No matter who wins the starting job at quarterback for the Ducks this year, the Oregon offense is due for a significant change.
The Ducks' last two starters were mobile and athletic veterans, senior transfers with a lot of experience. Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, were both gifted at creating and salvaging plays, extending them with their legs, always a threat to get outside the pocket or take off and make a first down with their legs.
Justin Herbert, Marcus Mariota, Darron Thomas, Dennis Dixon, Joey Harrington, Akili Smith-- there's a long line of dual threat QBs at Oregon. They far outnumber the pocket passers.
That has to shift in 2025. No. 3 quarterback Luke Moga is faster than most running backs, a 100 meter spring champion at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix. Freshman Akili Smith Jr. runs well also, 508 yards and four touchdowns as a senior, winning a state championship for the Lincoln High Hornets of San Diego.
But the two leading candidates to start for the Ducks this season don't run all that much. Dante Moore spent a year at UCLA in 2023 and played in nine games. During all that season he "rushed" 45 times for -84 yards, and 16 of those rushing attempts were sacks. Moore and Novosad are both good athletes; Novosad ran the hurdles and triple jumped as a prep. Neither will make a living taking off like Jeremiah Masoli.
Consequently, the Oregon offense has to change. For each of them, their best skill is driving the football down the field and spinning the rock. Both have been accurate passers in their brief stints running the offense. Together they've combined to complete 19-22 passes in mop-up duty.
After the first practice of the year Dan Lanning stressed the job is open.
"It'll absolutely be a competition," Lanning said. "It's a competition at every single position on the field for us. Competition is what makes us better. I'm excited to see those guys grow and they've done a good job. We've added some wrinkles this offseason that are a little bit different and they've done a good job absorbing that and executing it."
In the press availability after practice two on March 15, offensive coordinator Will Stein said, "That's the ultimate thing I'm looking for, who can we win with? Hopefully we've got a good amount of guys in that room who can win. We all know that there is going to be one guy out there on Saturdays and that's all to be determined."
Stein noted that he's had dual threat guys like Hudson Card when he coached at Lake Travis High School in Texas, mobile quarterback Frank Harris at UTSA, then Nix and Gabriel at Oregon. The offense--and his play calling-- have to adapt with a different skillset at QB.
That's something they can manage, and they've prepared well for that transition in the portal. New lead running back Makhi Hughes is an excellent outlet receiver and a crunching blocker in pass protection, one of the best in the country at picking up a blitzer. Immanuel Pregnon, the transfer left guard from USC, didn't allow a sack last season, nor did left tackle Isaiah World at Nevada or returning starter at center Iapani "Poncho Laloulu. Oregon's pass protection should be exceptional, particularly in the interior. That allows a quarterback to step up in the pocket.
In Dakorien Moore, Evan Stewart and Malik Benson, the Quack Attack has three receivers who can get open and stretch the field. There's plenty of depth also. The competition at wide receiver should be something to watch for at the spring game. In Kenyon Sadiq and Jamari Johnson, Oregon has two tight ends who can be dynamic targets.
Downfield passing sets up the running game.
While it's too early to be certain, there's a decent chance the Oregon offense could be more explosive in 2025 and more effective taking shots downfield. One plus with a pocket passer is that the linemen always know where he is, which cuts down on penalties a bit, less holding and illegal man downfield.
There's been a rash of spring game cancellations around college football but Lanning and the Ducks remain committed to having one, this year on April 26 at Autzen Stadium. The quarterbacks are in red jerseys for spring so the smart thing to do would be to run them a little more than usual, throw off some of the scouting certain coaches are so afraid of.
Smart too for Lanning and Stein to cast it as a competition and let it run till fall. You want the guy who wins it to operate under a little pressure day in and day out. It's the best possible preparation for Happy Valley in September.