Oregon State sucks. Jake Luton doesn’t.
I don’t know if this is a hot take or not, genuinely. (I suspect not?) That’s because Oregon State has been
so bad for a minute or two that it feels like they’ve simply ceased to exist, and among this includes the cessation of all takes regarding OSU other than “Remember that time they beat Oregon?” and “lol.”
Regardless of the trajectory
Jonathan Smith can put them on, Beav-irrelevance (irrelbeavance, if you will*), means that I feel like nobody’s giving enough praise to a guy who on any other team would be getting a lot more attention.
Ostensibly, there is a quarterback competition between Luton and
Tristan Gebbia, the Calabasas quarterback and former UW target who was part of the #Calabraska movement to Nebraska, before transferring out around the time
Adrian Martinez** became the guy there. That being said, I don’t mean “ostensibly” from the perspective of
Smith. I’m sure in the eyes of the program and coaches that’s genuine. I’m just using that word because, if Luton plays like he has shown he’s capable of when healthy — considering the talent disadvantage he and the entire Oregon State team plays with against their opponents — it’s hard to imagine that a player who couldn’t beat out a true freshman could beat out someone who’s played well (when healthy) and has two seasons of experience at OSU.
Our friendly neighborhood gekko, Chris, wrote that Luton “
may be only slightly more mobile than the Statue of Liberty” and, while he’s hardly a dual-threat, I disagree with the extent of that sentiment (although, digressing, the sentence itself
does make me giggle). That being said, Chris makes the valid point that OSU’s line was so bad last year that, on the off-chance Gebbia wins the job, it’ll likely be because he has better mobility.
Let’s remember, if it weren’t for
Jake Luton’s nearly-
Bram Kohlhausen-level comeback***, Oregon State would still have a bajillion-game Pac-12 losing streak.
Pretty much — when healthy — there’s not really any one aspect of
Jake Luton’s abilities that’s a big weakness. Typically when a guy has his size and strength (6’7,” 230 lbs), he’ll get praise for “having all the tools” but, if/when a weakness abounds, it’s “he’s not consistently accurate” or “maybe he doesn’t have the mental part of the game down” or some variation thereof. Over the last two years of watching him, neither of those two seem to be true. In other words — he can chuck it Uncle Rico-style over them there mountains, he’s a bit more mobile than Chris gives him credit for, he’s typically quite accurate, and, as far as we can tell from a distance, has a decent football IQ. Isn’t that, like, the stuff football fans and coaches drool over?
To me, his strengths and playing style feels like you could sub him and
Justin Herbert on each other’s teams without either Oregon or Oregon State looking much different, save that
Herbert’s a more capable runner as a secondary tool.
In fact, playing styles notwithstanding (for example,
Khalil Tate isn’t really comparable), I’d go so far as to say having Luton as a quarterback would make every team in the Pac-12 better save Oregon and Stanford who I feel are roughly similar levels — again, when Luton’s healthy. I’m sure by the end of the season a few players will prove themselves and render this statement untrue, the most likely candidates being
Jacob Eason, one or both of the LA quarterbacks, maybe
Steven Montez if he gets it together, maybe
Tyler Huntley if he takes a big step (plz
Jacob Eason plz
Jacob Eason plz...) but, for now,
consistently, there doesn’t appear to be anyone.
But, ya know, this all has the caveat “if he can stay healthy all year.”
*Sorry?
**lol @ Cal you almost had
Adrian Martinez
***You’re welcome
