FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2024
THE SHOTS
GAMEDAY
GAMEDAY, the Daily Emerald’s football edition, is published by Emerald Media Group, Inc., the independent nonprofit news company at the University of Oregon founded in 1900.
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(On The Cover) The Oregon offensive line. (Left) Jordan James (20) dives forward to gain a few more yards. The Oregon Ducks football team took on the Washington State Cougars on Oct. 21, 2023, in Eugene, Ore. (Molly McPherson/Emerald)
OREGON 2024 ROSTER
HOLDEN, TRAESHON
STEWART, EVAN
JOHNSON, TEZ
CONERLY JR., JOSH
HARPER II, MARCUS
LALOULU, IAPANI
BEDFORD, MATHEW
CORNELIUS, AJANI
FERGUSON, TERRANCE
GABRIEL, DILLON
JAMES, JORDAN
KASPER, KYLER
DICKEY, JURRION
BRANY JR., GARY
SILVA, GEORGE
IULI, DAVE
No. 1
No. 7
No. 15 No. 76 No. 55 No. 72
No. 77 No. 65 No. 3
No. 8
No. 20 No. 17 No. 13
No. 2 No. 71 No. 74
SR/TR JR/TR SR/TR
PICKARD, CHARLIE
STROTHER, NISHAD
ROGERS, KAWIKA
HERBERT, PATRICK
MOORE, DANTE
WHITTINGTON, NOAH
MCCLELLAN, JEREMIAH
LOWE, JUSTIUS
RESSLER, JACK
FERGUSON, TRENT
WILSON, GERNORRIS
ROSSI, KANEN
MOALA, LIPE
MCROY, JACQAWN SADIQ, KENYON NOVOSAD, AUSTIN
70 No. 50 No. 73 No. 88 No. 5 No. 6 No. 11 No. 14 No. 84 No. 56 No. 78 No. 60 No. 79 No. 75 No. 18 No. 16
DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE
BURCH, JORDAN
CALDWELL, JAMAREE
WARE-HUDSON, KEYON
UIAGALELEI, MATAYO
JACOBS, JESTIN
BASSA, JEFFREY
WINSTON, EMAR’RION
ALEXANDER, KAM
JOHNSON, TYSHEEM
SAVAGE, KOBE
MUHAMMAD, JABBAR
JOHNSON, BRANDON
RUSHING, ELIJAH
WASHINGTON, A’MAURI
HARMON, DERRICK
TUIOTI, TEITUM
No. 1 No. 90 No. 95
No. 10 No. 4 No. 2 No. 32 No. 18 No. 0 No. 5 No. 7 No. 3 No. 47 No. 52 No. 55 No. 44
BOETTCHER, BRYCE
JACKSON, DEVON
PURCHASE, BLAKE LAULEA, SIONE
FLOWERS, AARON
LOPA, KINGSTON
MANNING, DONTAE
REED, NIKKO
SIMS, XADAVIEN
GREEN, TERRANCE
GARDNER, MY'LEIL
MOORE, JAEDEN
MIXON, JERRY
MOTHUDI, KAMAR
PORTER, ASHTON
FIELDS, DAKOTA
FCB No. 28 No. 26 No. 17 No. 13 No. 21 No. 24 No. 8 No. 9 No. 88 No. 99 No. 93 No. 56 No. 54 No. 33 No. 29 No. 11
SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL TEAMS
PLAYER
JAMES, ROSS
SAPPINGTON, ATTICUS
BOYLE, ANDREW
BASSO, LUKE
ROSS, JAMES
JOHNSON, TEZ
BRYANT JR., GARY
PK KO LS H PR KR No. 92 No. 36 No. 98 No. 43 No. 92 No. 15 No. 2
RS JR/TR
RS JR/TR
RS SR/TR
RS JR
JR/TR
SR/TR
JR/TR PLAYER
DUNNE, LUKE
MEADORS, GRANT DUZANSKY, NICK
WHITTINGTON, NOAH KINSMAN, TYLER
STEWART, EVAN
REED, NIKKO
PK LS KR PT PR KR No. 45 No. 93 No. 96 No. 6 No. 94 No. 7 No. 9
FR
FR
JR/TR FR JR/TR SR/TR
‘24
SCHEDULE PREVIEW
The Ducks haven’t fared well against some of their new conference opponents. How can they start to rewrite that history in 2024?
By BRADY RUTH Sports Editor
Each new season brings an earned level of excitement. And, for the Ducks, they’ve earned quite a bit of excitement through the transfer portal, returning class and incoming recruits. A new conference means new matchups, and as much as Oregon anticipates dominating the Big Ten in its first season, history has not been on the Ducks’ side against several of their upcoming opponents. Looking at the 2024 schedule, fans should be happy to know that Oregon boasts a 120-55-14 record against its non-conference opponents — despite being winless against Boise State University.
WEEK 1: UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO (52-3-4)
Historically, the Ducks have dominated the Vandals, having tied more games than they’ve lost against Idaho. This season should be no exception.
WEEK 2: BOISE STATE (0-3)
Is it more surprising that Oregon has never beaten Boise State or that two schools separated by just 350 miles have only ever played three times? Either way, the Ducks’ path to rewriting history will have to start against the (apparently dominant) Broncos.
WEEK 3: @ OREGON STATE (68-49-10)
The “little brother chants” will undoubtedly taunt Corvallis residents for another season. Oregon might beat the less-relevant OSU on its schedule by 60 points.
WEEK 4: BYE
Oregon has historically dominated its bye weeks. The Ducks have never lost a game they didn’t play.
WEEK 5: @ UCLA (32-39)
One of the few familiar faces on the schedule has the overall edge on the Ducks all-time. While the Bruins won’t be much of a force in 2024, it’s hard to keep a Los Angeles school down for long, and Oregon should pounce on the opportunity to earn what could be a fifth-straight win over UCLA.
WEEK 6: MICHIGAN STATE (4-3)
The history of this matchup has been scattered and even. The first time the Ducks clashed with the Spartans was in 1979, and there have been decades in between games. Oregon, however, has won two of the last three, and should be eager to get after former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith.
WEEK 7: OHIO STATE (1-9)
Ah yes, the pinnacle game on the Ducks’ 2024 schedule. In what is expected by many to be the most important game of the entire college football season, the Buckeyes bring their dominant record over Oregon to Autzen Stadium. The Ducks did, of course, win the last matchup in Columbus in 2021. However, Ohio State has won every other game against Oregon — including the 2014 National Championship.
WEEK 8: @ PURDUE (2-1)
The Boilermakers won the first ever meeting in 1979, but the Ducks were victorious in both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Oregon’s program appears to be miles ahead of Purdue’s and a Friday night in Lafayette should demonstrate just that.
WEEK 9: ILLINOIS (2-1)
These teams haven’t yet met in the 21st century, and there isn’t much history to revisit. However, if Oregon teams of old were able to best the Fighting
Illini, surely, Lanning’s current squad should be able to as well.
WEEK 10: @ MICHIGAN (2-3)
Pre-2000, the Wolverines have dominated the Ducks with a 3-0 record. Since then, however, Oregon is 2-0 with a win in Ann Arbor in 2007. A chance to dethrone the 2023 National Champions on their home turf awaits the Ducks on Nov. 2.
WEEK 11: MARYLAND (0-0)
Autzen Stadium will play host to the first ever matchup between the Ducks and the Terrapins on Nov. 9, and fans in attendance will get to witness the first chapter of what is unlikely to become any sort of a rivalry. After all, the two schools have 2,381 miles in between them.
WEEK 12: @ WISCONSIN (3-3)
Most Oregon fans should remember a thrilling, Justin Herbert-led Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin in 2020. In fact, two of the Ducks’ three wins over the Badgers have come in Pasadena, but Oregon has never bested Wisconsin in Madison.
WEEK 13: BYE
See Week 4.
WEEK
14: WASHINGTON (48-63-5)
It’s hard to imagine Dan Lanning isn’t sick of hearing that he’s yet to beat the Huskies. Washington has won each of its last three meetings against Oregon, but the Ducks boast a 16-7 record over the Huskies since 2000.
Oregon Ducks running back Byron Marshall (9) pushes past Ohio State Buckeyes safety Kevin Niehoff (25) during the second quarter. The Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes play for the College Football Playoff Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Monday, January 12, 2015. (Taylor Wilder/Emerald)
WILL STEIN HAS THE REINS AT FOOTBALL'S HARDEST JOB
Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein talks to quarterback Bo Nix during the Texas Tech game. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Texas Tech Red Raiders 38-30 on Sept. 9, 2023 (Jonathan Suni/Emerald)
The 34-year-old offensive coordinator is guiding the Ducks’ offense toward the top of college football
By OWEN MURRAY Sports Reporter
If quarterback is the most difficult position in sports, then their playcaller must be up there with the hardest places to stand on the sideline.
The coach with the playsheet is responsible for selecting and relaying the best play for each situation to their man on the field. Each has their own style, scheme and identity, but every one of them faces the same challenge: provide just enough help to allow their quarterback to succeed.
At Oregon, second-year offensive coordinator Will Stein has done just that. Last year, after replacing nowArizona. State head coach Kenny Dillingham, his scheme boosted quarterback Bo Nix to his best statistical season — 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns on his way to the singleseason NCAA all-time completion percentage record and a No. 12 overall selection in the NFL Draft.
In 2024, Stein is a kid in a candy store. The transfer portal delivered to him experienced quarterback Dillon Gabriel from The University of Oklahoma and former five-star wideout Evan Stewart via Texas A&M University. He’s sent several players to the National Football League since last year ended at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. His 2024 offense, though, is conceivably better on paper than the one which ranked second nationally in points per game and first in passing yards per game last year.
“Shoot, man, we’ve got a lot of good players,” Stein said. “It’s about getting those kids the ball and getting their confidence up early.” Stein said at a post-practice press confrence in April.
He's just 34 years old. He’s been
calling plays for one season at Oregon — and just one year before that, at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
“I think it’s great to have great players — obviously,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said at media day. “I think it’s even better when you have coaches who can adapt to those players.”
Stein’s newest challenge comes with conference realignment. The wide-open Pac-12 Conference is no more — and neither is the soft defense it offered.
The Ducks were the highest-ranked Pac-12 school in total defense last year, and were ranked No. 22 nationwide.
Just two other former Pac-12 schools (Oregon State and Arizona) cracked the top 50. It’s no secret that the conference wasn’t known for its defense.
The Big Ten certainly is.
Last season, the Ducks faced, on average, the 108th best passing defense based on yards per game allowed in the nation in conference play. Four of those teams ranked in the bottom 11 of 133 Division I FBS teams. This season, they’ll face, on average, the 56th-best passing defense, including Nos. 1 and 2 (Ohio State and Michigan, respectively) in a conference with Nos. 5, 11 and 14 from 2023.
When asked where the offense has improved in the offseason, Stein said, “I think our ability to run the ball without RPOs [run-pass option plays] — we’re going into a league that is notorious for a physical style of football and we believe that we have that going into this conference, and we’ve got to be able to run the ball in the fourth quarter to win.”
Oregon ranked first in the nation in passing offense last season, but sat 29th in rushing offense. It’s not
a bad number, but headed into the conference with the most top-25 teams in passing defense of any Power Four division… Stein is right. They need to be able to run the ball, because his opposite numbers are that much better.
It’s not just about the statistics, though.
When he arrived at Oregon, Stein told GoDucks, “Offensively, 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.”
Stein’s scheme hands much of the control over to the quarterback. In headset audio released by the team from last year’s Week 11 victory over USC, Stein calls a play in the second quarter:
the line of scrimmage, so Dillon, Dante [Moore], Austin [Novosad] ... everybody is taught the exact same thing and the exact same checks.”
It’s a first year in the program for almost all of those quarterbacks, but they’ve already garnered a level of trust from Stein that will allow them to play beyond where they could if their coordinator walked them through every play in-game.
I’m always looking to improve myself,” Stein said, and these guys are exceptional football players, and they’re extremely intelligent when it comes to the game.
- Will Stein, Oregon offensive coordinator
Stein: “You guys like this call?”
Tight ends coach Drew Mehringer: “Ask him”
Stein: “Hey Bo. Quick route and get it out?”
Bo Nix: “Yep. That’s not a bad call.”
The play ended with Nix finding tight end Terrance Ferguson over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown pass. It’s work like that, where Stein takes advantage of the knowledge that his signal caller has, that separates him. Often, quarterbacks new to a system are guided through it and important decisions are made by the playcaller. Stein puts the game into his quarterback’s hands immediately — and for the better.
“We build our system around the quarterback,” Stein said when asked about Gabriel’s autonomy in the scheme. “[We] give him that freedom at
“I’m always looking to improve myself,” Stein said, “and these guys are exceptional football players, and they’re extremely intelligent when it comes to the game.”
Those are the words of a smart coach (and one who’s almost certainly got a headcoaching gig in his future).
Of course Stein’s offense is complex. Of course it’s difficult. But when his ethos — let them play — rings true, it couldn’t be more obvious that they’re having fun.
“It’s fun, man,” Ferguson said after a Ducks victory last season. “I’m so blessed to be out there and I go out there and everybody out there is just having fun. I think that’s a big part of why we are so good. We’re going out there and playing football.”
For Oregon’s program, it’s a doubleedged sword. Stein can continue to excel, but the more he does, the more other programs come calling. It’s how the Ducks landed with Lanning and for a program that’s getting used to competing perennially rather than in windows, it’s a problem that it’ll have to learn to solve. For now, though, they’re having fun.
And if quarterback really is the hardest position in sports, it’s Stein’s intent to make his man’s job just a little bit easier.
TOSH LUPOI’S “SAVAGES” ENTER NEW TERRITORY
After an offseason filled with roster turnover, the newest iteration of Oregon defense tackles a new conference and fresh challenges
By JACK LAZARUS Sports Reporter
The discourse around Oregon’s move to the Big Ten often includes the same few talking points.
First, that the game will be more physical, and coming from the Pac 12, Oregon doesn’t have the facilities to deal with that. The other involves the fact that there will be “more defense,” as if Oregon never faced an out-of-conference opponent before this season.
The Ducks feel differently.
“Football’s all the same, nothing really changes unless a team wants to run the ball the whole game, but everything’s gonna go in place how we have it planned,” senior
defensive end Jordan Burch said.
Under the tutelage of coordinator Tosh Lupoi, the Ducks’ defense seeks to guide this team to the promised land. But who are the player’s behind the Ducks’ defense?
“One word: savages. All around, straight up savages. Guys that are gonna run sideline to sideline, guys that can cover, guys that can blitz,” senior linebacker Jeffrey Bassa said. “We’re a group with all the attributes, like DBs and outside
backers. We can blitz and we can cover.”
Coming from Washington, Jabbar Muhammad grabbed three interceptions and defended 14 passes in his redshirt junior season. With his athleticism and ability to break on the ball, the Ducks feel they found their guy to man the secondary.
The additions of safety Peyton Woodyard, cornerback Brandon Johnson, safety Kobe Savage and cornerback Kam Alexander made this defensive backfield formidable going into fall camp.
Rounding out the group, returning senior Tysheem Johnson provides the leadership and experience that will come in handy for the newest Ducks. Johnson finished third on the team in total tackles with 70, and aims to step into a key leadership role as he enters his second season in Eugene.
Conversely, the linebacking core saw almost no change this offseason, as leader Bassa and company enter 2024 with largely the same group.
Along with Bassa, Oregon brought back MLB-draftee and outstanding athlete Bryce Boettcher. Boettcher couldn’t miss out on being a part of this national championship squad, and as the fifth-most proficient tackler on the team last season, he adds important depth to the defense.
“I knew that I had a once in a lifetime opportunity here at Oregon to play football, especially joining the Big Ten, the squad we got this year, I was super pumped to be a part of that,” Boettcher said at media day. “Ultimately, that’s what came into play, I just wanted to come back and play for my city one more time.”
Lastly, the front four will look different.
Led by Burch, the new group of down lineman hopes to fill the shoes of guys like Popo Aumavae or Dorlus. Matayo Uiagalelei showed fantastic promise last season as a true freshman, and expects to take a major leap this year as he steps into a starting role on the flank.
In the middle, the Ducks brought in real, veteran talent to bolster the line.
Senior Jamaree Caldwell and junior Derrick Harmon transferred in, both with the goal of being a part of a championship contender. Harmon, at 6’5” and 320 lbs, was one of the most sought after prospects in the portal this offseason.
Even with all the talk about how Oregon cannot adjust to the Big Ten’s style, this defense shows no signs of that.
The Oregon defense brings down Dillion Johnson (7). The University of Oregon Ducks Football team defeated the University of Washington Huskies in an away match at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash., on Oct. 14, 2023. (Eric Becker/Emerald)
THE FISH ARE GETTING BIGGER FOR DAN LANNING AND OREGON
With Dakorien Moore and move to the Big Ten solidified, Oregon Football is even more of a big-time player
By JOE KRASNOWSKI Sports Reporter
STEPPING STONE? No more.
RAINY RIVER TOWN? Doesn’t
BIG-TIME PLAYER IN NATIONAL NEWS? You bet.
Days after the University of Oregon officially made its long-awaited move to the Big Ten, the Ducks made a Big Time move, snagging five-star receiver Dekorien Moore from Duncanville High School in Texas.
Moore is the Ducks’ highest-ranked recruit of all time per 247sports — and in most ways, it feels like just another day for the Ducks.
Now for any program, a commit like Moore moves the needle. He’s as much of a sure thing as a teenager can be. He had 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns in his junior year of high school. Although
his numbers speak for themselves, it’s safe to say his talents and potential are limitless – but this is Oregon, and this is the No. 5 ranked player in his class.
Connections like that don’t happen everyday. Or at least they didn’t use to.
Thing is, the Ducks have felt like this type of big-time player for a while.
Dan Lanning is a recruiting master and well, Moore is only the most recent exclamation point for the Ducks.
Talents like Moore used to be exclusively in the recruiting trails of Texas, LSU and Ohio State. Oregon is officially at that level now, as Moore picked the Ducks over those three schools.
“I choose the path to be different and build a legacy,” Moore said in his announcement post.
The Merriam-Webster definition of different is “partly or totally unlike in nature, form or quality.”
Yeah, that pretty much covers it. Under Lanning, Oregon encompasses it all.
Oregon is now different in “nature” in the fact that the Ducks have clearly distanced themselves from
rivals Oregon State and Washington. “Rivalry” week might just be little brother week this time around.
Different in “form” with the Ducks now able to now doll out thousands in Name Image Likeness, while still dominating the recruiting, schematic and transfer portal.
is about doing something every single day, not focusing on the short-term.”
The best way to enhance your team is to enhance your talent.
“The best way to enhance your team is to enhance your talent,” Lanning said on National Signing Day.
- Dan Lanning, Oregon football head coach
And lastly the Ducks are different in “quality.” The Ducks’ 76% blue chip — a metric that players who have earned four or five stars are classified under — is good for the fourth best for any program in the nation.
“We take an everyday approach to recruiting,” Lanning said in the same interview. “Our staff has been doing this a long time, and we realize that this
All of this, of course, comes with newfound expectations with the team’s conference realignment. But with the way the Ducks played in 2023 — a team that has dominated the trenches like Big Ten and SEC schools of years past — such an adjustment doesn’t seem as large. Lanning, who coached in the SEC as Georgia’s defensive coordinator, certainly knows what it takes to play against the best — and now he’s recruiting alongside the top schools in the nation.
“Oregon isn’t just a disrupter in college football,” On3’s college football insider J.D PicKell said in a July 5 X post. “They are a legitimate force in college football.”
Indeed, it is. Get used to it.
Head coach Dan Lanning celebrates with his team after winning the Holiday Bowl. The Oregon Ducks faced the North Carolina Tar Heels in the annual Holiday Bowl at Petco Park in San Diego, CA, on December 28th, 2022. (Kai Kanzer/Emerald)
ONCE A HUSKY,
Transfer portal gem Jabbar Muhammad is ready to be a gamechanger in Oregon’s secondary
By BECK PARSONS Sports Reporter
In Oregon’s 2023 Pac-12 Championship loss to Washington, top Oregon wideout Troy Franklin was essentially a non-factor, held to four catches which totaled only 34 yards. Why? He was kept in a box by Jabbar Muhammad, one of the Pac-12’s best cornerbacks a year ago.
In 2023, Muhammad recorded 46 tackles, five tackles for loss, three interceptions, two sacks, 19 passes defended (tied for second in the nation) and 16 pass breakups (third in the nation). Muhammad’s dominant defensive performances last year were
lbs senior, Muhammad doesn’t let it affect the way he plays or acts. Unlike many defensive backs, Muhammad describes himself as a humble guy who isn’t much of a trash talker.
“I just know how hard it is to play DB, and I feel like if I go out there and talk trash, and let up a bomb for 60 yards on the next play, it doesn’t look too good,” Muhammad said.
Instead, Muhammad lets his play do the talking, something head coach Dan Lanning will surely appreciate. As Lanning famously told his 2023 Ducks before a 42-6 thrashing of the thenunbeaten and notoriously verbose Colorado Buffaloes, “Today, we talk with our pads.”
a key factor in getting the Huskies all the way to the National Championship Game.
The DeSoto, Texas, native’s ability to lock down opposing receivers earned him AP First-Team All Pac12 honors and made him one of the transfer portal’s most desired options. Now, he’ll spend his senior year as an Oregon Duck, where he’ll have a chance to avenge Duck fans by taking his new school to the top of the college football world.
For an Oregon team that was in need of secondary help this offseason, Muhammad’s signing may have been the Ducks’ biggest defensive addition. His arrival at Oregon comes as his second transfer portal move.
“I got on the field and I’m like ‘Bro, what the heck? I’m at Oregon.’ It was crazy. Surreal,” Muhammad said to GoDucks, regarding his first practice as a Duck, which was held on only his second day in Eugene.
Despite Oregon and Washington’s storied and intense rivalry, Muhammad had great respect for the Ducks during his one-year stint as Husky.
“I think [Oregon] was a very disciplined and well-rounded program,” Muhammad said. “Obviously a good team, obviously have good skill, players and things like that.”
Although there’s significant hype that continues to surround the 5 ‘10”, 180
According to Muhammad, the 2024 Oregon squad is ready to do just that. While the offseason divisional shift from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten has come with the prospect of more skilled and physical opponents, Muhammad isn’t concerned.
“I think this team’s very talented. Physically, I think it’s also a very physical team,” Muhammad said. “I think this team’s gonna be pretty well adjusted to going to the Big Ten.”
In the leadup to Aug. 31’s season opener against the University of Idaho, Muhammad is preparing. He fully understands his new defensive playbook and is focused on improving in any way he can.
“I’m kinda trying to just get better each and every day,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad’s lockdown cover skills will be challenged during Oregon’s debut season with the Big Ten. Ohio State University’s Emeka Egbuka, the University of Illinois’ Zakhari Franklin and the University of Maryland’s Tai Felton are just a few of the many receiving talents posing a threat to Oregon’s secondary.
The Ducks’ defense will rely heavily on Muhammad if they hope to reach a Big Ten championship game or earn a favorable seeding in the first ever 12team College Football Playoff.
Head Coach Dan Lanning prepares his team as they look to end their season on a high note with a win over the Liberty Flames in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024 in Phoenix, AZ. (Jonathan Suni/Emerald)
“If only I could __ that”
Charles III, e.g.
Angler’s need
Airport served by BART
“All __ are off!”
Self starter?
budget
Not pro
“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore” coiner
Garden-variety fish?
Something not immediately appreciated, or what the answers to the starred clues have?
Neither’s partner
Crossword Sudoku
Put a name to a
Many an undershirt
Bubbly bath
On the briny
Elegance
One of the von Trapp girls
Triage pro 10 “OK, now I’m really mad”
11 Nintendo antagonist in purple overalls
12 Interlaced with 15 Legal suspensions 17 “Today” co-host Kotb
21 Guitar that Bob Dylan went electric with, familiarly
22 Smart
24 Member of the peerage
25 James of “The Godfather”
26 Montessori year?
27 Patterns around explosive comic book sound effects
28 World Series stat
32 Previously found in poetry?
33 49-Down spot
35 Volcano with 2,700 years of documented eruptions
36 Staying power
38 One of five
39 Golden Rule word
40 Similar (to)
45 Some geometry exam answers
47 Cardinal’s wing?
48 Reacted to a flagrant foul, perhaps
49 Underwater gear
50 Obeyed the coxswain
51 Le Tigre and HAIM
52 Devour
56 “Glad my effort was good enough”
57 Leo or Libra
58 Leave in a hurry
59 Former GM brand
61 “Sayonara!”
62 Kissing in the park, e.g.
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
Previewing a Ducks’ quarterback room
that’s loaded with talent
By LILY CRANE Staff Reporter
There’s a stark contrast between the top two quarterbacks on the Oregon roster in 2024.
The Ducks have a seasoned veteran versus a sophomore quarterback still finding his footing in the collegiate football landscape. They have a recent five-star recruit versus a player who was a consensus three-star six years ago. The experiences that transfer quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore have had up until this point are very different. What Oregon possesses, however, is a quarterback duo that most programs across the country envy.
Gabriel is the presumed starter for 2024. He spent 2019 through 2021 at the University of Central Florida before playing two years at Oklahoma University. Gabriel recorded 30 passing touchdowns on 3,660 yards to go along with 12 rushing touchdowns for the Sooners last season.
“It’s like getting a new car but there’s new buttons and accessories but you have to go out and race it,” Gabriel said at Oregon Media Day. “As you find out more about it, you can do more fun tricks and kind of show off while doing it. I just feel like I have full command of it now.”
The sixth-year quarterback enters the Ducks’ program with 49 career starts. His 125 career passing touchdowns rank eighth all-time among college quarterbacks.
Moore, on the other hand, enters his sophomore year after a difficult season at UCLA. He was thrown into action early with the Bruins, starting five games and appearing in nine. He tallied 11 touchdown passes, but threw nine interceptions and was sacked 25 times.
“Last year, I truly appreciate playing as a true freshman. Many times it was challenging being out there,” Moore said at media day. “A lot of mistakes were made, but I feel like the biggest thing as a quarterback is getting developed.”
Moore originally committed to Oregon when he was in high school. He flipped his commitment to UCLA when former offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham left to take the head coaching position at Arizona State University.
Moore finally winds up with the team he committed to in July 2022. Instead of backing up Nix, Gabriel will be the veteran quarterback Moore learns from.
“He’s been in college for a really long time, so just being able to ask him questions about certain coverages, certain ways he just throws the ball in this situation, I just really appreciate it,” Moore said of Gabriel. “I feel like as a quarterback room, we’re just never looking at, ‘This person’s higher than this person.’ We just always look at each other as one.”
Luke Moga, Austin Novosad and Brock Thomas join Gabriel and Moore as members of the 2024 quarterback room.
Moore has expressed that he’s fine with not being at the top of the depth chart this season. Appreciating the journey and being patient is something he said he’s learned from Gabriel’s collegiate career.
“If this is my year, this is my year. If it’s not my year, I’m of course redshirting [and] things of that nature,” Moore said at media day. “I feel like the
A national championship – it hasn’t been done in the history of Oregon, and I feel like this year we’re very talented. Mentally, we’re really prepared, as well as physically prepared.
- Dante Moore, Oregon transfer quarterback
biggest thing [Gabriel] just told me is patience.”
Moore had a simple response when asked on media day how he defines a successful season — and it had nothing to do with starting or individual performance.
“A national championship,” Moore said. “It hasn’t been done in the history of Oregon, and I feel like this year we’re very talented. Mentally, we’re really prepared [as well as] physically prepared.”
Quarterback Dante Moore (05) looks to his teammates after making a throw. The Oregon Ducks football team took the field at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex on a cool Thursday morning for a practice in Eugene, Ore., on April 18, 2023. (Molly McPherson/Emerald)
