Breaking: Dan lanning’s landing of QB1-caliber has pulled ducks from preseason top 10 team

| February 20, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Breaking: Dan lanning’s landing of QB1-caliber has pulled ducks from preseason top 10 team

The Oregon quarterback room: Dillon Gabriel (starter; Oklahoma transfer), Dante Moore (UCLA transfer), Austin Novosad

With Heisman finalist Bo Nix entering the 2024 NFL Draft and Ty Thompson transferring to Tulane, the Ducks could’ve been in dire straits at quarterback entering the 2024 season as a preseason top 10 team, but Dan Lanning pulled off a rare portal feat, landing a pair of QB1-caliber additions under center. Gabriel is projected to start as the bridge to Moore, a five-star signee for Chip Kelly last season at UCLA. He competes with Novosad, a former four-star who redshirted last fall, for the second-team role.

Novosad is a former Baylor commit from Texas whom Texas A&M also pursued. If he cannot lock down that No. 2 position behind Gabriel and the offense’s reins hand down to Moore in 2025, the likelihood of Novosad hanging around in Eugene as a depth-chart casualty is slim. That position battle for the backup role behind Gabriel is one of the more interesting of the spring for the Big Ten’s newest program.

Ranking college football’s most star-studded 2024 quarterback rooms

LANE KIFFIN WINS SEC COACH OF THE YEAR

Given the projected four SEC teams to reach the playoff and Alabama left out, you’ve probably guessed that Ole Miss is one of them. With two seasons of 10 or more wins over his last three years in Oxford, Lane Kiffin is continuing to ascend as a top 10 coach and in 2024, he has the best-looking roster he’s had as a college coach after significant transfer portal enhancements. Both of last year’s regular-season losses came to Alabama and Georgia on the road. This fall, the Rebels benefit from one of the league’s most favorable slates and won’t have to deal with the Crimson Tide, Texas, Tennessee or Missouri. Georgia comes to The Grove in November and the other matchup with a ranked opponent is LSU in Week 7. If Ole Miss splits those and wins 11, Kiffin should be a unanimous pick for the SEC’s coach of the year.

ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

The Alabama quarterback room: Jalen Milroe (starter), Ty Simpson, Dylan Lonergan, Austin Mack (Washington transfer)

In his first season as Alabama’s starter, Milroe won 10-straight starts following a September benching and compiled 2,834 yards passing and 23 touchdowns to go along with 531 yards rushing and 12 scores. Highly-recruited options Simpson and Lonergan are behind him ahead of Kalen DeBoer’s first season along with Mack, one of his former signees at Washington. His transfer softens the blow of the Crimson Tide losing 2024 five-star signee Julian Sayin at the position. Alabama’s inclusion here speaks to DeBoer’s quarterback production as a coach as well and the expectation Nick Sheridan will flourish as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Tuscaloosa.

 OLE MISS REBELS

The Ole Miss quarterback room: Jaxson Dart (starter), Walker Howard, Austin Simmons, Braden Waterman

Fueled by one of the SEC’s top returning starters after a banner season from Dart, Lane Kiffin can sleep well knowing there’s a coveted rising star behind him in LSU transfer Howard along with Simmons, a multi-sport freshman from Florida. Dart threw for 3,364 yards and 23 touchdowns and cut down on his giveaways through the air. He saved his best performance for last in Saturday’s Peach Bowl win over Penn State after finishing with 379 yards passing and three scores. His return in 2024, along with substantial personnel retention and transfer portal adds, makes Ole Miss a legitimate playoff contender in the SEC.

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