Oregon Football hosted its annual spring game on Saturday afternoon — and despite the defense ruling the first half, fans left with 51 total points scored and a sense of relative ease heading into the Ducks’ first season in the Big Ten. Oregon’s new quarterbacks, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore, combined for 250 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while the ground game eased worries about the departure of Bucky Irving.
“There was definitely some pieces of today that were a little bit sloppy,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said postgame,” but also some points of improvement. I appreciate our guys’ effort and enthusiasm [and] I think we have great talent to be able to go out and compete.”
The offense didn’t click immediately, despite the exciting additions made by the Ducks through the transfer portal since the conclusion of the 2023 season. Transfer quarterback and expected starter Dillon Gabriel played a quarter under center in the first half for the Green Team, racking up 40 air yards in that time. He didn’t impress early — his offense exited quietly on each of its first two possessions after missed long completions from the quarterback. As he settled into the game, though, Gabriel began to develop his connection with various receivers and added a 5-yard touchdown pass to Justius Lowe in the second half.
“I loved how aggressive we were at times,” Gabriel said postgame, “[but] I think that’s also where we struggled — trying to find ways to bring people in — but we settled in and the guys made plays.”
His receiving core included returning starter Tez Johnson and Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart, both of whom are expected to have career years in 2024. Johnson finished the game with 35 receiving yards on four receptions, while Stewart racked up 67 yards — perhaps the highlight play of the second half was a flea-flicker snag by Stewart, whose reaching effort saw him secure a first down and cheers from the Autzen crowd.
On the ground, fans got their first look at Northwest Missouri State transfer Jay Harris, who took on much of the work early for the Green Team. His group got down to the goal line on its third drive, but couldn’t punch it in on three straight downs before second-year back Jayden Limar found his way through from the one yard line on fourth down.
Harris’ bullish attitude and ball-carrying style will be a strong personality in the Ducks’ running back room this year, which lost former starter Irving to the NFL Draft.
Transfer cornerback Jabbar Muhammad was the biggest name on the Green defense, but the former Washington defender was rarely even targeted by either of the White Team quarterbacks. He’d only record one tackle and a single breakup.
The White Team debuted UCLA transfer Dante Moore at quarterback, who led his team to a 49-yard field goal on his first drive before second-year Duck Austin Novosad took over under center. The two alternated drives until the fourth quarter. Novosad heaved an aimless ball downfield on third-and-10 on his first chance, though, which was picked off by Dakoda Fields.
He found his rhythm on the first drive of the second half — a near-completion to Terrance Ferguson, dropped by the junior tight end, was followed up with a similar strike complete to freshman receiver Jeremiah McClellan. The Ohio State flip hauled in an impressive, shoulder-twisting catch that set the White Team up in the goalmouth for their first touchdown of the game. Novosad finished with 143 passing yards on 19 attempts.
Moore added 87 passing yards to the total, and rushed for a game-ending touchdown that brought the White Team back within a score as the clock expired.
“The biggest thing you can do as a quarterback is execute,” Moore said postgame. “[To] put points on the board and really just be a leader. I feel like, in the quarterback room, we have the opportunity to do that.”
Freshman quarterback Luke Moga had the fourth quarter, and completed two passes for 48 yards, including a 42-yard completion to fellow first-year Jack Ressler. He’d rush for another, cementing his place as a viable future candidate at Autzen.
“I think all of our quarterbacks had some really positive plays,” Lanning said, “and others a couple of plays that the series would’ve kept going if the ball was caught. I think we saw some really good things from Luke [Moga] and Austin as well — I feel really good about our quarterbacks, though. I think we have talent in that room.”
“It’s been a huge joy to be around [the quarterback room],” Gabriel said. “We had a lot of fun, and just having those guys around me definitely helps as well.” He highlighted execution as the room’s main goal, mentioning that, “Knowing exactly where to go with the football? You can never be too good at that.”
Returning starter Jordan James was the standout skill player on that side; A 35-yard burst set the junior up well on their second drive of the game for that field goal, and he racked up 46 yards in the first half before adding a touchdown in the second. He’s expected to be the main contributor in the new backfield corps under first-year running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples (read more about Samples’ philosophy here).
It would be backup tailback Brison Cobbins, though, who produced the longest run of the day. Late in the third quarter, the junior back took the handoff and spun out of several line-of-scrimmage tackles to turn a 65-yard dash into six points.
Unfortunately, the game also saw several players limp off with unconfirmed injuries. Defensive back Kobe Savage spent time on the ground in the first quarter, while wide receiver Traeshon Holden struggled to the sideline after a no-contact slow-down on an end around play.
The Ducks have just over four months until their first season in the Big Ten kicks off. For many of the players and position groups, that time will be spent in personal training — Gabriel mentioned a trip with the offense in the works, while Lanning said simply that he wants his players to “get better”. Oregon returns to Autzen Stadium on August 31, for its first game of the 2024 season against Idaho.
