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Why would a freshman commit to Transfer QBU? This Arizona dual-threat has never ducked a good race.
EUGENE — The Oregon Ducks are the transfer quarterback whisperers.
They elevated Vernon Adams Jr., put Bo Nix on billboards and are now bringing in Oklahoma starter Dillon Gabriel in another effort to avoid the rebuild.
Other schools have the same opportunities to compete for the nation’s best free agents, but few have the resources, pedigree and program depth to sell quite like Dan Lanning’s Ducks do right now.
This poses an interesting question as next week’s early signing period approaches:
Why would any freshman quarterback want to commit to Oregon?
Ty Thompson, a former top-75 recruit and Nix’s backup for the last two seasons, is in the transfer portal — joining a list of recent QBs including Jay Butterfield, Robby Ashford and Tyler Shough who signed with Oregon and left after more experienced talent was brought in. Really, it’s been since the 2016 class that a freshman quarterback signed with Oregon and roughly had the career he envisioned.
Luke Moga knows all that. He’s the three-star dual-threat QB from Arizona who is set to sign with the Ducks next Wednesday. He’ll graduate from Sunnyslope High School early, get to Eugene in time for Fiesta Bowl practices and then join a roster that has its 2024 starting quarterback (Gabriel) and may still be in the market for a backup (UCLA’s Dante Moore will reportedly visit soon).
But the way Moga sees it, that’s just the way college football works these days. Eventually he’s going to see all these guys on the practice field.
And none of those guys ran down Blaise Nelson.
Blaise Nelson?
See, Blaise Nelson was always the fastest kid around. Now he’s a wide receiver for Northern Arizona, but back in Phoenix he was Valley Vista’s Ferrari on the track, winning the Arizona 6A 100 and 200 meters in consecutive years.
He was 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds of track star speed.
Luke Moga is 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds of quarterback.
“Blaise was the fastest kid on the track the two years I ran,” Moga said. “I wanted to be the fastest.”
To be clear: Moga has some genetics on his side. His dad ran a 10.69 100m in high school and played football at Kentucky. His sister played soccer at Arizona. It’s a fast family. But Moga had some work to do if he wanted to catch Nelson.
During Moga’s first year of track (2022) they met once, with Nelson winning the Hohokam Invitational 100m in 10.75 seconds. Moga finished 10th at 11 seconds. Nelson opened up the next spring (2023) season with a blistering 10.66 with Moga’s first run a half-second behind at 11.1.
But Moga got better each week, highlighted by a career-best 10.7 to punch his ticket to state with a win at the district championships.
“It was just training and really learning the sprint mechanics and the start that got me to be in the same category as [Nelson],” Moga said.
At state, Moga ran 10.72 in the prelims to set up a final against Nelson. As he prepped for the final race, knowing it was likely the finale of his track career, Moga locked in like never before.
“When I see my competition eye to eye it’s a different feel, it’s like a switch flips for me, I can’t describe it,” he said. “My mind is calm until I take off my sweats and step into those blocks. Again the switch just flips.”
Nelson ran a 10.5.
Moga ran a 10.5.
The photo-finish awarded the race to Nelson, but the point was proven: Moga was blazing fast.
“Running next to guys like that, they’ll make you compete,” Moga told reporters after the race while pointing to Nelson. “He got me by this much.”
“To go from a 10.7 to a 10.5, that’s not easy,” Nelson added. “Proud of this dude.”
Six months after the best race of his life, Moga was named the San Tan Region football player of the year after passing for 1,883 yards and 23 touchdowns, rushing for 657 yards and 12 touchdowns, and leading his team through an undefeated regular season.
Wednesday, he hosted Lanning and Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein at his family’s home in Phoenix and was reassured about his fit in the offense and his presence on the roster. Nothing is guaranteed in today’s college football — especially on these portal-happy Ducks — but Moga knows how much better he’s already gotten by chasing something.
“I’ve been playing this game for four years and have so much to learn and so much room to improve,” he said. “I didn’t peak in high school, I haven’t even touched my potential.
“I’m going to bring a lot of memories to Eugene.”
— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor
