Oregon football had a dominant year last year. After winning the Big Ten, it was on its way to the top seed in the college football playoff. They finished the season undefeated, and a significant reason for this success was Dillon Gabriel's stability and pinpoint accuracy. Gabriel had a dominant year after transferring over from Oklahoma, but now Oregon needs to find a replacement.

This is the third time in three seasons that head coach Dan Lanning will need to find a new quarterback under center. On a recent episode of “Always College Football” with Greg McElroy, Lanning discussed how challenging replacing Gabriel will be and the challenges facing the quarterback position for the Ducks overall.

“I think it's always about picking the right person,” Dan Lanning said. “It's always about picking the right people. You want competitive guys with a competitive spirit. Guys who are great players. Guys are committed to trying to be the best version of themselves.”

Gabriel's best season in college football was last season in Eugene, his sixth overall. He threw for 3,857 yards and 30 passing touchdowns and then ran for another seven touchdowns. He also threw only six interceptions and had a 72.9% completion percentage. Those stats helped him get invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy Presentation.

“A lot of people mess up an evaluation,” Lanning said. “For us, we try to start with people. What kind of people are you bringing aboard? That will always be our process. Guys who want to get better. Growth mindset that has the talent that can play at this level.”

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Dante Moore is expected to be Oregon's new starting quarterback this season as Gabriel's replacement. He is a former five-star recruit from Detroit, Michigan, who initially committed to Oregon football before switching and committing to UCLA. Then, after one season with the Bruins, he transferred to Oregon.

Despite Moore being the favorite to start, Oregon has five other quarterbacks on the roster: Luke Moga, Brock Thomas, Akili Smith Jr., Ryder Hayes, and Austin Novosad. None of them has much experience and is less talented than Moore.

Moore had a bumpy start to his college football career when he was forced into action in 2023 with UCLA due to injuries. He finished with 1,610 passing yards and 11 passing touchdowns, with nine interceptions on a 53.5% completion percentage.

That he could sit for a season and learn behind Gabriel means a lot for his further development and puts him in line for a much better start than when he was thrust into action at UCLA.