Dan Lanning must avoid his transfer portal instincts for Oregon’s best chance in 2025

Oregon had a great season this past year, but why does is feel so empty? The Ducks went 12-0 (9-0) during their first season in the Big Ten. They got marquee regular-season wins over Illinois and Ohio State, picking up a third by beating Penn State in the conference title bout. Fate would have it, the Ducks would lose the rematch to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff.

After a slow start to their season, Oregon eventually found its footing after beating in-state rival Oregon State in something that I like to call The Strife Aquatic. What is so civil about war, anyway? From there, Oregon quickly emerged as one of the teams, then eventually the team, to beat in all of college football. I felt this team was good, going on great, but I questioned if they had a second gear.

After a brutally slow start in the Rose Bowl, my concerns were validated. Dan Lanning's lack of big-game experience were too much to overcome in the national quarterfinals. Even more concerning, diminuitive quarterback Dillon Gabriel looked too small on the big stage for the Ducks. This was their year to finally win a national championship, and the Ducks came up painfully short. So why was that?

Well, they did not respond to adversity well after getting punched in the mouth for the first time all year in what was their biggest game to date. Lanning's inability to adjust, as well as Gabriel's inability to separate and elevate contributed to their undoing. So what is Lanning to do now that Gabriel is out of eligibility? Should he look to the transfer portal again? Will he pursue Texas starter Quinn Ewers?

After watching Ewers up close in-person, let me say that he is not some Oregonian panacea, folks...

Quinn Ewers is not the transfer quarterback Dan Lanning is looking for

I will give Ewers a lot of credit for how well he played when it counted earlier today in the Peach Bowl. The Arizona State defense gave him fits for the better part of the game, but he outplayed his counterpart Sam Leavitt when it mattered most. Ewers showed great poise and composure during Texas' two overtime periods to beat the Sun Devils in Atlanta. It was his defense who sealed the deal.

However, where Ewers is going to play next season is a total mystery. I just know that it is not going to be for Texas. Arch Manning made it a point to say that he is not transferring in 2025 ahead of his third year with the program. This means for better or worse that Ewers is out. He can enter the NFL Draft, or he could look to play for a third Power Four program after Texas and a very brief Ohio State stint.

While I am not as big of a critic of Ewers' game translating to the next level as I am of Dillon Gabriel's, I do have real concerns about Ewers' longevity playing football at the highest of levels. He has a strong arm, but one that often gets him in trouble. Ewers is not terribly mobile and is especially injury-prone. Oregon had a player with similar issues in Gabriel. Far more mobile, but not quite the arm talent either.

What I am getting at is if Oregon were to enter the transfer portal quarterback market again this offseason like they have in recent years, you are signing up to overpay on an overpriced used car. Who knows what is under the hood at this point? Ewers is not the athlete to be a difference maker like Bo Nix was at times. There is a chance the Ducks already have their guy in Dante Moore for next year.

Moore played a good bit last year during his freshman season at UCLA. He played sparingly at Oregon this year on account of how great of a season Gabriel had as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Maybe he has it in him to beat Ohio State when it counts next year? We will know if Ewers has that in him in a little over a week in the Cotton Bowl. I think Oregon sells itself short pursuing him for 2025...

Lanning needs to prove that he can build a consistent winner without somebody else's quarterback.