On every quarterback’s helmet is a green sticker that denotes the coach-to-player radio connection. Every season during the Dan Lanning era at Oregon, the green-dot helmet has been worn by a player with seasons of collegiate experience. Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel entered with seasons under their belts and left Eugene for the NFL Draft as Heisman Trophy finalists and national record holders.

“I always tell people that Bo and Dillon — the way they pre- pared for each and every game meant there was never a doubt that you were going into a game underprepared,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Austin Novosad said at Oregon’s annual media day.

But Nix and Gabriel are gone. In their place is a stable of promising-yet-untested arms whose ceilings were previously clouded by the veterans who held the starting job instead. This year, the quarterback will have to mature on the field.

Redshirt sophomore Dante Moore projects as the likely starter. Moore, who committed to Oregon as the No. 3 quarterback recruit in the class of 2023 before flipping to UCLA in December 2022, returns for his second season in Eugene with likely the best pure arm talent in the room. In Los Angeles, Moore made five starts but couldn’t find his feet behind a leaky offensive line.

His freshman season ended with a 3-2 record in those games, an 11-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 1,609 passing yards. His next season was more important. Moore transferred to Oregon following Bruins head coach Chip Kelly’s departure to Ohio State — even after Gabriel had already committed to Eugene as the assumed starter. The true sophomore then spent the 2024 season waiting behind Gabriel; he only made appearances in blowout wins over Oregon State, Michigan State and Washington in addition to a snap in the Rose Bowl.

“We spent a lot of time (together) last season, even when we had Dillon,” redshirt junior receiver Justius Lowe said at Oregon’s media day. “Dante was always right there, getting work too. I feel like this year, our chemistry is on another level.”

Lowe also put Moore’s professionalism on par with Nix and Gabriel’s.  The doubts, though, lie in whether he has the poise to run an Oregon offense that has thrived with accurate, short-yardage passers. At UCLA in 2023, Moore’s completion percentage (on 213 attempts) was 53.5%. In his two seasons at Oregon, Nix completed 71.9% and 77.4% of his passes — both led the nation and the latter still stands as the collegiate single-season record — and Gabriel completed 72.9%. Moore, though, has had a year to evolve since his freshman season.

“We’re ready to compete,” Moore said. “A lot of us have chips on our shoulders — I know damn well I’m hungry.”

The challenger to Moore is redshirt sophomore Austin Novosad. The Texas native committed to Oregon as the No. 10 quarterback recruit in the 2023 class, and sat behind Nix and Gabriel for three seasons. He’s got just 13 passing attempts in blowout wins over the last two seasons, but projects as an option intimately familiar with third-year offensive coordinator Will Stein’s fast-moving offense. He’s the most veteran option in terms of years in Eugene.

“I feel lucky,” Novosad said. “In this day and age, a lot of guys have coordinator changes or head coaching changes, and so having the same guy for these three years, we’ve been able to add new things each year and tweak things that we wanted to.”

The rest of the Ducks’ room includes redshirt sophomore Brock Thomas (a Eugene native), redshirt freshmen Luke Moga and Ryder Hayes, and true freshman Akili Smith Jr. Oregon’s spring game featured Moga, who had the only passing touchdown of what was a defensive game. None are likely starters, but become the new protégés.

When Oregon takes the field against Montana State University on Aug. 30, the green dot will be on a new helmet. The head it encases will be a new one, yes, but one with everything to prove.