What's Next at Quarterback for the Oregon Ducks Heading Into 2024
Oregon's 2023 season won't officially end until the Ducks face the Liberty Flames on January 1 in the Fiesta Bowl.
But for all intents and purposes, the offseason is in full swing from an off the field perspective, with recruiting and the transfer portal set to dominate the headlines all month long.
With Bo Nix set to play in his final game with the Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl, let's take a look at what's next at the most important position.
Michael Van Buren and the 2024 class
2024 QB Michael Van Buren (3) poses with 2024 Oregon WR commit Jordan Anderson (0) during a visit to Oregon.
The 2024 Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy quarterback de-committed from Oregon on Saturday following the Ducks' loss in the Pac-12 championship. I won't say much on that other than that it was a move I was fully expecting given what I was hearing over the last month or so.
As for the 2024 class, my thinking is that the Ducks won't be looking for passer this cycle and they'll sign Phoenix (Ariz.) Sunnyslope quarterback Luke Moga. There's very few uncommitted quarterbacks at this point in the recruiting calendar, much less a blue-chip guy that Oregon could get involved with that they don't have a previous relationship with or tie too.
The current roster
Oregon Ducks quarterback Ty Thompson throws a pass against the California Golden Bears.
Darby Winter/Ducks Digest
There are a couple of options behind Nix at the position, but this was and still is a very thin room. Redshirt sophomore Ty Thompson should be viewed as the top option in-house, but I still have some reservations about him.
He's played in 17 games through his three seasons with the Ducks and has thrown for 456 yards and 6 touchdowns against 4 interceptions. He saw action in just as many games this year (7) as he did last year, but I think most would agree that we've seen improvement from him. In 2023, there's no doubt he's done as much as he can with the opportunities that he's been given. He's an easy kid to root for and I want to see him succeed.
That said, I'm not sure if I'd say that the Ducks, a program that's knocking on the door of joining college football's elite, would want to or should turn the reigns of their offense over to a player as inexperienced as him. I think they'll get at least one guy in the portal and have the two compete.
Behind Thompson the room is a lot murkier, with true freshman Austin Novosad being the only other player on scholarship. Unsurprisingly we didn't see much of him this season, as I think the staff is focused on getting his frame (6'3", 200) ready for the college level. He had a pretty deep ball when I saw him at the Adidas All-American Bowl in January, but I'm not sure he'll be a contender for the starting job.
The transfer portal
Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel runs against the Texas Longhorns.
© Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK
As for the transfer portal, we've already seen the Ducks get linked to a number of players. Some of it may just be rumor, but I believe some of it is real.
So far there are four names that have been floated: Dillon Gabriel, Cam Ward, DJ Uiagalelei and Dante Moore.
Gabriel hit the portal on Monday and I think he's definitely a name fans will want to keep an eye on. He's a proven winner, a dual-threat quarterback and a plug-and-play option. A certain quarterback from Hawaii that wore No. 8 did pretty well at Oregon. I was told on Friday that Oregon's priority target hadn't entered the portal yet and Gabriel entered the portal on Monday. He's the quarterback I'm hearing the most about in the portal and it sounds promising for Oregon early
Ward is another top name that is highly coveted in the portal. He had two strong seasons at Washington State and the Cougars' record doesn't fully reflect his talent. He was linked to Oregon and a number of other schools early upon his entry. I have heard that Oregon has expressed interest, but the school that I think has the best shot right now is Auburn.
Uiagalelei had a bit of an up-and-down year, but for the most part was the steadying presence Oregon State had desperately been needing. He proved he wasn't the problem at Clemson and cleared his name if you will.
But his biggest performances came against Cal and San Jose State. He only threw for more than 250 yards three times (Cal, UCLA, San Diego State) and while he's more athletic than some give him credit for, I think there's better fits for Will Stein's offense. I wouldn't consider him one of Oregon's top priorities.
Moore is an interesting one to watch of course because he was committed to Oregon before he flipped to UCLA. Despite a rough end of the year in Westwood he did show some flashes and after seeing him in person before he got to college he is a special talent. I think Chip Kelly flip-flopping between quarterbacks probably hurt his confidence.
I haven't heard strong buzz with Oregon myself and I think a school closer to home like Michigan, Michigan State or Florida State probably makes more sense. I don't think it's likely, but maybe Oregon goes for two quarterbacks in the portal to try and get ahead of the curve. Again, I don't view Eugene as a likely landing spot it wouldn't be the strangest thing in the world.
