Football: Oregon QB Darron Thomas leads fast-paced offense in game against LSU

Oregon junior quarterback Darron Thomas could have easily been on the other sideline Saturday night for the Ducks' showdown with LSU.

Thomas, who grew up in the Houston area, yearned to play for the Tigers, but ended up at Oregon after LSU coach Les Miles' used a now-infamous word to describe Thomas' athletic prowess when he was being recruited in 2007.

During Thomas' recruiting visit to Baton Rouge that fall, Miles mentioned the word "athlete" when he spoke to him. This was a problem for the now-6-foot-2, 215-pound redshirt junior, who wanted to be recognized as a quarterback rather than simply an athlete. The term apparently persuaded Thomas to switch his commitment to Oregon.

Nearly four years later, Thomas will lead the Ducks against his former school of choice in his home state, having proven his ability under center during a spectacular 2010 season.

Thomas was at the heart of a high-powered Oregon offense that led the nation in scoring and total offense last season. He threw for 2,881 yards and 30 touchdowns with just nine interceptions.

Along with Heisman finalist and junior running back LaMichael James, Thomas helped spearhead Oregon's quick-tempo spread offense, accounting for 486 yards on the ground and five scores while managing the Ducks' read option sets.

And Thomas doesn't shy away from the importance of Saturday's clash, saying it is a "way bigger game to me, bigger than the national championship."

"This is our next upcoming game and this is like the championship," said the second-year starter on Monday. "If we lose this game, it's a done season."

Thomas showed flashes of brilliance in a loss against Auburn in January's BCS title game, as he threw for a career-high 363 yards and two touchdowns.

But Auburn's defense also grabbed two interceptions off Thomas and forced some questionable decisions from the signal caller on several read options.

The traditional criticism against Oregon's offense in recent years has been its inability to run with consistency against stout defensive lines, like Auburn's last year or the Ohio State front in the 2010 Rose Bowl.

Thomas said the key to maintaining the Ducks' offensive success would come from how well the unit carries out the game plan rather than the group's renowned preference for snapping the ball quickly.

"We're obviously going to be up-tempo, but it's not all about the tempo," he told media earlier this week. "We have to execute our game more than anything."

The native Texan said he is looking forward to playing in front of several family members on the big stage at Cowboys Stadium.

"I've got a lot of friends and family that are going to be there," he said. "I'm trying to keep the pressure off, but it's a little pressure with a lot of them coming out able to see me really for the first time in college."

Besides nearly attending LSU, Thomas knows "about 20" players on the Tiger roster from his Houston high school career, including suspended LSU wide receiver Russell Shepard.

"I grew up with their quarterback, Darron Thomas," Shepard said last month. "We know of each other, and there's a lot of links between us and those players. It's a friendly rivalry."

Thomas echoed those sentiments, saying there hasn't been much trash-talking about the game in the offseason.

"We'll leave those things to the victor on the field," he said.

Thomas was also involved in one of college football's many offseason scandals. He was asleep in the passenger seat of a car with teammate and star cornerback Cliff Harris, who was pulled over for speeding in May. Marijuana was allegedly present in the car, and Harris has been suspended for Saturday's game.

"When I called him to bring me home from Portland [Ore.], I got in the car and [Cliff] wasn't even driving," Thomas said in August. "I went to sleep and woke up with the police at the window."

Despite that potential distraction, Thomas said he will be ready for the anticipated matchup and draw on his experience in big games after kickoff.

"[Playing in the national championship] helps a little, but it's not the same game," the quarterback said. "There'll be some jitters on our stomach, but that'll be gone after the first play."

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Contact Chris Abshire at cabshire@lsureveille.com