With Oregon's season opener just a couple of days away, head coach Dan Lanning has yet to announce who will be the Ducks' starting quarterback. However, that shouldn't come as a surprise.
Lanning hasn't formally announced it, but he never does. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dante Moore is expected to start for the Ducks and be their signal caller in 2025.
The former five-star recruit was ranked No. 2 overall by ESPN and No. 3 overall by 247 Sports in his recruiting class. He started his career at UCLA, and transferred to Oregon in 2024 and waited a year behind Dillon Gabriel. Now, the young Duck will get his chance to shine.
Why Doesn't Dan Lanning Announce His Starting QB?
Lanning has never formally announced a starting quarterback at Oregon. He didn't with Bo Nix in 2022 and he didn't with Gabriel in 2024. He simply doesn't see an advantage with it.
“I don’t announce a starting 3 technique. I don’t announce a starting running back. What’s the benefit for our organization? People know; they come to practice every day," Lanning said in an interview on ESPN radio's Amber and Ian. "They know how we operate. I don’t see a ton of benefit and I love the fact that we have great competition. You’ve got to go out there – football, it’s not a mortgage; you don’t own it. You got to pay rent every single day.
"If there’s a spot that you earn out there on the field, you got to turn around and earn it again the next day. That’s what makes us better. That’s what creates a great team."
Not only does announcing a starter bring no added advantage to the team, but not doing so encourages another level of effort each day.
With so much young talent getting their first action on Saturday inside Autzen Stadium, Dan Lanning emphasized playing clean as a goal for the season opener vs Montana State. pic.twitter.com/YxhMHLKBbN
— Ted Leroux (@TedontheDucks) August 28, 2025
Oregon's quarterback room is extremely young, but loaded with talent. Although Moore is expected to start, Lanning has been impressed with Austin Novosad, Luke Moga and others throughout camp as well.
"I think Will (Stein) does a good job of calling it based on who is in the game," Lanning said. "You’ve got guys that are really familiar with our process, are familiar with our checks, like Dante and Austin have been here for a long time. Luke Moga is a guy that has a great running ability, an athletic ability. I think that showed up in the spring game.
"We’ve got some young guys too, like Brock Thomas has been here for a while now and he understands exactly what we’re doing and has been as good out there on the field for us as anybody else this offseason."
It's safe to say, Lanning is confident any one of his quarterbacks behind center, and there won't be any formal announcement of a starter. However, everyone expects Moore to be the guy that takes the field on Saturday when No. 7 Oregon opens its season against Montana State.