Why Oregon Fall Camp Is Giving the Ducks More Reasons for Optimism

Week zero of the college football season is officially underway, and fall camp for the Oregon Ducks is reaching its conclusion as the Ducks will open their season on Sept. 5 against the Boise State Broncos.

While there are high expectations for this Oregon Ducks team, fall camp has provided Oregon with optimism that the team is capable of meeting those expectations.

Oregon Ducks football Dante Moore Evan Stewart Dan Lanning 2026 Fall Camp Heisman Big Ten College Football Playoff Oregon — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Last year, ahead of the 2025 season, there were also sky-high expectations surrounding coach Dan Lanning's squad, but perhaps the biggest difference between last season and the upcoming one is the number of questions facing the roster.

A season ago, there were concerns about the youth of the Ducks, how quarterback Dante Moore would perform in his first full season as a starter and more. However, heading into 2026, those questions have been answered, and there were arguably fewer questions to begin with.

With fall camp wrapping up in Eugene, even the few concerns surrounding the Ducks ahead of 2026 have seemingly been addressed, giving Oregon fans an even greater sense of optimism as the Ducks chase history in 2026.

Fall Camp Is Providing Answers to Oregon's Biggest Questions

Dante Moore Is Showing Signs of a Heisman Trophy-Level Jump

The Ducks return one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Dante Moore. Moore is fresh off a season in which he completed over 70 percent of his passes and threw for over 3,565 yards. 2025 was a successful season for Moore, to say the least, but now the question is whether he can take the final leap into Heisman-caliber territory.

The biggest setback for Dante Moore was his 10 interceptions across 15 games. The quarterback was also sacked 17 times for a loss of 128 yards. If Moore can clean up those mistakes heading into the season, he could very well be in New York City as a Heisman finalist.

What has become increasingly encouraging during fall camp, though, is the level of responsibility Oregon is prepared to put on Moore.

“I think with any great player, you always say. ‘What are they capable of? What can they handle?’ And the more they can handle, the more you throw at them. Right? You throw the kitchen sink at them and see what they can do,” said Lanning of Moore.

“So there’s new things that we haven’t done in the past that we’re going to do now. There’s certainly a lot Dante can handle, but then there’s times we us like ‘Hey, let’s just call inside zone and let him hand the ball off, right? Or let’s just throw four vets and let them take care of business there.’ So, all the stress shouldn’t be applied to Dante, right? But he’s capable of a lot, so we’re gonna give him a lot.”

That trust could be one of the biggest factors in determining whether Moore can make the jump from an accomplished quarterback to a legitimate Heisman contender.

Oregon's Coordinator Changes Are Bringing Continuity

Following the departure of both offensive coordinator Will Stein, who was hired as head coach at Kentucky, and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who was hired as head coach at Cal, Oregon promoted two key staff members from within to take over play-calling duties for 2026.

Drew Mehringer, Oregon's former tight ends coach, will take over as offensive coordinator, while Chris Hampton, who previously served as Oregon's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, will take over the defense.

Both coaches have prior play-calling experience, but doing it at the highest level of Power Four football against top-tier coaching staffs brings an entirely different level of pressure. That concern has become easier to manage as fall camp has progressed.

Lanning told columnist John Canzano on his digital show, “Bald Faced Truth Unfiltered,” that he expects there to be differences in 2026, but not the kind of changes that would fundamentally alter what Oregon does.

“I hope every year when you watch us, you see some some nuances that are slightly different because of things we studied in theoff season that can make us better,” explained Lanning when asked if there would be notable differences with the coordinator changes. “I don't know if that the average fan will will sit and see something that's completely different. I think philosophy wise there'll be a lot of similarities.”

The biggest risk of changing coordinators isn't necessarily losing a play-caller. It is potentially disrupting the systems and relationships that have already been established. Oregon avoided much of that disruption by promoting from within.

Oregon's offense averaged 36.9 points and 452.2 yards per game in 2025, while the Ducks' defense ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense at 17.9 points per game. Hampton's defense also led the country in pass breakups with 73 while ranking fourth in passing defense at 157.9 yards allowed per game.

Lanning's philosophy suggests the goal is not to move away from those strengths.

“We want to be a team that can run the ball. We want to be a team that can stop the run. we want to make sure we leave it in our players' hands to win and lose games, right, and not try to outscheme ourselves to where we, do some things that are unsound,” Lanning told Canzano.

Rather than asking Mehringer and Hampton to completely reinvent what Oregon does, Lanning appears to be trusting two coaches who already understand the program to build on what is working.

Evan Stewart Is Showing He Is Ready for a Major Comeback

Evan Stewart's status heading into 2026 is yet another one of the most compelling storylines on the entire roster.

After missing the entire 2025 season with a torn patellar tendon, Stewart needed to show not only that he could return to the field, but that he could still be the explosive receiver he was back in 2024. fall camp has provided some of the strongest evidence yet that he can.

Offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has been around Stewart throughout the offseason and has now watched him compete throughout fall camp. His assessment was about more than Stewart's physical recovery.

“Evan's grown so much in the sense that his cockiness doesn't turn into arrogance at all. He's he has confidence in his ability to go do it, but he wants to be coached and he wants to get better and he wants to develop,” said Mehringer. “He’s had an unbelievable camp for us.”

Stewart is returning to a receiver room that does not need to, and will not, hand him a starting role simply because of what he accomplished before his injury.

Oregon has legitimate depth at the position, which means Stewart has had to show he is ready to contribute. That competition makes his performance in fall camp even more encouraging.

Lanning also named Stewart as his breakout player at Big Ten Media Days. Fall camp has provided the first opportunity for that prediction to be backed up by what the coaching staff is actually seeing every day, and Mehringer's assessment suggests Stewart has done exactly that.

After missing an entire season, Stewart still has to prove he can translate his fall camp performance to game day. But the signs coming out of Eugene suggest Oregon may be getting back a player who is ready to make an impact rather than simply a player who is healthy enough to return.

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