Spring Thoughts: Oregon's QB room has layers to its depth

The Oregon Ducks have four quarterbacks. The challenge for Dan Lanning is keeping them.

Do college football coaches make too much money? 

It’s a fair question to ask, especially in a day and age where Dan Lanning, with two-plus years of experience, is the highest-paid employee in State of Oregon history. Sure, there are arguments to be made about the exposure, visibility and, well, money a winning football coach brings to a university, but the real argument in favor of Lanning’s haul should really begin and end with what he and every other coach faced Tuesday morning.

The transfer portal opened.

The Athletic reports that more than 2,100 scholarship football players have entered the portal at the FBS level this year. Since the end of last season, the Ducks have said goodbye to Ashton Cozart, Bryan Addison, Kris Hutson, Daymon David, Josh Delgado, Trikweze Bridges, Tevita Pome’e, Ty Thompson, Dante Dowdell, Jake Shipley, Cole Martin and Casey Kelly through the portal.

In this new 14-day spring window, the Ducks have lost offensive lineman Michael Wooten.

What they haven’t lost so far, however, is a quarterback. Oregon has four scholarship quarterbacks on its roster — a status Lanning is trying to maintain.

“I think every player has to understand that it’s about them going on the field and getting better, and as long as our players feel like they can go out there and they can make an impact by getting better and proving themselves, those guys realize, hey, that there’s an opportunity for us,” Lanning said. “We don’t really care who you are. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough, right? And if we have quarterbacks that can play at a high level that’s going to be a good thing for the Oregon Ducks. I think those guys realize that.”

Oregon is in a unique situation where it’s replacing 99 percent of its reps from last season, yet there is little consternation about the top of the depth chart. Dillon Gabriel is going to be Oregon’s starter in 2024. The former Oklahoma No. 1 has been too good, for too long in college football to assume any different. But with one year of eligibility remaining, there is a race, with candidates featuring a diverse set of skills, brewing for the future.

In the present, it’s created the deepest quarterback room the Ducks have ever had.

Here’s a look at the four quarterbacks, what we wanted to know about them this spring and what we’ve learned.

Dillon Gabriel, QB 1, Senior

What we wanted to know this spring: Does Dillon Gabriel have enough time to get this done?

What we’ve learned: Gabriel likes to keep teammates on their toes. They call the sixth-year senior quarterback a “goofball,” who can be dry, sarcastic and a little off the wall.

“I like to catch people off-guard and see who they really are,” Gabriel said. “It’s just been a lot of fun. I enjoy that. I enjoy people and learning from different people as well. Just connecting with everyone. That’s what I keep telling everyone, in my last year of college it’s been so refreshing, imagine if someone was at a place for six years, how stagnant or stale it could become.”

He played three seasons at Central Florida, a pair at Oklahoma and transferred to Oregon this offseason for a final year where he’ll enter the season with more passing yards than any other player in the country. Since he’s done this whole transfer thing before, he knew the challenges he’d face in acclimating to a new offense here in Eugene. The goal this time, Gabriel said, is doing it within a time frame that will allow the team to compete for a national championship this fall.

Jadrian Tracey photo/GoDucks.com

He only gets one go at this one.

It’s why he spent his spring break getting extra reps in with some of Oregon’s receivers to continue to jumpstart the chemistry.

“There’s a lot of veterans on this team,” Gabriel said. “And they kind of know that time is not in our hands and we have to make the most of it…it’s got to be an emphasis for sure.”

Gabriel said he was attracted to Oregon by the success Bo Nix had here. He also appreciated the talent the Ducks had on a roster that returns a 1,000-yard receiver in Tez Johnson and two experienced tackles to protect him on the offensive line. There’s the Hawaii/Mariota aspect too, but he doesn’t see that putting any more pressure on himself than his already strong desire to win does to begin with.

“I’ve filled a bunch of shoes,” Gabriel said of his career. “There are ebbs and flows. It’s always the next quarterback up — after me, there will be another one. I’m just doing my part.”

ReFiBri.com

Dante Moore, QB 2, Sophomore

Question of the spring: Why did Dante Moore come to back up Dillon Gabriel?

What we’ve learned this spring: Not that he was expecting it, but Dante Moore said there’s been no cold shoulder from Gabriel this spring. In fact, it’s been quite the opposite between the two quarterbacks new to the roster. 

“I’m just thankful to be around him,” Moore said. “He’s taught me many things. I’ve asked him many questions. We’re always joking around.”

It helps, of course, that Moore comes to Oregon in search of something different than Gabriel. While Gabriel is seeking a one-year ride on a rocket, Moore comes to Oregon in search of a little stability. His goal this spring?

“Building relationships,” the former 5-star quarterback said.

Things weren’t exactly easy last year — not as he struggled during his five games as UCLA’s 18-year-old starting quarterback, and especially not as it became evident that the coach who recruited him to Westwood didn’t have his heart in California. Moore, who initially committed to Oregon out of high school and decomitted after OC Kenny Dillingham left for Arizona State, said his reconnection with Oregon was pretty simple.

He knew what Oregon had to offer. He also knew what he needed — a place where he could not only trust his development, but one that would put the talent around him necessary to compete.

“The day I hit the portal…I kind of knew where I was going already,” Moore said. “…The playmakers here and the staff here, at the end of the day I know I’m going to be better.”

As for those relationships, the biggest one right now for Moore is with offensive coordinator Will Stein — who now in his second season with Oregon has a little more credential to his belt after commanding the No. 2 offense in the country in 2023.

“Your OC needs to be your best friend,” Moore said. “And at the end of the day, when they hired coach Stein, I didn’t know much (at the time) of coach Stein. … I will say, he’s a really smart guy with how he calls plays. He just understands the position and how to develop a quarterback. He’s played the position and him just understanding certain routes and certain plays, that’s how I do things.” 

Austin Novosad, QB 3, Redshirt Freshman

Question of the spring: There’s no way this guy stays, right?

What we’ve learned so far: Austin Novosad said he was ready for this. 

It was back before the Fiesta Bowl, after Dante Moore committed and after Dillon Gabriel committed, that the then-freshman was asked his thoughts on the rapidly changing dynamics of his quarterback room. 

“It’s an opportunity for me to compete, really,” Novosad said. “Go out there and make everyone better. We’re going to have a good room and I think I’m excited for it.” 

In some respects, Novosad’s standing is no different than it was a year ago when the former Baylor recruit was No. 3 on the depth chart behind Bo Nix and Ty Thompson. He’s the projected No. 3 again heading into the 2024 season, it’s just that he’s now behind two guys who have yet to throw a pass for Oregon.

To Novosad’s credit, he’s 9 of 11 in his UO career for 52 yards. Lanning’s been far more impressed with what he’s put on tape in practice.

“You go from being a freshman coming in having a little bit of a deer in headlights feel to where Austin really knows our offense now,” Lanning said. “He’s able to go out there and operate and do it at a really high level. He’s had a really good spring.”

But does he have a shot of beating Moore out for playing time in the future? On-paper talent would suggest Moore as Oregon’s starter in 2025 and possibly 2026. Then there’s the fact that Luke Moga is in the fold and 4-star Akili Smith Jr. is on the way. The Ducks have a crowded room that’s only getting more crowded.

Yet, Novosad is still here, still getting better, and still, according to his coaches, operating an offense he wants to be in at a high level.

You never know.

“I think the most important thing is you’re making the most of your opportunities,” Novosad said. “Coach Stein, you’ll hear him say it, when you’re out there go in and do what you’re supposed to do and then you’ll see success happen. I think when you look at our room everyone is getting reps and we’re all trying to be the best that we can and run the team.”

Luke Moga, QB 4, Freshman

Question of the spring: Can he be the wildcard?

What we’ve learned so far: Here’s what we know about the one true freshman in Oregon’s quarterback room: He’s faster than you — with “you” being, really, most people in the world. Moga ran a 10.5 in the 100 meters last year at the Arizona high school state championships, and while he’s still relatively new to football — Moga said he’s only been playing for four years — there’s certainly a lot of talent to work with when it comes to the 6-foot-2 freshman from Phoenix.

“The first thing that stands out to you when you watch his film is his speed and how he can run,” Lanning said in December.

And he’s pretty competitive. Similar to Novosad’s situation, the quarterback room looks significantly different now than it did last April when Moga committed. But with a lot of room to grow and with two significant legs up on his competition (because he’s fast, get it?), Moga remains one of the most intriguing players on the roster.

“When I see my competition eye to eye it’s a different feel, it’s like a switch flips for me, I can’t describe it,” Moga said when he signed. “I have so much to learn and so much room to improve. I didn’t peak in high school, I haven’t even touched my potential.”

— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor