Michigan QB, Duck OT to return … While those confirming planned departures to the NFL have dominated most of the news about underclassmen and the 2019 draft, there were a couple of major announcements of players opting to return to school for their senior seasons next fall. Michigan junior QB Shea Patterson, for example, has decided that he will be back with the Wolverines next fall. Same story for Oregon junior OT Calvin Throckmorton who indicated earlier this morning that he will be back with the Ducks. Throckmorton had been considered to be one of the better second-day type offensive linemen for the upcoming draft. Interesting to note that Throckmorton has already graduated and will be taking pre-med courses next year. Good for him! With Throckmorton back in the fold, Oregon officials – not to mention NFL personnel people, especially on teams hoping to upgrade at QB this coming April – are awaiting word from Ducks’ junior QB Justin Herbert, the consensus #1 QB prospect in this year’s class, whether he will in fact the 2019 draft. There have been multiple reports that Herbert is actually leaning toward staying in school, but for now he is saying that he hasn’t even thought about his options. Interesting to note, though, that one of the factors thought to be influencing Herbert’s decision would be the chance to play next fall with his younger brother, a TE who had committed to the Ducks. For the record, the brother formally signed his letter of intent to play at Oregon earlier this week during the early signing period. Meanwhile, two other players have announced they will be entering the draft with eligibility still on the board including Rutgers CB Blessuan Austin and North Carolina OT William Sweet. Both are more later round or free agent prospects, although Austin does have some upside if he’s healthy. Austin looked like an emerging prospect when he made several all-conference teams in 2016, but played in just 5 games over the past couple of seasons after going down with knee injuries early in both 2017 and 2018.
