As the 2025 college football season draws near, teams across the nation are grappling with the challenge of replacing key players, especially at the crucial quarterback position.
One team in particular, the Oregon Ducks, are looking to fill the shoes of their standout signal caller, Dillon Gabriel.
The Ducks, who held the No. 1 ranking for much of last season and secured the top seed in the College Football Playoff, will need to find a new leader under center.
Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon for his final year, put together a remarkable season in 2024. He passed for 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns, and just six interceptions, all while completing an impressive 72.9 percent of his passes.
Over his six-year college career, Gabriel etched his name into the record books, tying the all-time record for touchdown passes with 155 and ranking second in career passing yards with 18,722.
His experience and performance have set a high bar for his successor.
The heavy expectation is that redshirt sophomore Dante Moore will take over as Oregon’s starting quarterback.
Moore, a former five-star recruit, began his career at UCLA, where he made an immediate impact as a true freshman.
Over the course of nine games, Moore threw for 1,610 yards, recording 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while completing 53.5 percent of his passes.
However, College Football Hall of Fame inductee and current analyst David Pollack, speaking on his podcast “See Ball, Get Ball,” expressed concerns about the Ducks’ quarterback situation, suggesting that while Moore is undeniably talented, the team could be taking a significant step back.
“No, they did not get better,” Pollack said of Oregon. “Now, they might get more talented at that spot, I can see that. I can see the size, the arm, the more talent at that QB spot, but Dillon Gabriel played for 300 years in college football.
“That experience in big games and big moments, I thought his experience in that offense, too … he got the ball out and managed that really, really well.”
Pollack’s comments underscore the value of Gabriel’s extensive experience, which he accumulated over 64 games for UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
In comparison, Moore has played just 14 games, with five of those coming in situations where the game was already decided. Over his career, Moore has attempted only 221 passes, while Gabriel has thrown 2,111.
Despite the experience gap, Moore enters the season with significant upside.
Ranked among the top three players in the 2023 recruiting class, he possesses elite talent, including a strong arm and impressive physical tools.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was a consensus three-star recruit when he came out of high school in 2019, ranked No. 679 nationally.
While Moore brings potential and excitement, Pollack believes Gabriel’s experience and leadership will be deeply missed.
Adding an interesting twist to Pollack’s comments is the recent NIL debacle involving quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Oregon had originally recruited Iamaleava and were close to securing him before he decided to commit to the Tennessee Volunteers.
Of course, we all know how that story ended.
Interestingly, it was revealed that Iamaleava and his camp continued to speak to Oregon behind the scenes, in a possible attempt to transfer to the Ducks.
It was also revealed that Oregon head coach Dan Lanning didn’t appreciate the dirty games that were being played and reportedly alerted Josh Heupel and Tennessee to what Nico was doing.
All of this brings us to this question: Would Oregon be better off if they had Iamaleava as their starter instead of Moore?
What are your thoughts on Pollack’s comments?
Do you see the Ducks taking a significant step back this season? … Or will Moore prove the doubters wrong and play at a Heisman-caliber level???
