The Ducks provided early intrigue. Oregon proved to be Dakota Prukop’s final decision.
On Tuesday, after a whirlwind weekend that included phone calls from Jim Harbaugh, Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin, three jet planes and two official visits, Montana State’s star quarterback is no longer a Bobcat. Prukop confirmed on Tuesday evening that he will transfer to the Oregon Ducks effective immediately. He chose Oregon over Alabama after taking an official visit to Tuscaloosa on Sunday.
Prukop will take the graduate record examinations to test into graduate school before the end of the month. Once cleared, he can join the Ducks’ football team right away. He plans to be enrolled, taking classes and working out with his new teammates by January 4. If he does not pass the GRE within 10 days of classes starting on January 4, he would still be able to qualify and enroll before spring football begins because Oregon is on the quarters system.
“I got to Hawaii for my vacation and I had a little bit of time to decompress on the plane after my recruiting trips and I was really tired from flying back and forth from Oregon to Alabama,” Prukop said on Tuesday night during a conference call with a handful of media members both local and from around the country. “I got to Hawaii and spoke to Coach Kiffin and Coach Saban when they called again from Alabama and made some great points. I had to give myself a little extra time to make a decision. When it came down to it, there was no wrong option. It was a great position to be in.
“Oregon is just loaded at every position. The supporting cast is unreal. I’m stepping into a unique situation in college football. As a couple of my mentors said, it’s the perfect job opportunity. With their supporting cast, their coaches, where their program is at, I believe it is still on the rise. Oregon has had some success lately and now it’s turning into one of the big powerhouse programs every year, in and out in college football. It was something I want to be a part of.”
Montana State quarterback Dakota Prukop/by Brooks Nuanez
Prukop, who earned his degree in economics from Montana State on Saturday, announced of his intention to “explore my options” last week. He revealed he would visit Oregon on Friday and Saturday. He said he also received interest from Texas, Texas A&M and TCU. On Friday afternoon, Harbaugh, Michigan’s head coach, called to invite him on a visit to Ann Arbor. Later, Kiffin, Alabama’s offensive coordinator, called Prukop to invite him on a visit to Tuscaloosa.
He hopped a red-eye on Saturday night across the country to visit the Alabama coaching staff. On Saturday night, Saban watched as running back Derrick Henry claimed the Heisman Trophy. Alabama is the owner of 15 national, including titles in 2009, 2011 and 2012 under Saban.
“I never thought I would be in that situation, being pulled each way, one way by Coach (Mark) Helfrich (Oregon) and one by Coach Saban, both with different selling points on their programs,” Prukop said. “Coach Saban, I have so much respect for him. I’ve been watching Alabama football since I was really young. When he has something to say, you listen. He made it a challenge to come play for Alabama and accomplish that and play for Coach Saban, who some refer to as one of the best and most experienced recruiters in college football. They sold me on being a part of the history of the program.
“Oregon and Coach Helfrich offered me the challenge to come and take the Ducks to the next level, do something that has never been done there. They have the players. I believe in their staff, I believe in the players, the caliber of athlete, the character there. From every single element that makes a good program, Oregon possesses that as well. That was something that was enticing for me. I have been through a process before of making a program take the next step. That started in high school and it’s translated through. I take the trailblazer rout. That’s something that turned my mind and made me absolute on the rout I wanted to take.”
As a fourth-year junior and second-year starter at MSU, Prukop threw for 3,025 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushed for 797 yards and 11 touchdowns but the Bobcats finished 5-6. He earned second-team All-Big Sky honors. In 2014, Prukop helped lead the Bobcats to the FCS playoffs by throwing for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushing for 946 yards and 13 scores.
Following the season, Montana State fired Rob Ash. Twelve days later, MSU hired Jeff Choate as its 32nd head football coach. The next day, Prukop announced he would earn his degree and pursue an FBS transfer.
“Dakota has a great opportunity in front of him, and I wish him the very best,” Choate said in a statement released by MSU on Tuesday evening. “At the same time, I’m very excited about the players in this program and the coaching staff we’re putting together. The Bobcat football players I’ve met also know they have a great opportunity, and I believe they’re already embracing it. I can’t wait to get to work with them to build the future.”
Montana State has three redshirt freshmen quarterbacks currently on its roster: Rockwall, Texas product Jordan Hoy, Kalispell Glacier product Brady McChesney and Dillon native Ben Folsom. Prukop, a team captain in 2015, leaves behind a group of Bobcats including fellow captain Chad Newell and 15 other players who will be seniors in 2016.
“My teammates have been real happy for me, talked to a lot of them, had real good personal relationships with them,” Prukop said. “I think because I could get the advice of people who have a good knowledge of football allowed me to handle the situation in the best way possible. It started out with me bringing it to my teammates and asking their opinions on it. I live with six other guys who all play. I bounced the possibility off of them and the general consensus was they want what is best for me. It speaks highly of what was built at Montana State and the character aspect of building a team.”
Prukop is the second straight Big Sky Conference standout to transfer to Oregon. Former Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams, the 2013 and 2014 Big Sky Offensive MVP, is a senior quarterback for the Ducks. In his first season operating Oregon’s up-tempo spread offense, Adams led the Pac 12 with a passer efficiency of 179.6 by completing 65 percent of his passes for 2,446 yards and 25 touchdowns despite missing three games with a hand injury. Adams hosted Prukop on his official visit in Eugene.
“That was a cool deal because me and Vernon had played against each other and developed a relationship,” Prukop said. “We kept in touch here and there. We never really got to spend one-on-one time together. That was cool. He helped a lot with the decision because they were such similar situations. He gave me insight for what to expect.
“I started thinking about this before the season started when I had the possibility of taking two extra classes than normal and being able to graduate. In college football, you never know what is going to happen during a season so I wanted to give myself options. I knew if I graduated, I could go into a master’s program at Montana State or have options. It wasn’t as much the thought of transferring out as much as it was that I could be done. What’s wrong with putting yourself in a better situation you were in than before? The way the season ended up and the staff changes, I knew I had options.”
Tim Cramsey and Dakota Prukop scheme during a game vs. Fort Lewis
Prukop started receiving national hype after spending the summer training with quarterback guru George Whitfield. Prukop spent the last two seasons running a system similar to Oregon’s spread option attack. Tim Cramsey has spent the last three seasons as Prukop’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Cramsey started his coaching career as an offensive coach for New Hampshire during Chip Kelly’s days as the UNH offensive coordinator. Kelly brought his zone read principles and up-tempo innovation to Oregon in 2007, where he served as offensive coordinator for two seasons. In 2009, he became the Oregon head coach. He posted a 46-7 record in four seasons in Eugene, including ending 2011 with a Rose Bowl win and 2012 with a Fiesta Bowl victory. He is now the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
“There’s definitely some similarities that are going to help make the transition a little smoother,” Prukop said. “The main thing that would have helped the transition at either school is the amount of time I have. Everyone is going to say Oregon’s system has a lot of similarities. It’s a different system, different terminologies. Really, it’s going to be learning a new offense but it will have a similar feel, similar core elements as far as how to read progressions, how the run game connects to the pass game, run-pass options.
“In the end, there will be a whole element of learning something new and that would’ve been at either school. You go to Alabama and it’s what people think of as more of the pro-style offense and in that way, it’s taking the next step to get to the NFL. But I think from my perspective, from what I’ve seen, it’s more so to make that transition, the most important thing for the NFL is quarterbacks making decisions. I think Oregon’s offense provides a lot of opportunities to make hands on decisions every play.
“(Former Heisman Trophy winning Oregon quarterback) Marcus Mariotta came from a spread offense and he’s doing just fine.”
Prukop lost his only playoff game and lost his only start against rival Montana. He compiled a 12-10 record during his two seasons as a starter, including 10-10 against Division I teams and 9-7 against Big Sky Conference foes.
“I think my legacy is combined with Coach Cramsey and it’s that we went in and we changed the offense,” Prukop said. “We changed offense in the Big Sky. We brought the Oregon-type offense to the Big Sky, the Oregon-type firepower and feel to the FCS. I think that’s something that is important. The revolution of offensive football, we brought the Oregon feel for things to the FCS level at Montana State. Montana State had been predominately in the past a defensive program and that shifted when we were there. It was a great experience, something I will never forget and it built me into the player I am today.”
