It’s going to be strange to watch the Oregon Ducks football team take the field Aug. 31 to take on Idaho without quarterback Bo Nix leading the team.
In the third year of Dan Lanning’s tenure at Oregon, he has turned to senior transfer Dillon Gabriel for the 2024 season. Lanning is counting on the former Oklahoma signal caller’s past experience in Norman to pay dividends for the Ducks now.
But it all starts now in the spring.
“I just think more than anything, the way that he prepares has given Dillon an opportunity to really absorb a lot of this really quick with the walk-throughs that we’ve had,” Lanning said. “The time leading up to spring, us doing spring a little bit later than some teams, I think that’s allowed him to get ahead of the curve before he stepped out here. And then his experience speaks for itself, his poise and his ability to get guys to come do extra work with them I think is really paying off.”
Gabriel is at Oregon for just one season as he paves the way for Dante Moore and Austin Novosad, but his work ethic and the example he leaves could last for a long longer than Gabriel is actually there.
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