Our Oregon football program has lost most of its 2024 offensive identity in the offseason. Tez Johnson, Dillon Gabriel, Jordan James, and Josh Conerly Jr. are a few of the many faces on offense we won’t see return to Autzen this upcoming season.
Among the players that head coach Dan Lanning has added in the past few months, Nico Lamaleava should not be joining them anytime soon. He’s allegedly entering the transfer portal, and regardless of talent or numbers in an extremely difficult conference, I believe the Ducks would further themselves on an unsustainable path by adding him.
The path of relying solely on outside talent (to be the signal caller, specifically) in Autzen for another season. Gabriel was great, and so was Bo Nix. Even all the way back to Vernon Adams III, we’ve seen transfers come in and do great things for the Ducks. Our own Mr. FishDuck took a break from his fun at a gambling site to share with me some very strong thoughts about this potential transfer.
Unfortunately—I’m old school, I guess. I still believe in recruiting quarterbacks and developing them over the course of a season or two to BUILD a starter instead of BUYING one. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele might have been a different situation, but to me, it screams the same message: building quarterbacks from within will ALWAYS be best.
Dante Moore had extended experience in 2023, and gained incredibly valuable experience with Dillon Gabriel – Screenshot from On3 Video
Dante Moore took a season behind Gabriel to learn the system. By the time Sagapolutele got there, Moore proved he was going to be the starter immediately, so much so that Sagapolutele instantly transferred. To me, that means Moore shouldn’t be QB1 this year: he NEEDS to be. He might technically be a transfer, but for the sake of what Lanning’s put into recruiting, it shows so much more that he’s committed to his guys. Even after losing out to UCLA on Moore when offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham left (to the tune of a College Football Playoff run, no less), Moore found his way back to Eugene anyway. And he should start this season—end of story.
Eventually, I see this transfer portal transition ending with future players analyzing trends. If Oregon develops a stigma of only relying on proven transfer quarterbacks, it’s going to be a really hard sell down the road for recruits to join the roster.
Gabriel is one of my favorite Ducks in recent memory. I can’t wait to see him at the next level – Via Steven Chan
Now, could you say EVERY team is doing this to an extent? Yes. Is college football temporary enough today that offensive coordinators don’t stick around with programs for long, either? Absolutely. Did the Ducks try to recruit Moore first and end up getting him through the transfer portal as well? Unfortunately, yes.
I’m not taking a stance that adding a proven quarterback through the transfer portal is a no-win scenario. You can absolutely transform your team in a rebuilding season if your current QB room isn’t ready or there’s just a must-have talent in the portal.
The thing is, Oregon is in neither of those scenarios. Moore looks great, and I don’t believe Lamaleava is a must-have talent. Taking big swings on transfer players is a fantastic way to turn a great roster into an elite one, but quarterback is just different. If Moore shines this season, he could have a pair of great seasons ahead with the Ducks and many, many wins.
No new transfers needed.
Anyway, enough from me, Oregon fans. What do you think about the concept of the ‘proven-quarterback transfer’ strategy? Should Lamaleava join the Ducks, or should Moore get a fair shake for the next couple of seasons? Let us know in the FishDuck Forum with decorum.
Go Ducks!
Alex Heining
Los Angeles, California
Top Photo Via: Twitter (@keithdaguio)
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Alex Heining is an Oregon alumni from the graduate class of 2021. After studying sports business and media studies, he has moved into the field of digital marketing as a copywriter and content manager in the Los Angeles area. Still, he loves his Ducks and goes to local high school games all over the Los Angeles and Orange County area to check out new recruits of the future (and a SoFi game or two with the pros). On any given Saturday, expect to find him doing martial arts, playing the guitar, or screaming at the tv over a missed holding penalty.