Austin Novosad – Syndication Server

Oregon quarterbacks to get equal reps, chance to shine in Spring Game

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein says the quarterbacks should get their chance to show out on Saturday.

That quarterback room inside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex is quite literally brimming with talent. The only problem is that there is just one quarterback can take the snap from the center at a time.

Fortunately, the Spring Game on Saturday can be maneuvered in such a way where all the quarterbacks will get their time to shine on Saturday. According to offensive coordinator Will Stein, not everything has been put together yet, but it will be.

“We haven’t necessarily mapped (quarterback snaps) out quite yet, but it’ll be somewhat even,” Stein said. “You want to give everyone an opportunity and see what they can do in that setting.”

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Fans want to see those signal callers such as Dillon Gabriel, Dante Moore and Austin Novosad show out inside Autzen, but they’ll need receivers running routes and catching passes in order to do so. Those three signal callers have a lot of choices down the field.

“We get evaluations on them every single day and we’ve had two scrimmages already,” Stein said. “We definitely want to give them the limelight with the fans, with the real clock and real officials out there. We’ll get it set and try to make it as even as we can, but it’s never perfect.”

It’ll be quite different to see Gabriel sling it from the left side and just to have anyone other than Bo Nix out there will be an adjustment for everyone. Fans have been waiting a long time to see Moore in a Duck uniform and after a year playing for the UCLA Bruins, they’ll get the chance to see the Detroit prep star in the green and/or yellow.

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They all saw a glimpse of Novosad’s arm in the Fiesta Bowl four months ago, but he’ll be able to show it off inside Autzen in front of a bunch of friendlies.

The immediate future as well as the distant one will be on display for the Ducks and as long as no one suffers an injury, it should be all fun and games for all involved.

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Spring Position Preview: Ducks’ QB room brings new look, high ceiling into 2024 season

Previewing the Oregon Ducks quarterback room heading in to the 2024 season as we get set for spring football to return later this month.

After a couple of long off-season months, the grass is starting to grow and trees are getting ready to bloom. Spring is coming in Eugene, and with it comes the long-awaited return of football for the Oregon Ducks. A lot will look different in this new year for Dan Lanning and his team, with several of last year’s top players moving onto the NFL, including guys like Bo Nix, Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Brandon Dorlus. All of that is not to mention the fact that the Ducks are joining the Big Ten, and have a new-look conference to get used to on top of a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff to strive for.

It’s safe to say that there are a lot of things to talk about going into this spring season, and a lot of storylines to discuss. To get things started, we want to give a position-by-position breakdown of Oregon’s current roster, getting readers up to date on which players left, which players are returning, and what the overall outlook is going into the spring. We will start with the quarterbacks.

When one of the best quarterbacks in the history of college football walks out the door, it’s safe to say that there are big shoes to fill for the next guy stepping up. In 2023, Bo Nix set the college football record for the best completion percentage in the history of the sport, leading the Ducks to a victory in the Fiesta Bowl after finishing third in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Nix is now off to the NFL, where he is projected to be a first-round pick. While Oregon has a lot of production to fill at the QB spot, they did a great job of finding potential difference-makers in the transfer portal at the position, bringing in both Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore to compete for the top spot.

There are also another couple of names to know on the depth chart in the QB room. Here’s a full breakdown of the passers currently on the roster in Eugene.

Austin Novosad isn’t backing down from a competitive quarterback room

Austin Novosad, a true freshman QB for the Oregon Ducks, isn’t fazed by the pair of QBs transferring to Oregon.

It only took a few years for the transfer portal to revolutionize the way college quarterbacks are recruited, and there might not be a better example of the new world order than the Oregon Ducks.

In the 2024 offseason, it seems the Ducks are trying to strike gold with Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel the way they did with Bo Nix in 2022, while also building for the future with sophomore transfer Dante Moore, a former five-star prospect in 2023.

The unfortunate byproduct of pursuing transfer QBs is how players already on the roster are affected. We saw this with Ty Thompson, who stuck around in Eugene as a backup for three years before being forced out by the incoming transfers of Gabriel and Moore.

However, there is another talented QB already on the Ducks roster who isn’t ready to bow out of the battle yet: Austin Novosad. A year ago, Novosad was Oregon’s lone QB commit in the class of 2023 (since Moore had decommitted days prior). Novosad was a four-star recruit and 247 Sports’ No. 13 QB prospect in the class of 2023.

Novosad played in two games as a freshman, playing behind Nix and Thompson, and will likely be the third-string again in 2024 behind Gabriel and Moore. Still, Novosad seems happy to be in Eugene and excited to compete for a spot on the field, even after Moore’s transfer was announced.

“It’s a great opportunity and an opportunity for me to compete and just go out there and make everyone better,” Novosad said on Tuesday in his first interview as a Duck. “We’re going to have a good room, and I’m excited for it.”

The odds of ever becoming the Ducks starting QB aren’t stacked in Novosad’s favor. He’ll only have to compete with Dillon Gabriel for one season since Gabriel will run out of eligibility. After 2024, Novosad and Moore will likely both have three remaining years of eligibility. In addition, Novosad will be competing with 2024 QB recruit Luke Moga and 2025 QB commit Akili Smith Jr.

Needless to say, the window for Novosad to become the starter at Oregon isn’t gaping.

In the two games Novosad played this season, he took 13 snaps and threw four passes — all of which he completed. It wasn’t a big enough sample to judge the true freshman’s talent, especially since the games were against Portland State and Hawaii. Practice will be the only avenue for Novosad to move up the depth chart.

There is a chance we see Novosad at the helm with a more substantial role in a few weeks. With Thompson transferring from Oregon, Novosad will back up Nix in the Fiesta Bowl. If the Ducks can build a substantial lead against the Liberty Flames — as they did so often this season — Novosad may play a few drives, with a chance to showcase his talent.

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Dan Lanning talks recruiting, transfer portal, and previews Fiesta Bowl vs. Liberty

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning met with media members to discuss the upcoming Fiesta Bowl game vs. the Liberty Flames.

It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been able to talk to Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning following the end of the 2023 regular season and the announcement that the team would be playing the Liberty Flames in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Coach Lanning has been incredibly busy since then, flying all across the country and making stops at recruiting visits, schools, and numerous award ceremonies to support his players.

Lanning is back in Eugene for the time being, though, as the Ducks start practice and preparation for the bowl game. They are also expected to host a number of players on visits this week both in the transfer portal and the 2024 recruiting class. We got a chance to talk to Lanning on Friday afternoon following the team’s practice. He talked about the team’s outlook in the bowl game, and some other odds and ends when it comes to the portal and the recruiting cycle.

Here are some of the most notable quotes from that press conference:

Freshman QB Austin Novosad expected to be available for Ducks in Fiesta Bowl

Oregon Ducks freshman QB Austin Novosad is expected to be available to play in the Fiesta Bowl against the Liberty Flames.

When you get to bowl games at the end of the year, the depth chart for college football teams is often brought into question. For the Oregon Ducks, it is the depth at the quarterback position that has becoming important, especially with sophomore QB Ty Thompson entering the transfer portal earlier this month.

While Heisman finalist Bo Nix has announced that he plans to play in the Fiesta Bowl against the Liberty Flames rather than opting out, the question of who the backup QB is has been a topic of conversation. With Thompson gone, it would be on either Austin Novosad or walk-on Brock Thomas to fill the QB2 role, and Novosad has dealt with some injuries here and there.

On Friday after the Ducks’ first bowl practice, Dan Lanning said that the expectation was for Novosad to be able to play in the game going forward.

The Ducks are currently favored by almost three touchdowns over Liberty, so there is a good chance that we see Nix be pulled from the game somewhere in the first few quarters. This will give Novosad a great opportunity to step up and show what he’s capable of on a big stage.

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2024 Quarterback Outlook: Ducks with several options going into Big Ten debut

The Oregon Ducks have an open QB1 spot going into their Big Ten debut in 2024, with many options to choose from.

The 2023 season is now behind us, and while there is still a bowl game to be played — The Fiesta Bowl vs. The Liberty Flames — Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are working hard on the construction of their roster and hitting the transfer portal in attempts to formulate what this team will look like going into the 2024 season, the team’s first year in the Big Ten Conference. While they work on bringing new players in via the transfer portal, we want to look at the future breakdown of each position, detailing current players on the roster, incoming recruits, and potential targets on the market right now. We’re going to start at quarterback.

The past offseason was relatively calm for in Eugene, as Oregon Duck fans entered the 2023 season without a quarterback competition to worry about, knowing that incumbent starter Bo Nix was not only going to be the QB1 on the roster but was rightfully being touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate heading into the final year of Pac-12 play.

The same can’t be said about the upcoming 2024 offseason.

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Bo Nix is headed off to the NFL where he is likely to be a first-round draft pick in April. Meanwhile, the Ducks will be looking to name a new starting quarterback as they get ready to enter Big Ten play for the first time. Fortunately for Dan Lanning and Will Stein, they have several options to choose from. Whether it be a current player on the roster like Ty Thompson or Austin Novosad, or a potential incoming portal addition like Dillon Gabriel or Dante Moore, fans should have confidence that no matter who starts for the Ducks in 2024, he won’t be a last-resort option; he will have earned the job.

Let’s look at the various candidates for the starting job, and provide an overview of the projected QB room in 2024 for the Oregon Ducks.

Dan Lanning highlights Austin Novosad, Matayo Uiagalelei among freshman standouts in camp

One of the biggest mantras that Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning has had since taking over in Eugene is “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”

Virtually, what it means is that there is no restriction on how old players have to be in order to get meaningful minutes on the field. If a true freshman is good enough to contribute, then he is old enough to play.

So far during this fall camp, it sounds like there have been a lot of young players on Oregon’s roster who have shown that they might be good enough to have an impact this season. On Saturday after the Ducks’ fourth practice of the season, Lanning was asked to highlight a few freshmen who have stood out thus far.

“Cole Martin has been a guy that gets up here every single morning, early. He spends a lot of time on his craft and it’s really showing up,” Lanning said. “Matayo (Uiagalelei) is a guy who does that, Teitum Tuioti had two really big plays yesterday. There are some young guys on offense; Austin Novosad has made huge strides since the spring to now. There’s a lot of guys who have really stood out and a lot of guys putting in extra work.”

While we likely won’t see Novosad any time soon because of the depth at the QB position ahead of him, there’s a good chance that players like Martin, Uiagalelei, and Tuitoti find their way onto the field this fall and show what they can do at the collegiate level.

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Dan Lanning impressed with QB Austin Novosad’s first Autzen Stadium experience

True freshman QB Austin Novosad was able to get his feet wet in the Oregon offense with the Spring Game and it was a good start.

For a true freshman coming into a college football program, everything can be a bit overwhelming. That goes double for a quarterback, the most difficult position on the field.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said quarterback Austin Novosad handled himself and his situation as well as can be expected.

“He completed his very first ball. I want to go back and watch the rest of his performance, but I thought he was calm, cool and collected,” Lanning said of his possible future starting signal caller.

The Ducks threw Novosad into the deep end of the pool. Ultimately he was 2-of-8 for nine yards, but stats is the last thing the coaching staff will be looking at. Oregon wasn’t going to have Novosad hand it off on every down. It also helps to have a play-caller that is pretty good at airing it out.

“That first series he went out there, I don’t know if you guys realize this, but Marcus (Mariota) was calling the plays for that series. Marcus wanted to throw it every down,” Lanning said. “So I’m sure Austin was fired up about that. But I thought when I saw him, Austin is what we’ve seen all spring. He’s picking it up. He’s starting to grasp it.”

Everyone’s career has to start somewhere and Novosad’s career began on Saturday.

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Notable quotes from Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein after Saturday practice

“Our job is to get our best players the ball as many times as possible. Plays are highly overrated. It’s about the players here at Oregon, and we have unbelievable players.”

At long last, on Saturday afternoon we got to talk to Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein for the first time since he took the job in December, filling the void left by Kenny Dillingham after he left for Arizona State.

Obviously, there was a lot to talk about.

Since coming over from the University of Texas San Antonio, Oregon’s offense has had an impressive offseason under Stein. He kicked off his tenure in Eugene by flipping 4-star QB recruit Austin Novosad from Baylor to the Ducks, and he also helped lead the charge to bring Bo Nix back to Oregon for one more year, while playing a hand in landed a handful of offensive transfers as well.

There are a lot of questions going forward for Stein and the Oregon offense. After seeing such marked improvement under Dillingham a year ago, there are high expectations for year one with a new coordinator.

A lot of questions were asked on Saturday. Here are some of the most notable quotes from Stein in his first presser with Oregon media members.

Oregon Ducks positioned well in ESPN’s Future QB Power Rankings

With Bo Nix returning in 2023, plus Ty Thompson and Austin Novosad representing the future, the Ducks’ QB outlook is strong.

We all know that when it comes to projected quarterback play in the 2023 college football season, the Oregon Ducks are as well-situated as almost any team in the nation. With Bo Nix coming back for one final collegiate season, the Ducks’ offense should be as good as any in a loaded Pac-12 conference, with Nix picking up some early Heisman Trophy buzz after his career season in 2022.

While Oregon is set at the QB position for this season at the very least, they are also in an advantageous spot when it comes to the future, as well.

Redshirt sophomore Ty Thompson surprised a lot of people by not entering the transfer portal this offseason, instead sticking around to grow and develop behind Nix in Eugene. Going into the 2024 season, he will likely have a leg up on the competition for QB1, duking it out with current true freshman Austin Novosad, a 4-star passer from Texas who was rated as the No. 10 QB in the 2023 class. The Ducks are also in a decent spot when it comes to recruiting a QB out of the 2024 class, with No. 1 overall prospect Dylan Raiola coming to town for the annual spring game, and a number of other highly-rated passers either scheduled to be on campus in the coming months or have already taken a visit to check out the Ducks.

So with all of this in mind, where does Oregon rank among the top teams in the nation when it comes to future QB power rankings? That’s a question that ESPN recently asked, ranking the best situations in the country based on projections for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons.

“Assessments are based on current rosters and committed recruits, while taking into account the likelihood of transfers, both in and out of programs,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg wrote. “Programs that have continuity and success with coaching quarterbacks also received special consideration.”

Let’s take a look at where the Ducks’ QB room ranks when looking at the present and the future.