McLaughlin: Is The Oregon Ducks “QB Battle” Real Or Imaginary?
By SPENCER McLAUGHLIN
Contributor, 750 The Game
Spring Practice is officially underway in Eugene and for the first time in what feels like forever, Oregon has a real QB competition underway.
At least, that’s what HC Dan Lanning said recently. His comments were in the midst of a sentence that included noting they want to compete at every position in Spring Practice. Iron sharpens iron, and other such cliches.
There are 5 quarterbacks in the room, with two having a feasible path to being named Oregon’s starter before their opener against Montana State in August. Dante Moore is presumed to be the starter, though as mentioned that has certainly not been named. It’s just sort of the assumption given Moore’s profile coming out of high school and his path to get to Oregon.
Moore was committed to the Ducks in the 2023 class as a 5-star QB, until Kenny Dillingham bolting for Arizona State threw a wrench into his plans. He wound up at UCLA, struggled on a mediocre Bruins team, got benched and transferred to Oregon. After sitting behind a super-veteran signal caller in Dillon Gabriel, the path towards taking the 1st-team snaps appears clear. Why else would someone of Moore’s profile/talent transfer to Oregon knowing he wasn’t going to play in 2024? From the outside it certainly looks like he went to sit, learn, develop, and be ready to be the starter for 2025.
That’s my expectation. But let’s have some fun with Lanning’s comments for a moment.
Dante Moore’s high school profile is much more awe-inspiring for Oregon fans than his brief stint as UCLA’s starter. There he completed just 53.5% of his passes whilst throwing 11 TDs to 9 INTs, including several picks returned the other way for 6 points. After earning the starting job over Ethan Garbers and Collin Schlee, hardly Heisman-worthy QBs, Moore was eventually benched for Garbers following his turnover issues. The thinking, which works out on paper, is learning a system for a year from a veteran QB like Dillon Gabriel helps Dante Moore protect the football.
Is Austin Novosad being overlooked?
Crazier things have happened in the sport. If Lanning is serious about a QB competition, there are two reasons it could make sense. First, Novosad is not exactly a former walk-on who’s a great story or anything like that. The Dripping Springs, TX native was a 4-star QB recruit and top 10 at his position in the Class of 2023. He flipped to Oregon from Baylor following Moore’s flip to UCLA in that cycle. He’s an incredibly talented kid with starting potential, which he flashed in the 2024 Spring Game with several high level throws.
That’s the first point.
The second one is experience. Dante Moore has started games in college, Novosad has not. What Novosad does have is more familiarity with Will Stein’s offense. He sat behind Bo Nix, who he still keeps in touch with, and Dillon Gabriel whilst learning the ins and outs of OC Will Stein’s offense. Does his third year in the system give him a leg up over Moore in any way?
If the QB competition is real, then that’s something the staff will be working to decipher in the coming weeks. They might not name a starting QB by the time the Spring Game rolls around on April 26th. I don’t expect them to.
So should Oregon fans think Dan Lanning was giving the fully honest picture when he said the QB position is a battle?
I guess we have to wait and find out. If history is any indicator, Lanning and his staff know more than they’re currently letting on.
Spencer McLaughlin is an Oregon Ducks football contributor to 750 The Game. He also hosts the “Locked On Oregon Ducks” and “Locked On College Football” podcasts and has work featured throughout the season here.