Anthony Brown’s transfer saga finally came to an end on Wednesday, as the quarterback announced that he will be joining Oregon for his final year of eligibility.
Brown originally entered the transfer portal on Dec. 9 of last year. Early reports linked him to Miami, as the school was openly seeking a graduate transfer quarterback, but the Hurricanes eventually landed Houston transfer D’Eriq King.
Brown also signaled that he was considering a potential return to the Eagles, retweeting several tweets that detailed how players who enter the transfer portal are still able to return to their original teams.
As the Eagles’ day-one starter for the last three years, Brown notched 40 touchdown passes, 20 interceptions, and 4,738 passing yards during his tenure on the Heights. He improved significantly across his seasons, as his passer rating jumped from a 103.5 as a freshman to a 134.8 as a sophomore, and then to a 154.5 during the 2019 campaign.
Brown was plagued by his injuries throughout his career, however, and he never played a full slate of games in any of his three seasons as starter. A tear to his right ACL ended his rookie season—after he redshirted as a first-year—and he only threw three passes in the Eagles’ 2018 College Gameday matchup against then-No. 2 Clemson before exiting with an internal body injury.
His 2019 season was cut short by another ACL tear, this time in his left knee, against Louisville in Week Five. Sophomore signal caller Dennis Grosel started the final seven games of the season but completed just 48.4 percent of his passes on the year and has not been promised the starting job for next season.
Former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec transferred to the Eagles in January and has applied for a waiver to be eligible to play next season. The NCAA has yet to make a determination on his appeal. Jurkovec was a highly touted recruit out of high school, ranked by 247Sports as a high four-star recruit and the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback in his class.
Brown joins an Oregon quarterback room that is without a clear starter after the loss of four-year starter Justin Herbert. Herbert, who threw for over 10,000 yards and nearly 100 touchdowns during his time in Eugene, is widely expected to be a high pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
Sophomore Tyler Slough backed up Herbert last season and took first team reps throughout spring practice, but Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal has made it clear that Slough has not locked down the job. The Ducks held only four spring practices before athletics were shut down due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
As a graduate transfer, Brown is eligible to play immediately and will compete with Slough for the starting role. Redshirt freshman Cale Milen and recent four-star signees Jay Butterfield and Robby Ashford are also expected to compete in the quarterback battle.
Featured Image by Johnathan Ye / Heights Senior Staff
