The name alone carries weight in Eugene. Akili Smith Jr. — 6-foot-5, 231 pounds, a consensus four-star recruit and one of the nation’s top 20 quarterbacks in the 2025 class — arrived at Oregon with pedigree, production and enormous upside. Ducks fans remember his father, Akili Smith, who starred at Oregon in 1998, throwing for 3,307 yards and 30 touchdowns ...

Will Ducks QB Akili Smith Jr. Find Opening in a Crowded Room?

Thank you Jordan, as it is so cool to see Akili Smith's son at Oregon!

His father brought us some great memories...

5 hours ago, FishDuck Article said:

Akili Smith Jr. — 6-foot-5, 231 pounds

His weight and height 😊👍, great to have for a QB! He has great uptick, hopefully will be able to keep him in the fold.

Don't want to be Debbie downer on this one but I will be more surprised if Akili ever breaks into Oregon's lineup than if he doesn't. Here is why.

1. If you look back at his Elite 11 performance it was pretty underwhelming. Arm strength and ability to read defenses were not impressive.

2. You don't hear any behind the scenes talk of him from players, coaches of him standing out in practice. When Mariota and Herbert were freshman (and not playing) you kept hearing from players, reports out of camp that these guys were special. I haven't heard a single word from anyone about Akili.

3. If you weren't able to push Thomas, Novasad and Moga for some mop up playing time then that doesn't bode well for the future.

I would so love to be wrong but not holding my breath on this one.

Too early to tell…

We all know that backup QBs can be just one play from being a starter. Junior probably needs to be #2 on the depth chart this spring, and that means Raiola is still in recovery mode.

It would be a great story if he rises through the ranks to be a starter for the Ducks, but realistically, 2027 would be the year he has a solid chance to play extended minutes.

For the moment, I will just enjoy having depth at QB. The players will sort themselves out.

The guy is freaking massive... If QB doesn't work out don't be surprised to see him move to Tight End if he wants to stay at Oregon.

The reality is that he would probably transfer rather than switch positions, those days are pretty much gone. But still... I think he could be a scary tight end if needed.

I'm rooting for him.

On 3/18/2026 at 7:24 AM, Ben H said:

Don't want to be Debbie downer on this one but I will be more surprised if Akili ever breaks into Oregon's lineup than if he doesn't. Here is why.

1. If you look back at his Elite 11 performance it was pretty underwhelming. Arm strength and ability to read defenses were not impressive.

2. You don't hear any behind the scenes talk of him from players, coaches of him standing out in practice. When Mariota and Herbert were freshman (and not playing) you kept hearing from players, reports out of camp that these guys were special. I haven't heard a single word from anyone about Akili.

3. If you weren't able to push Thomas, Novasad and Moga for some mop up playing time then that doesn't bode well for the future.

I would so love to be wrong but not holding my breath on this one.

Another Ty Thompson? Hope not.