Thunder Face QB Battle with Three Signal Callers


Darron Thomas Portland Thunder

A team is more than the sum of the athletes playing in it.

Great athletes can make a lackluster team and a set of lesser athletes can coalesce into an incredible group. Until a team undergoes trial by fire, it impossible to truly get to the core of a team. Especially as this particular team is about to experience their inaugural season, we can’t see what kind of team that owner Terry Emmert, general manager Meadow Lemon and head coach Matthew Sauk have in the Portland Thunder until they face off with the San Jose Sabercats on March 17th at the Moda Canter.

That’s why I am introducing this series called “Forging Thunder,” chronicling the journey from training camp to opening day.

On this first column of Forging Thunder, we focus on what many call the most important position in sports: the quarterback. The Thunder have three quarterbacks vying for two roster spots and one starting job.

Houston Lillard

If this name sounds familiar to Rose City sports fans, it should. Houston is indeed the older brother of Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. Although the lowest profile name among the Thunder’s three potential quarterbacks, Lillard brings the only indoor experience at the position. He has previously played in the Indoor Football League (for the Washington team, the Tri-Cities Fever) and he is eager for the chance to play in Portland where he has family.

Lillard talked at Media Day about the opportunity given to him at Portland and acknowledging the challenge of competing for a roster spot against two strong quarterbacks: “I wanted to give myself the opportunity to show what I could do… I live here, obviously my brother is here, I have my son here. I feel like this is a new team and I can get my foot in the door and make an impression and a name for myself.”

With his local connection, many Rose City fans (and certainly one Blazer player) are rooting for Lillard to make the team but the competition is stiff.

Nathan Enderle

Although he’s never played in an NFL regular season game, Nathan Enderle is the only one to have been on an NFL roster at any point in his career. Drafted by the Chicago Bears, Enderle bounced around from franchise to franchise, hitting the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and San Diego Chargers, never sticking anywhere. After a brief stint signed to a Canadian Football League team, Enderle ended up on the Thunder roster, competing for a spot.

“It was an opportunity for me. I’ve always loved the Northwest ever since college so Portland was a good fit for me… I’m just going to compete and do what I can for the team,” the former Idaho quarterback said at Media Day.

As the quarterback who has participated at the highest level of the competitors, it may seem like Enderle is the likeliest to make the roster, however, Enderle was quick to point out a lot of the differences at quarterback in the Arena Football League.

“It’s less of a spacing game than the NFL. Here it’s more one-on-one, even in zone defenses, it’s about beating one guy. So when you’re dropping back, it’s not so much about timing but about being to throw when he’s open… Quick reads, staying on balance and being able to release the ball at any point in the route because whenever [the receiver] wins, you need to get the ball out right now.”

Darron Thomas

For local fans, no one is more recognizable than Darron Thomas. The former University of Oregon quarterback led the Ducks to some of their best seasons. However, after his junior year, he opted to enter the NFL Draft but was undrafted and unsigned after the process. Since leaving college after the 2011 season, Thomas has signed in both the Canadian Football League and the Champions Professional Indoor Football League but saw no game action in either stop.

An early fan favorite, Thomas is using training camp to knock a lot of rust off. He hasn’t seen game action in a long time. However, that has not hindered his confidence in his ability to earn the starting job.

“Oh yeah, that’s my expectation. That’s everybody’s expectations. I think all forty guys here today think they’re going to be the starter. And nobody can tell them different.”

Analysis

Training camp is still underway and a lot can happen. However, many consider Darron Thomas a favorite to make the team. Early on, he became the face of the Thunder’s marketing effort, as a headline local player. However, he certainly faces competition from Enderle and Lillard. At Media Day, Enderle looked a little more polished than Thomas, however Enderle had already been in camp for a couple of days and it was Darron’s first time with the group so this can be expected to change.

If I had to make a guess, I would project Darron Thomas as the starter for the Thunder on Opening Day with Enderle backing him up. Houston Lillard looks good in training camp but he’s got a tough path to tread to earn his way on to the team. Is he capable? Absolutely. His local connection does not hurt him either.

However, I think it is most likely that we’ll see Darron Thomas return to football in Oregon on March 17th. Although, don’t tell head coach Matthew Sauk that. He’s keeping the competition open and it looks fierce.

By Garrett Imeson | Courtesy of Oregon Sports News

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