After Dillon Gabriel experience, Dan Lanning drops bold admission on dismissing QB position in transfer portal

The Oregon Ducks are looking to put their 2024 heartbreaking Rose Bowl defeat in the past and move into a better future as the 2025 NCAAcampaign looms closer. As Dillon Gabriel’s time in Eugene came to an end, Dan Lanning and the Ducks have decided to trust their quarterbacks on the roster, instead of searching for a signal caller in the transfer portal.

The Ducks lost just once during the 2024 college football season, but that loss was in the biggest stage: in the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes, with a ticket to the semifinal on the line.

Dillon Gabriel finished his sixth year in college football as a Heisman finalist, after leading Oregon to a Big Ten championship. However, the quarterback who has now been selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 NFL Draft, couldn’t wipe off the disappointing image left during the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Gabriel may no longer be in Eugene—his new home is Cleveland, Ohio—but Dan Lanning remains with the Ducks, having prepared differently for the 2025 NCAA season. Lanning, who signed with Oregon in 2021, has built strong teams since his arrival. His Ducks have become known for signing experienced quarterbacks from the transfer portal, such as Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel.

Head coach Dan Lanning of the Oregon Ducks looks on from the sidelines against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter of an NCAA football game at FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Berkeley, California.

However, Lanning plans to approach the upcoming campaign differently, choosing to stick with the established QB room. When asked why he didn’t pursue big names in the transfer portal who could immediately strengthen the Ducks’ offense, Lanning delivered a strong statement.

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“Because I like who we have on our roster,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said, per On3. “I like the guys that we’ve got. And that’s always been something [where] you want to create competition at every position, and we’ve utilized the portal at times when we felt like that helped us and enhanced us and had the opportunity to have success. Sometimes the portal is not all under your control. But ultimately I feel good about the guys we have at that position.”

Set on defense

Similar to the quarterback position, Lanning has stated that the Ducks will not be pursuing a linebacker in the transfer portal. Lanning’s firm statements, along with his vote of confidence in the current linebackers and quarterbacks, signal that the program places the utmost trust in its leaders on both sides of the field.

“We won’t,” Dan Lanning added. “We won’t pursue anybody in the portal at linebacker. I feel really good about our linebacker group. I like the guys we have.”