How Oregon's Quarterback Development is Helping in Recruiting

The Oregon Ducks are on the short list of teams that have stood out to class of 2028 recruit, quarterback Kaden Craft.

Craft listed six teams that have caught his eye and Oregon is one of them.

Kaden Craft on Oregon: "Quarterback Development is Top in Country"

oregon ducks dan lanning kaden craft recruiting class of 2028 recruit quarterback will mencl nfl dante moore commitment — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore walks the field after the Ducks’ loss as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Kaden Craft is a 6-4, 210 pound quarterback out of Mooresville, North Carolina. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 8 quarterback in the class of 2028 per 247Sports Composite.

He recently spoke to Steve Wiltfong of Rivals about schools standing out in early in the recruiting class. Craft listed Oregon, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Michigan.

When it comes to Oregon, Craft has taken note of how well they have developed quarterbacks and guided them into the NFL.

“Oregon has shown to put quarterbacks in the league every year,” Craft said. “Their quarterback development is top in the country. I still need to visit and get up to a game, but I’m excited just from talking with the coaches and how they think of me.”

Each starting quarterback that has played for coach Dan Lanning at Oregon has been selected in the NFL Draft. Bo Nix started for Oregon in 2022 and 2023 before being selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Nix has been the starter in Denver from day one.

The following season in Eugene, Dillon Gabriel was the Ducks starting quarterback. After the 2024 season wrapped up, Gabriel was selected in the third round of 2025 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He is currently in a competition for the starting job.

It was trending towards a third straight Duck quarterback being selected early in an NFL Draft in 2026 with Dante Moore. However, Moore opted to return to Oregon for another season despite being a projected first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

This strong track record with quarterbacks make Oregon an attractive destination for those at that position looking to eventually make the leap to the NFL.

As a sophomore for Lake Norman High School in 2025, Craft threw for 1,739 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed for 387 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.

Oregon has not yet received a commitment from a recruit in the 2028 class. The Ducks have been on fire in recruiting as of late. Their 2027 class is now ranked No. 3 in the country per Rivals with 24 commitments. 16 of these commits are rated as four or five star recruits. No other team in the Big Ten conference has a higher ranked 2027 recruiting class.

If Oregon were to finish with the third ranked class in the country, it would extend their streak of landing top four recruiting classes to four years, dating back to 2024.

Someone that could end up being competition for Craft is he were to eventually go to Oregon is quarterback Will Mencl. Mencl is the lone quarterback in Oregon’s 2027 recruiting class as of now. Mencl is 6-3, 205 pounds, rated as a five-star recruit, and ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2027 class according to Rivals.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google