Oregon football fans are more than familiar with what it’s like to have a great quarterback. Bo Nix was thrilling to watch in Eugene. There’s also Justin Herbert, Marcus Mariota, Darron Thomas who were recent stars. If you go back a bit further, guys like Joey Harrington, Kellen Clemens, Dan Fouts, and so many others.
Oregon has never really had a shortage of great quarterback talent. And if you ask Colin Cowherd, it seems as if the Ducks might have a goldmine of talent in the quarterback room once more. During a recent interview between Cowherd and Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, the topic of Lanning’s enviable position when it comes to the quarterback position came up.
And it gave Lanning the perfect opportunity to discuss the talent he’s assembled in the Ducks’ quarterback room.
Dan Lanning, Oregon Ducks have assembled remarkable quarterback room with Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore
Cowherd first noted the unique dynamic of having multiple high-caliber quarterbacks on the roster.
"You have the best problem a coach could have,” Cowherd said. “You have two really good quarterbacks. You get the kid, Dillon Gabriel, who can sling it from Oklahoma. And then you have this kid, I think he's from Michigan, he went to UCLA. Dante Moore, who I watched, he just needs reps, he's young, but he's a really good player."
Gabriel, a bit of a journeyman QB who has traveled around to a few different schools and has routinely lit up scoreboards everywhere he’s been, left the Oklahoma Sooners to spend one final season in college playing for the Oregon Ducks.
So far in his career, between his time in Norman, Oklahoma and Orlando, Florida, Gabriel has thrown for 14,865 yards and 125 touchdowns against just 26 interceptions.
He’s been remarkable.
As for Moore, he is young, but he seems to be incredibly talented. He was highly sought after coming out of high school and former Oregon football coach Chip Kelly was able to convince Moore to go to UCLA for his first year. But now he’s made his way to Oregon where he’s got a chance to develop.
Still, despite all the talent the two bring to Eugene, that’s not what’s most important to Lanning.
"More important than what they are as players, these guys are unbelievable humans," Lanning explained. "And they want to be where they're going to develop, but they're great teammates."
Oregon Ducks have depth at quarterback beyond just Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore
Gabriel and Moore weren’t the only quarterbacks that Lanning praised during his interview with Cowherd.
"We also have a young guy, Austin Novosad, that had an unbelievable spring,” Lanning said.
But he continued on, highlighting the strengths that Gabriel and Moore provide to the Ducks heading into this season.
“You know, Dante can make every throw known to man, Dillon has unbelievable experience, so I'm really excited about our quarterback room," Lanning explained.
So, Cowherd is right, this is the best sort of problem that a college football coach could possibly have. The Ducks are in a great spot with regards to their quarterback room. And Lanning certainly seems enthused about how the quarterback room has come together.
"Having that talent in that room, but more importantly, having those kinds of players with their personalities, growth mindset, team guys, I think that really fits our culture," he said.
In the transfer portal era and the way NIL works, it will be fascinating to see how the Oregon Ducks’ QB room continues to develop. Right now, they’ve got a ton of talent available to them. Lanning is certainly familiar with how to make the transfer portal work for him in this spot (see Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore). Oregon football fans should feel pretty fortunate with how this part of Oregon’s football roster has panned out.