Why Oregon Ducks 5-Star Quarterback Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele Entering Transfer Portal After Rose Bowl

Oregon lost to the Buckeyes in Pasadena, and the program is losing another top recruit from the 2025 class after wide receiver Dallas Wilson flipped to the Florida Gators after signing with the Ducks.

Behind starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and offensive coordinator Will Stein are expected to turn to Dante Moore for the 2025 season. The experience and potential of Moore seemingly blocked Sagapolutele from starting early in his college career.

Moore is a former five-star quarterback himself who transferred to Oregon after spending his freshman season at UCLA under coach Chip Kelly. The former Bruins quarterback's decision to transfer in the same offseason as Gabriel surprised some because Moore willingness to spend a season as Gabriel's backup before taking over the starting role.

Whether or not Moore's move has paid off is yet to be seen, but Oregon receiver Tez Johnson had high praise for the young quarterback when speaking to the media before the Rose Bowl.

"It's something you ain't seen yet. [Dante] can throw a ball like no other. I've never seen nothing like it. He's so ready. He's so ready to play. You can just tell. Like, we can put the two's in practice and they go out there and look just like the ones. You don't have a fall off. The standard that the first group has for the entire team - it's a waterfall. It goes from the ones, the twos, the threes. You don't see a single fall off," said Johnson.

Behind Moore, the Ducks quarterback room is deep with project backups like Austin Novosad, Luke Moga, as well as incoming freshman Akili Smith Jr., the second quarterback in Oregon's 2025 recruiting class alongside Sagapolutele.