College Football: 5 most heated position battles ahead of 2020 season

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GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 10: An Oregon Ducks flag is displayed at the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game against the Auburn Tigers at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 10, 2011, in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

4. Oregon: Quarterback

A bit further south, the Oregon Ducks are experiencing a bit of transition themselves. Justin Herbert is headed to the NFL and head coach Mario Cristobal has relinquished his influence over the offense hiring offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. Whoever starts for the Ducks next season will run an up-tempo, RPO-style offense.

Although they will play behind an almost completely revamped offensive line, they will throw to all of last season’s receivers except one.

The new starting quarterback will also have two-time 1,000-yard rusher CJ Verdell to hand the ball off to.

As it stands right now, Tyler Shough is the leader in the clubhouse. Mario Cristobal came out and said this will be an open competition. The redshirt freshman has to compete with Cale Millen, Jay Butterfield and Robby Ashford.

If that weren’t enough, Anthony Brown transferred in from Boston College. This makes sense if you consider where Cristobal was before going to Eugene. He was a coordinator for Nick Saban at Alabama. Part of Saban’s “process” is competition. All of the elite programs across the country are successful because players have to compete for their spots on the field.

It stands to reason then you would bring in as many quarterbacks as you can to find someone to replace Herbert.

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