The season is over. We all collectively thudded back to the ground after believing that maybe we could hang with or even beat Indiana. My mind immediately jumped into the off-season mode and let me tell you, it is murky.

First and foremost, does Dante stay? As a fan, I was hopeful that his announcement would come very quickly after the season ended, regardless of how it ended. I get it has been less that 24 hours, but this is serious stuff!!

The traditional deadline to declare for the draft is January 14th.

This creates a muddy situation as those potential targets in the transfer portal may elect to determine their landing spots before we hear from Dante. If we miss on a transfer, Brock Thomas is our most seasoned QB as a redshirt sophomore.

Granted, this is all the musing of a fan who has no inside track into the workings of the program. My ultimate hope is that DL and staff have a transfer in their back pocket ready to offer if Dante leaves.

Or, we could maybe see deja vu. Like when Darren Thomas left and we started this freshman kid.....can't recall his name. 😊. Maybe Akili Smith, Jr will be the next Mariota.

I hate the unknown, I dislike waiting. If you see this message Mr. Lanning, help a fan out!!

I'm actually excited for the Akili Smith Jr era to begin. In my mind, it's why Novo portaled out before Moore declared anything. I would rather let Jr grow into the position even if they take a couple Ls than just portal in someone with experience.

Oregon Ducks On SI

This Five-Star Transfer Could Be Oregon's Next Quarterbac...

The Oregon Ducks are led by quarterback Dante Moore, who could declare for the 2026 NFL Draft or return to school for the 2026 season, leaving Oregon's quarterb

2 hours ago, The Kamikaze Kid said:

I'm actually excited for the Akili Smith Jr era to begin. In my mind, it's why Novo portaled out before Moore declared anything. I would rather let Jr grow into the position even if they take a couple Ls than just portal in someone with experience.

The experience thing is what keeps us in the portal shopping for a new QB.

We are doing good on the recruiting trail, but we need to give guys experience. We need to sit the starting QB and and give someone else a shot. Dante should have played more last year. It would have helped him this year.

I don't expect Dante to leave, but if he does no one got enough snaps to be his replacement. If Dante stays, #2 needs to get a whole lot more snaps next year, or we will be in the same situation.

It will probably always be better to bring someone in who has 3 years behind center rather than trust someone with the keys who only has less then 50 snaps in his career... even if that guy knows the system and the veteran does not. The veteran can adjust -- look who's playing QB in the championship game.