that you held a different opinion, but to state "fair to say" implies you had some example that was generally accepted, when in fact you are probably well in the minority. Thomas was at least as fast as Costa, had a bigger arm and was a bigger guy... those reasons probably all factored in to why he was a higher rated recruit. It was his 3rd year in the program so he had more then enough time in. He also didn't have an injury history making it more likely that he stayed healthy. Chip rode the better guy to two BCS games in a row. Even healthy I really doubt we get to the NCG had Costa been awarded the job STOMP
I am acquainted with about 4 people inside the program. I mean, they are part of the Duck program. Three of them are former football players. All of them stated emphatically Costa was better. Not a lot better, but there was no real question he was the better of the two. From everything I saw he was better as well. But most coaches who have two QB's fairly close in talent will choose a sophomore over a senior as the new starter as the sophomore will supposedly be there for 3 more years and get better and by the time he's a senior he'll be one heck of a QB. That's fairly sound and acceptable reasoning. I have no problem with it. Now, with respect to the current QB battle, each player can give 3 years so I think it'll be a true test of who is better. If they are completely equal, I would think it'd go to the sophomore in this case due to he has a tad more experience and will be less inclined to lose a game as such. That said, whoever the QB is will probably be on a somewhat short leash.
Costa wasn't better in camp, though. Not sure who you're talking to, but Costa never separated himself when he had the chance, making DT the obvious choice. It's really hard to argue with what DT accomplished at UO, anyhow. Saying Chip picked the lesser QB at one time is just not true, IMO.
if you ask Duck fans who was the better/more talented QB between DT & Nate, probably most will think you're crazy for even asking the question. To my eyes, at no point in his few appearances did Costa look as good as Thomas. Heck, DT's appearance as a true freshman with near zero prep vs Boise St. was better then Nate ever looked. When CK was deciding between the two, Costa was smaller, had a dink-n-dunk arm, and worst of all was established as injury prone. Chip doesn't rotate QBs so that last quality is pretty important. Especially looking at things in retrospect, clearly the coaching staff went with the superior option regardless of what a couple of people you know thought at the time. To claim that they didn't is hanging on to a viewpoint that has conclusively proven to be wrong. STOMP
Let's also not forget that Chip had let Masoli go that summer, and after the Rose Bowl appearance, Oregon was loaded for a run at a BCS title in 2010. To think that Chip Kelly was going to put in a lesser QB solely because he was younger, with a team that had some very good seniors at key positions, is laughable. Anybody who knows anything about Kelly knows that it's "Win The Day", not "Maybe Lose Today With a Younger QB So We Can Potentially Be Better Tomorrow".
Well, in retrospect the right decision was made. Costa was a senior and to only start one year with another talented soph QB is an easy call to make. In addition, now that we see the injuries Costa went through it was really the right call. However, injuries can rarely be predicted.
at the time that Kelly was deciding between DT and Nate, Costa had already had torn two ACLs. Don't you think that sort of history should be factored in to deciding who is best to lead the team? I'm sure other things like arm strength, ability to read defenses, etc. also factored in, but nothing but time in the program seemed to favor NC. That summer I predicted here that DT would emerge with the job... I discussed it with you in fact. In retrospect the difference between the two as talents seems pretty stark, which is why it's odd to read that someone still thinks Kelly choose the lessor guy. STOMP
