Oregon Football: Ducks Prepare Without Quarterback Justin Herbert

Before Practice on Tuesday, Co-Offensive Coordinator Marcus Arroyo discussed playing without Justin Herbert and there was no sense of panic.

The Oregon Football motto of ‘Next Man Up’ may be one of the few things that remain in tact from the Chip Kelly Era, but players need to be ready when the opportunity presents itself and in the case of who will play Oregon Quarterback, opportunity comes this week against the Washington State Cougars.

Arroyo spoke Tuesday about having his guys prepared, “All it takes is one play and there it is…it’s come to fruition. So we move forward. I stand on guys a lot during the course of practice the last four weeks when they are not on the spotlight and made sure they were locked in.”

After watching Practice on Tuesday, it appeared to me that Freshman Braxton Burmeister was throwing a better pass in individual drills than Senior Taylor Alie. Burmeister was very sharp on his short and mid range passes. Alie threw the better long ball. Keep in mind we are only allowed to watch for 20 minutes, but in that period Burmeister looked more comfortable than he did in the final minutes of the game against Cal last weekend.

"Same game plan. We have to go out and execute. We have to win turnover battle, third downs…offense doesn’t change. Gameplan got revised just like any of us would do if any of our networks or businesses went out sick for two or three weeks…not just fold up shop and take off.Marcus Arroyo On Offensive Plan Without Justin Herbert"

The Depth Chart was released Tuesday for Washington State and right now the Starting Quarterback is Braxton Burmeister OR Taylor Alie. The game has a big time feel with a Top 10 Washington State team coming into Autzen, but the Coaches are hoping that the result isn’t similar to last year when another Washington team came into Autzen with a Freshman QB earning his first start.

We may also see both Quarterbacks against Washington State.

Next: Oregon vs Stanford Game Time Set

Oregon and Washington Stat kickoff at 5 pm Pacific Time Saturday on FOX.

Quotes obtained first hand at Oregon Football Practice.