Spring football is right around the corner for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks, so we are starting to prepare ourselves and knock off the small amount of dust that accumulated during a minuscule two-month offseason. To do that, we’re diving into individual position breakdowns, and asking some of the most important questions that need to be answered over the coming weeks and months.
Whether we get definitive answers during the month-long spring season for the Ducks or not, it’s clear that Oregon has some major questions to answer as they prepare for life without Bo Nix, and a new reality in the Big Ten Conference competing for a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff. Let’s get the ball rolling with a question about QBs.
On the morning of December 9, 2023, it appeared that the Oregon Ducks had solved their future quarterback issue. While Bo Nix was still on the roster and preparing to lead the Ducks into the Fiesta Bowl against the Liberty Flames, it was known that the 2024 season would need to bring change with Nix off to the NFL.
In stepped Dillon Gabriel, a transfer from Oklahoma who had shown himself to be one of the more electrifying and dynamic passers in the nation over the previous couple of seasons. Gabriel had one year of eligibility remaining, and he wanted to spend it in Eugene, hoping to follow the Nix model of elevating his draft prospects and closing the final chapter of his college career with legitimate national championship aspirations.
Just nine days later, though, competition arrived for Gabriel, this time in the form of UCLA transfer Dante Moore, a former 5-star prospect with history in Eugene.
For the most part, it has been assumed by fans and most media members following the team this offseason that Gabriel will be the starter from the day that camp starts in the fall. He is, of course, among the betting favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2024, and he enters the season as one of the most experienced passers in the nation, holding 49 starts, 125 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions under his belt, with almost 15,000 yards to throw on top.
Are we so sure that Gabriel’s name should be written in pen at the top of the depth chart, though? Let’s look into that question a bit more.