Dan Lanning Faces Critical Time at Quarterback

It’s mid-Saturday and Oregon fans can not find themselves able to discuss anything but Oregon’s future at quarterback. It’s the centerpiece of every discussion for the last 48-ish hours and will be until questions are answered.

As of this update, Saturday around 2 PM PST, Oregon sits in an ideal position.

Your starting quarterback for the season continues to decide if he wants to come back for one last ride, or head to the NFL. It’s not an easy choice and one Bo Nix should not take lightly. It’s a gamble either way.

His NFL draft stock likely won’t raise or lower by coming back. At least, not by very much. Meaning if you decide to return to Oregon, you are probably coming back to compete for a national championship with the hopes of raising your stock. Assuming you believe in Oregon’s chances to do so.

The only way for Dan Lanning to help that cause is through recruiting. Not only at the prep and JUCO level, but also with the transfer portal.

Fans want to blame Nix for holding Oregon “hostage” but the reality is, up until about 4 weeks ago, it wasn’t even really a consideration. Nix transferred to Oregon with the intent on being one and done. But he had a great year and I think really fell in love with Eugene, his teammates and the progrum.

Let me say this loud and clear, Nix needs to take his time and should be respected to do so. Additionally, just having the chance for him to return next season should have Duck fans beyond excited. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the country this season.

The quarterback position is the single most important position in football. In college and the NFL. You have to have skill there in order to compete at the highest level.

So now Dan Lanning finds himself squarely in the second biggest decision of his young Oregon career. The first, in my opinion, was replacing Kenny Dillingham at offensive coordinator a few weeks ago. It’s no secret Lanning is a defensive-minded coach, so having a bright offensive mind was critical to his success.

But now he’s at another crossroad.

You want and need Bo Nix to come back.

You also want and need to hold on to your top-ranked quarterback commit, Dante Moore. Lanning finds himself in an absolute dogfight with Chip Kelly and UCLA for Moore. With Kenny Dillingham heading to lead ASU, that opened the door for UCLA and others to recruit Moore. Who is widely known to be a very reserved young man that values relationships.

In the last 48 hours the momentum has shifted. Oregon was still very confident in its ability to retain Moore even after the OC changes. But following a UCLA visit last weekend, the Bruins have really made things interesting. And the smoke keeps rising which means the fire is getting hotter.

But here we are, about 45 minutes later after I’ve started writing this update. And to my knowledge, not a single insider, including myself, has logged a prediction for Moore to flip to UCLA. A lot of folks have written about it. But not a single one has called their shot.

In a perfect world for Dan Lanning, you get Bo Nix back and keep Dante Moore. You’ve got a sure-fire starter next season and the heir apparent to lead you for multiple seasons after.

But nothing about recruiting is a perfect science.

Worst-case scenario, Nix doesn’t return and you lose Moore to UCLA in the process. And that is a scary proposition for Oregon.

No disrespect to Ty Thompson, but it’s clear he still has areas to develop. Maybe by this time next year we’re talking about a different guy, but it’s a gamble Dan Lanning can not afford to take.

The way I see it, Lanning has the most crucial 48 hours ahead of his career following the OC hire. He needs to nail down what Nix is doing. Even if it’s only known privately, it has to be 100-percent locked in.

If you can keep Nix, you have time. It’s not ideal. But you have bought yourself another year. Again, perfect world, you sign a 2023 prep and groom him for a year behind Nix. Everyone agrees that would be the top choice.

If you keep Nix and lose Moore, maybe you look in the portal for a quarterback with multiple years remaining. Not a bad option, if the timing allows.

I posted earlier about Oregon making a late push at Baylor commit Austin Novosad. But it seems pretty late in the process for Oregon fans to give that much confidence. Maybe hope, but not confidence. I won’t try and talk you out of that position either.

I suppose that would be a pretty good second scenario for Lanning however if it came together.

As fans, we’ve given up the idea of patience. We demand news and answers now and anything less is unsatisfactory. Unfortunately these aren’t matters that get cleared up when YOU want.

For now we need to hope and trust Dan Lanning and his staff can come up with a positive outcome. We don’t know what it will be, but there are multiple options.

But I can guarantee you this. There isn’t a single person on this Oregon staff that isn’t aware of the stakes. There isn’t a single person not doing all they can to get the best possible outcome for Oregon.

It’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. It’s part of the journey. So take your xanax or drink your chamomile tea or whatever calms you, and get ready for an outcome of some kind sooner than later.