Dante Moore's decision to return to Oregon for one more season solved a potential hole in the Ducks' roster for a season in the best way possible. Rather than having to dive into the Transfer Portal for a high-level starting quarterback, the Ducks return a Heisman front runner while allowing the coaching staff to continue evaluating their options.
Part of the benefit of getting Dante Moore back on campus was the fact that it allowed the coaching staff to take a chance on a quarterback like Dylan Raiola in the Transfer Portal. The hope is that Dylan Raiola will spend the year learning the system and emerge as the clear starter, allowing the staff to look at other positions in the Transfer Portal.
While Dylan Raiola would love to seize the starting quarterback gig, Brock Thomas, Akili Smith Jr, and current Oregon commit Will Mencl may give him a run for his money.
QB Coach Koa Ka'ai praises Akili Smith Jr's development
The upcoming season has been the focus of Fall Camp, but it's also a great time to gauge the future of the program. Quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai was asked about how each QB has developed, and the way Ka'ai raved about Akili Smith Jr's development was certainly notable.
"KJ, I can't speak enough about how much KJ has grown from the spring till now. He's taken a huge leap. A lot of that's just like playing in the confines of the system. I think we do a lot here schematically, and we give these guys a bunch of tools and things they can get to. But it's easy for a young kid to kind of get overwhelmed by that and go out there and everything's moving a million hours an hour. I think KJ's done a good job this fall of just settling down. What is this play asking of me, and going out there and operating?"Koa Ka'ai
Being a legacy recruit is never easy, as it carries far more pressure than your recruiting ranking, especially when your father was the 3rd Overall Pick in the NFL Draft. Dante Moore's emergence has been incredibly nice for Smith as it's allowed him to develop behind the scenes before he may jump into a starting role.
The praise for Smith is certainly warranted as whenever the Ducks have shared clips of him from practice you can see the skills coming together.
Akili Smith Jr. delivering a perfect throw to Brady Bidwell 🦆 pic.twitter.com/kxpQ7x9AZr
— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) August 18, 2026
The biggest task for Akili Smith Jr this season is continuing to make strides, as Oregon will have a decision to make at the end of the season before the Transfer Portal opens. If Smith along with the other quarterbacks can prove that they're capable of being high level starters, all of them will have a chance to battle it out in camp for the starting job,
Akili Smith Jr has a big legacy to live up to if he ever becomes the Ducks' starting quarterback, but for now the task is improving each and every day to have the chance to earn the job.
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