Photo by: Jadrian Tracey/Oregon Athletics
Preseason Camp Preview: QB
07/20/24 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
Assessing how things stack up for the UO football program entering the start of preseason camp July 31.
QUARTERBACK
Who's back: It's a new era behind center for the Oregon football team, after two record-setting seasons in which the Ducks were led by Bo Nix, a Heisman Trophy finalist last fall who went on to be a first-round NFL Draft pick. Last season's backup, Ty Thompson, opted to transfer, but the position room does include a couple of familiar faces in 2023 freshmen Austin Novosad and Brock Thomas. A former top-100 recruit in the country, Novosad added size and strength during his redshirt season and showed significant development this past spring, when his 177 yards in the Spring Game was tops among all UO quarterbacks. Thomas is a Eugene native who earned his stripes leading the scout-team offense last fall.
Who's new: Nix wrapped up his career as the No. 6 passer in major college history with 15,351 yards. Two spots below him in the all-time top 10 is Dillon Gabriel — who joined the Ducks as a transfer this past offseason and will look to cap his collegiate career with a big year for Oregon in 2024. Gabriel provides a wealth of experience to the depth chart, including 49 career starts — 12 fewer than the record 61 that Nix finished his career with last season. A left-handed dual-threat passer, Gabriel has been confounding opposing defenses for the past five seasons and will look to continue that as Oregon competes for a Big Ten title — and potentially much more — during its first season in a new conference.
The transfer portal yielded not only Gabriel for Oregon this offseason, but Dante Moore as well. A five-game starter for UCLA in 2023, Moore is now with the Ducks after seriously considering the UO football program as a high school recruit. Moore has the talent to push Gabriel for reps, and the experience to lead the Ducks in the event his number is called. Depth was further enhanced this past spring with the arrival of four-star recruit Luke Moga, yet another dual-threat option with elite top-end speed. Novosad now has a fellow Texan with him in the room, after the arrival of freshman Ryder Hayes, and freshman TC Manumaleuna (North Salem HS) joins Thomas as another Oregon native in the group.
What to watch: For all of Gabriel's talent and experience, spring practices for the Ducks saw healthy competition at the quarterback position. That competition will resume with the start of preseason camp, with Gabriel again looking to answer challenges from the younger quarterbacks and affirm himself as a leader for the Oregon football team in 2024. Moore and Novosad can focus on development as second-year collegians, while keeping themselves sharp enough to push Gabriel and also step in for him when necessary. And Moga enters the fall with a head start on his own development after participating in spring and summer with the Ducks; the same can be said for Hayes.
Who's back: It's a new era behind center for the Oregon football team, after two record-setting seasons in which the Ducks were led by Bo Nix, a Heisman Trophy finalist last fall who went on to be a first-round NFL Draft pick. Last season's backup, Ty Thompson, opted to transfer, but the position room does include a couple of familiar faces in 2023 freshmen Austin Novosad and Brock Thomas. A former top-100 recruit in the country, Novosad added size and strength during his redshirt season and showed significant development this past spring, when his 177 yards in the Spring Game was tops among all UO quarterbacks. Thomas is a Eugene native who earned his stripes leading the scout-team offense last fall.
Who's new: Nix wrapped up his career as the No. 6 passer in major college history with 15,351 yards. Two spots below him in the all-time top 10 is Dillon Gabriel — who joined the Ducks as a transfer this past offseason and will look to cap his collegiate career with a big year for Oregon in 2024. Gabriel provides a wealth of experience to the depth chart, including 49 career starts — 12 fewer than the record 61 that Nix finished his career with last season. A left-handed dual-threat passer, Gabriel has been confounding opposing defenses for the past five seasons and will look to continue that as Oregon competes for a Big Ten title — and potentially much more — during its first season in a new conference.
The transfer portal yielded not only Gabriel for Oregon this offseason, but Dante Moore as well. A five-game starter for UCLA in 2023, Moore is now with the Ducks after seriously considering the UO football program as a high school recruit. Moore has the talent to push Gabriel for reps, and the experience to lead the Ducks in the event his number is called. Depth was further enhanced this past spring with the arrival of four-star recruit Luke Moga, yet another dual-threat option with elite top-end speed. Novosad now has a fellow Texan with him in the room, after the arrival of freshman Ryder Hayes, and freshman TC Manumaleuna (North Salem HS) joins Thomas as another Oregon native in the group.
What to watch: For all of Gabriel's talent and experience, spring practices for the Ducks saw healthy competition at the quarterback position. That competition will resume with the start of preseason camp, with Gabriel again looking to answer challenges from the younger quarterbacks and affirm himself as a leader for the Oregon football team in 2024. Moore and Novosad can focus on development as second-year collegians, while keeping themselves sharp enough to push Gabriel and also step in for him when necessary. And Moga enters the fall with a head start on his own development after participating in spring and summer with the Ducks; the same can be said for Hayes.
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