Oregon Football Spring Game: Ducks Cup Runneth Over

For the first time in three years, Oregon Football heads into their upcoming season without a seasoned veteran transfer quarterback at the helm. And for the Ducks, it feels…great!

The biggest question mark for the 2025 season has been what kind of production will Oregon have at the signal-caller?

Well, the spring game isn’t always a crystal ball when predicting the success of athletes, but if last week was any indication, Oregon has such a deep pool of talent that they shouldn’t feel worried about the man under center.

The primary assumption is that Dante Moore and Austin Novasad will continue to battle for reps heading into fall camp, and that looked to be the case in the spring game as each looked sharp and composed. Between the two, Moore clearly has superior arm strength and a quicker release, but the biggest thing will be his accuracy, as a couple of his deep balls were significantly off the mark.

The other question is whether Will Stein will open up the offense with more deep shots in 2025, something they were rather conservative about in 2024. If the offense is more gimmicky than deep centered, Novasad may actually fit the bill better.

While that gets sorted out, the Ducks already have two tremendous athletes waiting in the wings with Redshirt Freshman Luke Moga and True Freshman Akili Smith Jr.

In contrast to Moore and Novosad, both primarily pocket passers, Moga and Smith looked every bit as dangerous on their feet as they did through the air. Neither looked hesitant or rattled in the pocket either, a great sign for such young players.

Between the two, Moga appeared to have the edge on explosiveness and first step speed, but Smith’s size cannot be understated. Fresh out of high school, the kid is a legitimate 6-foot-6 and will only add muscle to his already athletic frame. You get someone that height with another 25 pounds on them in the open field…look out.

Does Oregon have another proven commodity like Heisman Finalists Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel in the mix this season? No. Should that be a major concern considering the talent pool we witnessed last Saturday?

At least for now, it doesn’t seem so.