The Oregon Ducks woke up to news on Friday morning that 5-star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele — who signed with the team and enrolled in December — was entering the transfer portal.
While the window has technically closed, teams who play in bowl games have an additional 5-day window for players to enter the portal if they choose to. Sagapolutele, who was rated as the No. 19 overall player and No. 4 QB in the 2025 class, according to On3, is expected to transfer rather than be released from his letter of intent, finding a new team.
This is objectively unfortunate news for Oregon fans, but the underlying reasoning may be positive in the end. I have confirmed with a source close to the situation that Sagapolutele’s goal was to compete for the QB1 spot in Eugene as a true freshman, but after practicing with the team for a couple of weeks and seeing the development and progress of sophomore Dante Moore, the incoming freshman decided he would have a better path elsewhere.
So where does that leave things for the Ducks? Let’s take a look at the QB room going forward and assess the situation.
Player Departures
Dillon Gabriel
After his one season with the Ducks, Gabriel will head off to the NFL after leading the team to a remarkable 13-0 regular season. He broke numerous records and was named a Heisman Trophy finalist. In the end, Gabriel likely wasn’t in Eugene long enough to leave a legacy like Bo Nix, Justin Herbert, or Marcus Mariota, but he certainly had a massive impact and will be remembered fondly as one of the best QBs in recent Oregon history.
Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele
After his few weeks with the team, Sagapolutele will enter the transfer portal and look to join a new team where he has a good chance to win the starting QB position in 2025. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Sagapolutele is a dynamic player with a strong arm, and he has a high ceiling as a college quarterback.
Returning Players
Dante Moore
With Gabriel now gone, the quarterback position is officially on between the remaining passers in Eugene — Dante Moore, Austin Novosad, and Luke Moga. There is a belief that Moore has a leg up on the competition, seeing as he spent a year as the starter for the UCLA Bruins before transferring to Oregon last year with hopes of taking the reigns after a year learning behind Gabriel. Expectations are high for No. 5.
Austin Novosad
A lot of fans are already rewarding Moore with the QB1 job in 2025, but let’s not be so quick to count Novosad out of the race. While Moore may be favored to win the starting job, there will still be an open competition for the spot, and based on what we’ve heard from players this year, Novosad has made great improvements and will be in the mix.
Luke Moga
Moga will compete for the starting spot, but with less experience than both Moore and Novosad, it’s fair to expect that he may serve as a backup for at least another year while one of the other two starts for Oregon in 2025.
Incoming Players
Akili Smith Jr.
With Sagapolutele transferring out of Oregon, Akili Smith Jr. is now the Ducks’ lone QB in the 2025 recruiting class, and he will come in and work to establish a place on the depth chart and work to earn the starting role in years to come after likely redshirting as a freshman.
Future Prospects
2026 4-star QB Jonas Williams
Oregon already has a commitment from 4-star QB Jonas Williams in the 2026 class. Williams is rated by 247Sports as the No. 7 QB and No. 101 player in the nation.
Other 2026 Prospects
The Ducks have been heavily recruiting a number of top QBs in the class of 2026, and are sitting in a good position with several of them. The names to look out for are as follows:
- 5-star QB Ryder Lyons
- 5-star QB Jared Curtis
Overall Position Outlook
In general, the Ducks are sitting in a great spot when it comes to the QB room, despite the transfer from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. In 2025, Oregon has confidence that either Dante Moore or Austin Novosad will take over and be a dynamic passer for at least one year, and potentially two. In 2026, either the starter from 2025 remains for another year, the Ducks go to the backup, or the torch gets passed to a young player like Luke Moga or Akili Smith Jr.
Behind them, Oregon will a bevy of young talent to choose from to develop as the next passer.
Losing a 5-star player is never something that you want, but when it comes to the QB spot, the Ducks are in a good spot for years to come.
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