SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Before the season started, Darron Thomas was the other quarterback for Oregon. So being the other quarterback in the national championship game doesn’t faze him.
Cam Newton can have the spotlight.
“Each game I come in, I’m the new guy on the field, so there’s a question mark every time I come out and play,” said Thomas, who redshirted last season while Jeremiah Masoli led the Ducks at quarterback. “I’m just going to do my thing, show people what I can do on the field and not really talk about it.
“Cam Newton is a good player. He deserves the fame, he put up the stats. I would like to be in his position someday.”
On Monday, Thomas will share the stage with the Heisman Trophy winner when second-ranked Oregon plays No. 1 Auburn in the BCS title game in Glendale, Ariz.
Thomas, a sophomore who went from projected backup to starter over the course of fall camp, has passed for 2,518 yards and 28 touchdowns, four shy of Akili Smith’s 1998 single-season Oregon record. He’s also run for 563 yards and five scores.
His value to the Ducks is not so much his numbers but the intangibles. Very little rattles him, and in the rare instances where the Ducks have trailed this season, Thomas has been the director that gets the team back on track.
“Don’t underestimate Darron, because he can do some great things,” said Nate Costa, Thomas’ backup until he was hurt in the ninth game of the season. “He’s shown that all year. His ability to make plays is almost unmatched. He’s kind of thrived in situations where people don’t know who he is, and he’s come out shining.”
Masoli was supposed to be Oregon’s guy this season and many even pointed to him as an early Heisman contender. But he got into trouble – first for his involvement in a theft at a campus fraternity house, and then when marijuana was found in his car – that resulted in his dismissal from the team.
All signs pointed to Costa, a fifth-year senior and an intern in the Springfield Police Department, as Masoli’s replacement. But as more of a pure passer, he did not quite fit the mold of recent Oregon QBs like Masoli and Dennis Dixon.
Thomas, a Houston native who graduated high school early and arrived in Eugene at age 17, had just limited exposure to the job as a freshman in 2008, when he was pressed into duty against Boise State because of injuries. With the Ducks down 24 points, he nearly orchestrated a comeback over the final 15 minutes, throwing for 210 yards and three TDs in the 37-32 loss.
That was the first glimpse of Thomas’ calm under pressure. This season, Thomas won the starter’s job after the team’s final fall scrimmage.
“Everything he has done here, it hasn’t surprised us or our coaching staff or our players,” coach Chip Kelly said. “We have had total confidence in Darron since he has been here.”
The Ducks spent most of the season in the enviable position of having an equally capable backup in Costa. That changed when Costa’s college career was ended prematurely by a knee injury. Oregon’s backup is now freshman Bryan Bennett, who has not played in a game.
Teammates say Thomas is a quiet introvert off the field. He has a fierce work ethic, exemplified by his senior year in high school when he worked nights at Target to save up money.
“I knew I was going to college so I had to have a little money in my pocket,” he said.
Thomas said he’s only been nervous on the field once this season. That was against Stanford on Oct. 2, when Oregon fell behind 21-3 in the first quarter. The Ducks went on to win 52-31.
“I threw two picks. I thought, ‘Man, I’m going downhill,”’ he said. “But once we started rolling we got our confidence back. The confidence the team has in me helps me.”
Thomas did cause a bit of a stir this week when he suggested that Auburn star defensive tackle Nick Fairley was a dirty player. Tigers coach Gene Chizik on Friday called such comments “absurd.”
Thomas had already grabbed Auburn’s attention.
“Darron Thomas is going to be a guy that we’re going to definitely keep our eye on, because he could change this game at any moment,” linebacker Josh Bynes said.
On Friday, Thomas wasn’t providing any more bulletin board material. Kelly and running back LaMichael James had the two big stages for media day, and key players like receiver Jeff Maehl sat in front of banners emblazoned with their names. Thomas sat at a small table with a cardboard placard with his name and position.
Oregon receiver Lavasier Tuinei hopes that after Monday, Thomas will start getting the recognition he deserves.
“He’s under the radar a little bit, and Cam Newton’s getting all the publicity. That’s fine, we don’t want none of that,” Tuinei said. “We just want to win this game. And if we do, Darron will get his publicity.”
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