Archive Footage: What to expect from Braxton Burmeister

With the announcement that Hendon Hooker will start with Braxton Burmeister getting playing time from Justin Fuente at today's press conference, I thought it would be worthwhile to bring back my review of Burmeister's limited starting stretch for Oregon in 2018. Burmeister replaced Justin Herbert. In that footage, Burmeister showed himself to be very solid in Oregon's read option game. Burmeister was not given many opportunities to push the football down the field and didn't show much when he did get the chance to stretch the field. However, if Burmeister pushed Hooker for the starting role, I expect that his mechanics and accuracy have improved. For those of you who are not TKPC members, this is a taste of what you are missing out on.

From 2019's season preview:
I watched Oregon transfer Braxton Burmeister (No. 3, R-SO, 6-1, 210) in preparation for my 2018 Florida State preview. Burmeister replaced NFL prospect Justin Herbert due to injury and started on the road against a ranked Washington defense that feature a good defensive line. Burmeister was proficient in the read option game. He regularly made good reads and showed the proper mesh point and footwork on challenging series such as the inverted veer.

However, he did not represent a down field passing threat, and his footwork was shaky even on quick throws to his backs and screens. This 1st-and-10 completion was his best and longest completion of the game, a quick stick route to the tight end (something that Tech's tight ends have not demonstrated as a strength) against a blitz.

Burmeister's footwork mechanics were shaky on short throws off play-action, which was most of Oregon's pass attack. He threw behind swing routes and screens a couple of times, taking away the receivers' forward momentum. Washington was so dismissive of the threat of screen passes that, when the Ducks started having success running from a trips formation, Washington adjusted by only putting two defenders against the triple receivers. That adjustment made the screens more effective, but Oregon's run productivity suffered with extra defenders in the box.