EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon secondary coach John Neal learned the two fundamentals of his coaching at his alma mater, BYU -- you need to tackle and defend the deep ball in order to win games.

He’s pretty hands on with his players and though he doesn’t get out there and force them to tackle him, he does get out there and throw the ball, forcing them to defend his passing skills. Because of this he has gotten pretty good at throwing the deep ball.

And by “pretty good,” Neal means elite.

“I can throw the deep ball better than Tom Brady can,” Neal said.

He clarified that he meant in a practice situation, meaning no 300-pound pass rushers or movement outside of the pocket, no wind or sideways rain, in total, no real pressure. But, as he pointed out, quarterbacks throw against air all the time in practice and he, with his 39 years of throwing experience, would challenge anyone, including the four-time Super Bowl champ Brady.

“Within 37 yards, I can throw the deep ball better than anyone on earth,” Neal said.

Neal guessed that he throws 50 balls a practice and over a 36-year career that certainly adds up and his own defensive backs -- against whom he’s throwing -- agree that he has a pretty strong arm for a 59-year-old guy who never really played quarterback.

“Coach Neal is 5-foot-10, 5-foot-11, so I would say more of a Drew Brees or a maybe Russell Wilson,” defensive back Chris Seisay said. “Throwing ability is right there. I’m not going to lie, he throws some great balls when he’s warmed up.”

“Sometimes he has his good days when his arm is warmed up and he can throw the ball pretty well,” defensive back Tyree Robinson added. “But I wouldn’t compare him to Tom Brady. Tom Brady has championships. Coach Neal hasn’t won any championships at quarterback.”

But this spring the focus on Neal’s arm has been refining his own defensive backs to defend better against the deep ball in the 2016 season. Last year the Ducks gave up 56 passes of 20 or more yards (121st in FBS); 23 of those completions happened in games the Ducks eventually lost (averaging six completions of 20-plus yards per loss). And of those 56 passes, 45 of them were when Oregon sent four or fewer pass rushers.

Improvement against the deep ball is necessary for Oregon’s defense moving forward. The only two battle-tested Pac-12 quarterbacks the Ducks will face next season are Washington’s Jake Browning and Washington State’s Luke Falk, but there are plenty of other intriguing quarterbacks with good arms who could pick apart the Oregon secondary like so many other quarterbacks did last season.

USC and Stanford both have good quarterback battles going on, and Cal’s Bear Raid offense is never to be completely overlooked. Oregon State’s Darell Garretson will have a full season to settle into his offense before facing the Ducks, and Kyle Whittingham seems to be happy with his arsenal of signal-callers.

“If you can’t defend the deep ball, you’re going to lose games,” Neal said.

And that was the case in several of the Ducks losses last year.

With a revamped defense and offense that has myriad weaponry, Oregon feels very confident about its chances to return to prominence in 2016. But a big part of that will be stopping long balls and Neal -- as well as every defensive back -- knows that starts in practice, which means Neal will have plenty of practice throwing deep balls this upcoming season. So, don’t think his confidence is going anywhere with those claims.

“I will challenge any of them,” Neal said. “Marcus Mariota? Any of them.”

Mariota? Brady? Carson Wentz? Ball is in your field, and Neal is calling.