Toughness. Darron Thomas had it in spades, and he was a big-game quarterback, a guy who would stand in there to complete a throw, more athlete than quarterback, not anywhere near as gifted as the Motor City Magician in spinning the football.
Thomas led the Ducks to two conference titles in two seasons. At 6-3, 215 he posted a 23-3 record as a starter, second in school history behind Marcus Mariota at 25-3, tied with Joey Harrington. He lost one conference game in his career, to Matt Barkley and USC in 2011, a night the offense went cold.
DT was a gritty gamer, often forgotten by fans
He was at his best in big games. In the 2011 BCS National Championship Game against Auburn Thomas completed 27-40 for 363 yards and two touchdowns; Chip Kelly's failure to adjust and stubborn adherence to the running game cost them the game. The Tigers had a woeful secondary. Thomas should have kept throwing.
At the Rose Bowl in 2012, a 45-38 win over Russell Wilson and Montee Ball of Wisconsin, Thomas connected on 17-23 for 268 yards and three touchdowns. In three seasons he threw for 5,910 yards and 66 TDs while completing 61 percent of his passes.
As a redshirt sophomore starter in 2010, he threw 30 touchdowns with nine interceptions, as a junior in 2011, 33 touchdowns with seven picks. Both of those ratios exceed Moore's first full year, 30 and 10. Moore took 17 sacks last season, and several of those were on him. In his two seasons operating out of Kelly's hurry-up spread, Thomas took 11 and 10.
Thomas' grit was something he learned playing for Bob Jones at Aldine High School in the Houston area. He stood in when the hit was coming, putting the football on the numbers in the end zone.
One of the greatest plays from this game was this TD throw by Darren Thomas.
— The cfb lliason (@realfbllliason) August 10, 2026
He KNOWS he’s about to get drilled, but stands tall in the pocket and delivers a strike. Takes the hit to make the play. That’s toughness. 🏈
I see way too many QBs today fading away from throws… https://t.co/t0N4G0oKve pic.twitter.com/O8bAdSHJE5
He operated Kelly's bread-and-butter Zone Read play masterfully, keeping for 719 yards and 9 touchdowns in two seasons despite a gangly frame, missing just one game with an injury.
Moore saw ghosts in the two losses to Indiana last season, sacked nine times in those two contests. His efficiency went down against both Texas Tech and the Hoosiers, teams that brought a lot of pressure. He's a marvelous talent as a quarterback, but he knows and has said that he's got to get better in that area. In the offseason he studied Fernando Mendoza.
The great pro-level throws will get Moore drafted high, but to win a national championship or succeed long term in the NFL, he has to get better at taking the heat.
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