Oregon DB Daylen Austin arrested Tuesday, charged with felony after fatal hit-and-run

Oregon redshirt freshman defensive back Daylen Austin has been arrested by police for an alleged hit-and-run accident on April 15, according to ScoopDuck’s Justin Hopkins. The collision apparently killed at least one person, according to an update from police on Wednesday.

For his apparent involvement in the alleged hit and run, Austin has been charged with felony hit and run.

The Eugene Police Department said they are “investigating a fatal hit-and-run at W. 4th and Polk that occurred on April 15 around 9:10 p.m.” according to The Oregonian’s James Crepea.

The update from EPD continued, via Crepea: “Daylen Amir Austin, age 19, has initially been charged with felony Hit and Run. This is a complex investigation and EPD is still gathering information to be submitted to the Lane County District Attorney’s Office for a final charging decision.”

Austin, a defensive back preparing for his second season with the Ducks after signing in 2023, was a borderline Top 100 player in his signing class. He was the No. 109 prospect according to the On3 Industry Ranking, earning four stars and being recruited by a number of national powers. He appeared in three games for the Ducks as a true freshman and was apparently vying to crack the starting lineup as a nickel corner.

But now a promising football career will go on the back burner — and possibly be extinguished, depending on the charges Austin ultimately faces and might be convicted of — as the criminal case proceeds.

Oregon has new faces at quarterback in 2024

This offseason, Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning was active in the Transfer Portal, adding quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore this offseason. They’re coming in to try and replace Bo Nix.

Following a recent scrimmage during Spring practice, Lanning praised his new quarterbacks for how they played and handled the fast pace.

“The speed of play shows up more and more on scrimmage because it’s just a little bit of a faster pace,” Lanning said. “I thought both of those guys handled it well. Both of those guys were able to move around with their feet a little bit and utilize their feet, which was a positive to see from them.”

Bo Nix came to Oregon as a transfer at the same time Lanning came in as the head coach. He immediately put up massive numbers for the Ducks, throwing for 8,101 yards and 74 touchdowns in 27 games. During that stretch, Oregon had a 22-5 record. Replacing him is going to be difficult.

Gabriel comes in with plenty of experience, having started three seasons at UCF and two at Oklahoma. During his college career, he’s thrown for 14,865 yards and 125 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Moore was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023 who spent his freshman year at UCLA.

“I thought, overall, we made pretty good decisions. There were some times we put the ball in jeopardy. We’ve got to protect,” Lanning said. “But, in general, all of our quarterbacks I thought were able to execute. We’ve probably got to establish, like I said, the run a little bit better in the second half of the scrimmage.”