Oregon Ducks Coach Makes Eye-Opening Claim About Quarterback Room

After Oregon's practice on Monday, Aug. 17, Ducks quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai spoke about how the room has progressed since the spring and how the unit performed in the scrimmage.

Seeming relatively pleased with the growth of his position players, Ka'ai listed out areas of growth that each Oregon quarterback, Dante Moore, Dylan Raiola, Brock Thomas, and Akili Smith Jr. have taken in the offseason. While Ka'ai is in his first season as the full quarterbacks coach for the Ducks, he has been around the program for quite some time and offered his perspective on how the Oregon signal callers are progressing before the season:

oregon ducks koa ka'ai quarterbacks coach dante moore dylan raiola brock thomas transfer portal akili smith jr dan lanning — Oregon quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai speaks to media on April 7, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Backup Quarterback Traits

"I think that's all encompassing. You want a guy who the the guys got to want to play for him. You know, I think that's part of it. The guys got to believe in that person. The guys have to want to go out there and battle for that person. I think that's one of the most important things. And from there, it's obviously the knowledge of the system. And I truly think in our room that there's four guys who can go out there and play for us and win games for us. I really do."

"And you know the arm talent is part of it. But it's like you got to play your game. You know, like what are you good at? Like you might not be good at everything on the field. You got to play the game, and the game's not going to be called the same if Dante Moore's out there compared to Dylan, compared to Brock, compared to KJ."

"Like it's going to be called a little bit different because those guys all have redeeming qualities, and that's the reason we recruited them. You know, that's the reason they're here. If they didn't have those redeeming qualities, they might not be here, right? So the game is going to be called different based off who's out there, so the arm kind that's going to be there. They wouldn't be here without that."

"And the guys going to want to play for you. You got to have some knowledge of the system. They all have the knowledge of the system, I'd say. And so, you know, what are you looking for in a backup quarterback? It's like, who's most consistent? You know, who can go out there and consistently move the ball down the field? That's the name of the game. Who can score points? Who can move the ball down the field."

Quarterback Play During the Scrimmage

"I think those guys made good decisions. We had one turnover that was on the batted ball, but beyond that, I thought those guys did a really good job of understanding the situation in the game. Not playing every down like it's first down. I think all those, all four of those guys have really made improvements this fall camp. I know everybody says that, but from spring till now, I can name you what Dylan, KJ, Brock, Dante have improved on. So pretty sound first scrimmage. Probably one of the better ones we've had since we've been here. So yeah, pretty impressed by those guys," said Ka'ai.

What Each Quarterback Has Improved On:

"With Dylan, I think first six months getting acclimated to this place, he's finally settled in. He's really improved his pocket movement. The guy's super smart, so learning the offense really wasn't a hurdle for him. But physically, he's improved. Like I said, his pocket movement, his body's changed a bunch."

"I think with Brock, you know, this is year four in the system for Brock. He's kind of been here for all the changes through the last couple coordinators, and so he's just kind of taking the next step of holding guys accountable and kind of being that vocal leader."

"KJ, I can't speak enough of how much KJ has grown from the spring till now. He's taking a huge leap, a lot of that's just like playing in the confines of the system. I think we do a lot here schematically, and we give these guys a bunch of tools and things they can get to. But it's easy for a young kid to kind of get overwhelmed by that and go out there, and everything's moving a million hours an hour. I think KJ has done a good job this fall of just settling down. 'What is this play asking of me and going out there and operating?'"

"Then Tay (Dante Moore), I think I mentioned this in a couple months ago. He's taken a big leap this offseason in regards like defensive recognition and really understanding what all living guys on the field are doing, and then just kind of taking that next level step in holding guys accountable. You know, being that vocal guy out there. He's not a first year starter here anymore. This is his third year in the program, so he's taking a huge leap in that regard."

On Dante Moore's Summer:

"I think he's a very private kid, and he's a professional. And so I think he does a really good job of separating not just his travels for you know all the accolades he's garnered and and all the things that, the cover of EA Sports and all that stuff. I think he's also in his personal life, you know he's going out. He's he spent some time away from the game and some time relaxing, which I think he needs. But he does a really good job of separating the two."

"When it's time to work, it's time to work. When it's time to play, it's time to play. When it's time to kind of get away, it's time to get away. And I think, you know, I couldn't ask anything more of a guy who's, in year four of college, year three of our program. He's earned some of that stuff. He's earned the right to do some of some of those things. But he does a really good job of not letting the two worlds blend. You know, none of that carries over back into our building, which I definitely appreciate," Moore said.

Marcus Mariota:

"When we were 17-year-old freshmen, as roommates and teammates, the guy was the dude who wasn't going to play, who was up at 5 o'clock in the morning, going through his cadence, he went through call sheets, just to see him kind of mature from these young 17-year-old kids, and now living on his dream. I think it's year 12 in the NFL at this point, which is pretty impressive. But he's just such a great role model for our guys."

"Somebody who carries himself with class, somebody who's been through the ups and downs of success in this sport, and and you know some ebbs and flows of the sport. You know where he's not the first round draft pick anymore. He's a backup to Jayden (Daniels), but he does a really good job. He owns that role. You know he's talked to our guys about that role, and you couldn't ask for a better role model. And we have a bunch of them. We're lucky to have a bunch of role models here of guys who have played in the league."

"But he's the closest to them, probably closest in age, the one who's around here all the time. And so, you know, it's been a good, it's been a good resource for our guys. And most of our guys have his number. They reach out at times. He has a personal relationship with some guys in the room, so we're very lucky to have him around the program."

Marcus Mariota's Example:

"Just watch the way Dante uses Zone Read or his footwork on read zone plays. That's something that he got from Marcus. You know, just watching his tape from college and in the NFL. But yeah, like you know, I've said it before. When Marcus is in town in the spring, he comes around. Those guys get to work with him in the moment. He'll pop in the meetings. He's a resource to be around."

"You know, we'll pull up some film when he's in the game, some of his game tape and stuff. But yeah, it's this. When you walk in this building, what do you see on the first floor? You see the Heisman, right? And he's the only one here who's won that thing. And so anybody who comes, every kid we're recruiting nowadays, like they know Marcus Mariota. Everyone knows Marcus Mariota, right? Every kid in this, you know, 16 to 25 grew up watching him play, and so I think anybody who comes here, everybody on our roster, he's a role model, you know, and he's kind of set that standard for what it is to be an Oregon athlete I think."

Benefits of Facing Oregon's Defense in Practice

"Without a doubt. I think every coach would say this, like you want practice to be harder than the game, right? And there's a bunch of places that that is the case, and I can tell you without a doubt that's 100 percent the case here, right? Where you have to go ahead and you have to account for probably four D-linemen who are going to play in the NFL, right? You got a couple, probably the whole back end at some point in their career is going to get a chance to play in the NFL."

"Probably all 11 guys on defense will get a chance to play in the NFL. That's just the one deep, right? And there's numerous guys behind them that'll get a chance to play in the league. And so, having to deal with that aspect in practice, like you can't-it's hard to put a value on it. We're not just now out there running plays. Now you're talking about ability matchups, right? You're talking about okay, 'Well, yeah, here's our man-to-man beater, but now I have to play ability, right?'"

"There's another variable another layer that comes into play in certain regards in certain plays and so you know you get to go against guys who are going to play on Sundays every day in camp, I think that's an invaluable experience for our guys and you know sometimes practice is harder than the game you know and I think that's what you got to want when you go out there on Saturdays."

Benefit of Having an Established Starting Quarterback

"I mentioned before, this is year three for Tay. Right, so really you got that one, that gap year where he sat here and he learned from Dillon. He grew a bunch in that year. Then last year, getting his feet wet as a starter for the first time here at Oregon, and now going into year three with him, I mean, you got to think of how many of the staff, how much of the staff has changed since Dante Moore has been there, right?"

"And so you think of all the little knicks and and intricacies of the offense that he's picked up that he knows that a guy who just joined our staff might not know. And so in regards to how much his offense has progressed, there's not much that we can't do right now at all. You know, and I think his knowledge definitely rubs off on the rest of the room."

"You know, where it's not like, 'Oh, hey, Tay's the starter, that's the guy, yada yada yada.' It's like, 'Well, hey, Tay's a starter. How do I become like Dante Moore, right?' So he kind of sets the standard and he kind of sets the example for the rest of the room, and so it's not just him that's able to go out there and operate at a high level and do a lot of things we want to do."

"A bunch of the other guys have seen and learned from him as well. So now it's not just him out there doing it. It's Dylan Riola doing it. It's Brock Thomas doing it. It's Akili Smith doing it. I'm blessed. I'm very lucky, and you know we have a really good room. Very lucky to have those guys in that room."

Backup Quarterback Competition

"Yeah, I think it's a collective decision. You know, it's not purely up to me. Coach Lanning, he's the boss of the organization. He has a huge say in it. Coach Mehringer as well. Coach Jay (Johnson) in the room with me. So it's a collective-you know-decision we're going to have to come to. Like I just mentioned, like all three of those guys bring something special to the table.

"Brock, year four in the system. The guy knows everything we've done here. You guys watched him go out there and beat Wisconsin last year, right? You go onto KJ. You talk about a physical specimen. The kid's 6-6, 240 something and some change. Runs like the wind. Has a rocket arm, is a freak physical talent, and you see that in practice frequently, right?"

"Then you got Dylan, who's a guy who's been in our league, been in our conference, won a bunch of games, and proven he could be a star at this level, and so I think when you sit back and look at it, like at some point we're going to have to make it. We're going to have to figure that out. But all three guys have talents, and all three guys are capable of winning games in this in this league we believe."

On Brock Thomas Specifically:

"I think anybody on our staff would say we're extremely blessed, and I, you know, people might think it's coach speak like, oh, you got three guys or four guys deep and win a game. I truly believe that, right? Like to your point, like the guy (Brock Thomas) went out there and beat Wisconsin for us last year, right? People forget that was a really close game when he went in the game, was dumping rain, and he went out there and won for us, and so that's a testament to the kid."

"That's 100 percent a testament to Brock Thomas and who he is. Who he is as a person, and testament to the room. You know, like there's really no dissension in that room. There's no fighting. There's no like, I don't want this guy to play well. I want you know just so I can get another shot or I can get another rep or another crack. Like those guys truly go out there and support one another, and I just can't say it enough.

"Like we're beyond lucky to have that kind of talent in that room in today's day and age, when it's so easy to get in the portal and go somewhere else and play, right? Because like it's speculating, but yeah, the guy could probably play other places, 100 percent. And so we're lucky to have him here. He loves Eugene. He's a Eugenian through and through. Just, it's we're lucky. We're extremely lucky to have him."

Akili Smith Jr.'s Talent

"Yeah, we've always known he had the physical talent. I think through this offseason, he first he's done a really good job of creating a routine for himself of how he can study and what works best for him, right? And I think he's figured out, 'Hey, what works for Dante Moore studying wise that might not work for me. What is the schedule and the routine that I need, you know?' And so for him, it's like, hey, he goes into his guest room at his place, and he has a whiteboard in there, and he draws up the install every night."

"That works for him, you know. And then when we're on the road and we're out there running about the country, like Jay Johnson's done an amazing job with these guys and an amazing job with KJ getting him prepared, you know. And you can see through camp all that work that he's put in in the offseason since the spring game until now, and you can see the fruit of his labor now."

"You know, so it's a testament to the kid. It's a testament to the rest of the guys that are on our room helping us out. And like, you know, Jay has been a huge asset for us in that room, and you can see it in KJ's performance."

Leadership Qualities He Looks For

"Yeah, I think you need to be authentic, right? It's like whatever you are, or if you're a lead from the front kind of guy, if you're a quote unquote lead by example kind of guy, whatever that is, you have to be authentic to who you are as a human. I think, right? And so, there's not one particular type of leadership style that we look for. You kind of know it when you see it, right? You know, if a guy's an alpha, if he's a leader, he's guys will follow him, right?"

"But you have to be authentic. If you are a quiet, more lead by example, pull a person to the side kind of guy, and all of a sudden you start getting all wild and crazy for no reason or out of the blue. Guys might look at you sideways, right? But like, there's no particular leadership style we look for. But it's more like, are you authentic to who you are? Right? Are you truly who you are?"

"I think kids and anybody in life, people in general, you know, they appreciate genuine people. You know, and you can tell when someone's BSing. So just look for genuine leadership."

5-for-5 Rule's Impact

"I'm not sure. I guess time will tell, right? I'm sure there's some benefits of the five for five. I'm sure there's some benefits of keeping it the other way with red shirts available. Kids want to play. I think that's the bottom line nowadays, right? Kids want to play, and kids want to play faster than they ever have, so I'm not sure exactly how to answer that. I guess we'll see. You know, this is the first year of it. We're a couple months in, and whatever the timeline is, but we'll see.

"You know, by a calendar year, we'll see if that's been a there's any benefit for the five for five, or there's any shortcoming for the five for five."

If Backup Quarterback Changes Over the Season

"Not to be cliche, but it's got to be a collective answer in the organization, right? Coach Lanning, Coach Mehringer, myself, Jay, all the people included in that, all the stakeholders. But I'm sure it differs at places, but you kind of got to decide who it's going to be. I would think, you kind of want the team has to know for some continuity purposes, for rep purposes, right?"

"You talk about Bri's asked about Marcus. You know, he talks about how he doesn't get many reps in the NFL, right? And a lot of his reps come behind Jayden, right? A lot of his reps come in the VR in different ways than traditionally getting reps out there behind the second group, right? So with that being said, you have X amount of time in a week, you have X amount of reps in practice, you have X amount of time to be meeting with these guys, and so you kind of you know you got to establish who that's going to be, and at some point we're going to do that collectively as an organization, yeah, and that's kind of where we're wrapping that little bit."

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