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Jeff Lockie

(Thomas Boyd/Staff)

EUGENE -- There are five quarterbacks enrolled at Oregon currently vying for the Ducks' open starting position, but for the purposes of this spring, that number is down to three.

Montana State transfer Dakota Prukop, redshirt freshman Travis Jonsen and true freshman Terry Wilson are the three quarterbacks receiving most of the reps this spring, with returners Jeff Lockie and Taylor Alie taking on different roles for the time being.

Lockie, a senior, and Alie, a junior, were the only two of the five on the active roster a season ago.

"Both (Lockie) and Taylor have been awesome in kind of playing half mentor and half wideout, and they're still doing a bunch of drill work and things at quarterback," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. "It's impossible to drill four quarterbacks or five quarterbacks.

"That was a tough discussion we had and a tough and easy decision we had to make in terms of trying to flush things and move forward with those three guys getting the lion's share of reps this spring. After spring we will rework things, but Jeff and Taylor have been phenomenal."

Lockie and Alie were both recipients of a trial by fire run in 2015. While transfer Vernon Adams Jr. won the starting position over Lockie in the fall, Adams was injured throughout the first half the season and Lockie and Alie both saw playing time.

Lockie would also see action in the Alamo Bowl after Adams went down with a concussion.

Lockie finished the year 61 of 99 with 580 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. Alie was 6 of 14 for 96 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns.

But the play of the two didn't leave Oregon's coaches confident enough to entrust one of them with the starting position in 2016, which is why the Ducks took in Prukop, the team's second graduate transfer in as many seasons.

And with the return of Jonsen from a turf toe injury and the arrival of Wilson, a four-star recruit, Oregon is spending the spring demoing.

"Right now we're primarily repping Dakota, Travis and Terry, seeing where they are at compared to where Jeff and Taylor were last year," said David Yost, Oregon's quarterbacks coach. "Jeff has been doing a lot of receiver and has worked as a resource for us as a quarterbacks coach. He's been doing a lot of that so far."

The Ducks still have a quarterback to add to the mix in Sheldon senior Justin Herbert, who will join the program this summer after graduating from high school. After Monday's scrimmage, Helfrich said he won't name a starting quarterback before the end of spring ball, which culminates with the spring game on April 30.

"We won't decide on the quarterback position until I don't know when, but that will play out in fall camp," Helfrich said. "I think guys can kind of see that happening, guys are setting in to a little bit more of a higher comfort level and that will happen."

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger