Anthony Brown Talks Decision to Return, Progress in Oregon Offense

The Oregon quarterback is clicking with the rest of the offense but remains hungry.

The Ducks are approaching the end of spring football and have completed 12 practices. 

When Anthony Brown looks back at where the team is now after going through all the ups and downs from the pandemic, he's almost at a loss for words.

"It's been an experience. Something that's hard to explain," he said. 

Following his transfer from Boston College, Brown had to play behind Tyler Shough. With Shough now in Lubbock at Texas Tech, Brown is confident in his decision to return to Eugene for another year was the right one.

"Sticking it out here I feel like was my best option. I feel like there was a lot more to take from this opportunity. We're still here and we're still grinding." 

With his return to Oregon have come reps with the the one's. Something he believes has been instrumental in his development and grasp of the offense. 

"I feel like the reps compared to last year, in practice at least, has a huge role in where I'm at in understanding the offense, understanding the plays, the concepts, in accordance to the defense and the defensive looks that we get," Brown said.

"Mental reps and physical reps don't compare."

Brown may be getting all of the reps with the first unit, but he's excited about the future of the position for Oregon. 

"I see a lot of potential. They are all really really talented," the veteran said of the Ducks' young quarterbacks. "It's hard to really point out one. It's gonna be fun watching Oregon after I leave here."

After a hot and cold offensive performance in the Fiesta Bowl that saw Brown rotate with Tyler Shough, he said that he wasn't heavily considering other options to use the rest of his college eligibility.

"Considerations weren't too serious," he said. "Just had to talk with my family and talk with my coaches about what I wanted to do, what the situation was--and how we were going to continue moving forward."

Now in his second year at Oregon and hoping for a traditional offseason, the signal caller has specific areas for growth that he's highlighted heading into the season.

"Consistency--and I would say just controlling the mood and the speed of our offense. We only move as fast as I move," Brown said. 

The opportunity to play in the spring game isn't something he takes lightly, likening it to a childhood dream. He grew up with Oregon and the University of Florida as his dream schools, and Saturday presents an opportunity to make that a reality.

The offensive line is a unit that has acknowledged that it didn't play at the level it wanted to a season ago, and Brown is seeing the group take accountability in spring. 

"They're working their tails off. They don't make excuses," he said of his trench defenders. "Wherever coach says they are, there's always another place to go because we're trying to reach a standard."

The Ducks have a talented receiver core with names like Devon Williams and Mycah Pittman returning. The Oregon quarterback has been able to get in sync with them,  however he's not complacent with where they're at.

"Just the last couple months we've been working out a lot together. Just our chemistry has gotten better and better but there's still a lot of opportunity and room for us to improve and we plan on taking advantage of the time that we have together in these next few moths going into the season."

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