The backbone of every football team is its quarterback. Luckily, Oregon has depth in this position with returning senior Bo Nix and intentions to grow its younger players. Nix is set to return for his final year of eligibility and for his second season as a Duck.
In his first year with Oregon, Nix had 3,593 total passing yards with 294 completions and a 71.9 completion percentage. He totaled 29 touchdown passes, 14 rushing touchdowns and even a receiving touchdown. At the end of the 2022 season, Nix led the Pac-12 in Quarterback Ranking with an 87.0 – just ahead of 2022 Heisman candidate Caleb Williams from University of Southern California.
“It is no secret that we have a really great quarterback,” Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning said. “We are going to lean on him.”
Aside from his statistics, Nix served as a natural leader to his team during his debut season at Oregon. It is expected that he will continue to fill this role on and off the field for his final collegiate season. During the 2023 Football Media Day on July 31, he spoke on the importance of building trust and transparency within the team in order to find success during games.
“As a quarterback, my job is to build that trust and chemistry so when we go out there on the field in the fourth quarter playing a tough opponent, we don’t have to worry about whether someone is going to be there or ‘can I count on this guy to give effort?’” Nix said.
Behind Nix, the Oregon football program has returning sophomore Ty Thompson, redshirt freshman Marcus Sanders and freshman Austin Novosad. As a leader of this position, Nix knows the importance of them working together to help everyone grow.
“Ty may see something that he teaches me. I may see something that I teach Austin. We’re all on the same team and motivated to do the same thing. Whatever we have to do to win games,” Nix said.
Thompson is a former four-star recruit who was the backup quarterback to Nix last season. In 2022, he played 66 offensive snaps and collected 72 total yards in 20 passing attempts for a 55.0 completion percentage. Novosad is the newest member to the Oregon quarterback squad and is a member of the 2023 signing class. Novosad is a four-star recruit out of Texas who is the No. 12 ranked pocket passer according to ESPN, as well as the 272nd on the ESPN 300 rankings for 2023. Sanders was a three-star recruit and has not seen any game actions as a true freshman during his time with Oregon in 2022.
Heading into the season, Nix explained that the best way for them to approach the season is to prepare for each day as if they are the starter and to compete each day like they are the backup. Nix believes that the healthy competition between this group will help to make sure the position is in good hands no matter who takes the field.
One thing about sports and football in general is the unpredictability. At any point, the star players can be out of the game and being able to replace the starters with the backups is crucial for success. Lanning said that having the rest of his team ready for a high level of play is going to be key to their success. This year, the quarterback room will train to ensure that there is not a drop-off in level of play — even when a backup player may have to enter the game.
“The expectation is that they train to become the next guy up,” Lanning said. “They train to become the guy that’s on the field.” Lanning said this tactic is being applied to all positions across the team, not just for the quarterbacks.
The Oregon Ducks take the field for the first time on Sept. 2 against the Portland State Vikings at 12 p.m. This will be the first opportunity for these quarterbacks to put their work to the test.