After three years at Boston College, QB Anthony Brown is heading west as he transfers to the University of Oregon with the 2021 NFL Draft on his horizon.
Transferring quarterbacks have seen a world of success over the past two seasons with the likes of Gardner Minshew, Joe Burrow, Justin Fields, and Jacob Eason all switching uniforms and leading the charge for their new teams. This offseason alone, high profile quarterbacks such as Jamie Newman, K.J. Costello, and D’eriq King have all transferred for their last year of eligibility; add former Boston College quarterback Anthony Brown to that list as he enters his last year of eligibility before the 2021 NFL Draft.
After three years in New England with the Eagles, Brown is taking his final year of eligibility to the Pacific Northwest to team up with Mario Cristobal and the University of Oregon Ducks. While Cristobal’s offense struggled to open up a year ago, making this move fairly bland on paper, Brown will now get to team up with former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead, who is likely to give him free reign out of the spread offense.
Halfway through his 2019 season, Brown was on pace for a year with over 2000 yards passing and a touchdown ratio of nearly 9:2. He was completing nearly 60 percent of his passes and rushed for an additional 128 yards and two touchdowns. Six games into the season, however, Brown suffered a devastating knee injury that sidelined him the rest of the year as redshirt freshman Dennis Grosel then took over.
After starting the season 3-3 under Brown, the Eagles finished their 2019 campaign with three additional wins under Grosel, who went on to throw for nearly 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns. Even more uncertainty, Boston College head coach Steve Addazio was fired this offseason as well; the move to enter the transfer portal seemed like the only move for Brown.
Everyone wants to be the next Joe Burrow, to transfer schools and see the success of the Heisman-winning National Champ who is likely to be the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Like Newman, Costello, and King before him, Brown finds his new home in Eugene as he looks to bolster his 2021 NFL Draft stock.