Dante Moore, Dylan Raiola in the same Oregon QB room? It's possible Ducks add Nebraska transfer as 2026 backup

In an era where college football quarterbacks rarely have the patience to sit for more than a year or two before jumping in the transfer portal, a story in Eugene, Oregon may be brewing that would completely buck that trend.

What if Dylan Raiola, a two-year starter at Nebraska, transferred to Oregon just to sit for a year behind Dante Moore?

It sounds ridiculous, but that's a reality that's emerging as a possibility, according to sources.

Moore is projected as a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Raiola is the No. 5 quarterback in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings. And they really could play together next season depending on how the next few days play out.

Moore's decision

Moore is currently projected to go No. 2 overall in CBS Sports' latest 2026 mock draft.

Despite the hype that surrounded the 2026 quarterback class entering the season, many of those top contenders -- Cade Klubnik, Garrett Nussmeier, Drew Allar -- have fallen out of first-round consideration.

Fernando Mendoza leapt up draft boards to likely take the No. 1 spot. The class behind him, beyond Moore, is barren. Ty Simpson is the only other passer who's really garnered any sort of first-round hype to this point. 

Despite that status as a likely first-round pick, it's not a lock that Moore declares for the draft.

It's still very possible. Yet just three days ahead of the Jan. 14 NFL Draft declaration deadline for underclassmen, sources do not consider it a guarantee Moore leaves for the NFL. Those around college football believe Moore should go given his status near the top of the draft class. Yet some sources CBS Sports have spoken to in recent days consider it closer to a 50-50 tossup. Remember, Moore could still make millions at Oregon in 2026 and stay in college. It's not as if he'd turn down life-changing money to stay.  

Those percentages have gone up and down as the season went along. Midway through the year those around Moore felt it was a lock he'd return for the 2026 season. That shifted late in the year following Moore's strong play and offensive coordinator Will Stein's departure for Kentucky.

Now, with just a few days to go until the deadline, Moore's decision could swing the 2026 NFL Draft.

He's either a quality QB2 for quarterback-needy NFL teams or there's a severe drop-off after Mendoza as teams seek to solve their annual quarterback issues.

What's next for Oregon? Major changes ahead as Dan Lanning replaces two coordinators and maybe QB Dante Moore

David Cobb

Raiola's process

I do a daily transfer portal intel story at 247Sports during the portal cycle. I've written several updates on almost every top quarterback in the portal. Except Raiola.

It's been status quo for Raiola since CBS Sports reported in late November that Nebraska had serious doubts Raiola would return for his junior season. The breakup was imminent at that point.

Other teams have looked at Raiola this cycle, including Louisville, but there's been a single team Raiola's camp focused on -- Oregon.

That's the school the family had strong interest in, and they've made that known consistently to the Ducks brass. Thus, it should come as no surprise that once Oregon's season ended in the semifinals, Raiola ended up on campus the next day for a visit.

Oregon's recruited other quarterbacks this portal cycle, including now-Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker. Yet Raiola appears to be the first transfer quarterback to make it to campus this cycle.

The interesting wrinkle with Raiola is his camp has communicated to Oregon, per sources, he'd be willing to sit behind Moore for a year if Moore were back in Eugene for the 2026 season.

Raiola is yet to redshirt. He could do so in 2026 and still play two more seasons in 2027 and 2028. Raiola and his camp view Oregon as his best chance to compete for championships and develop, which makes sense given the Ducks' last three QBs (Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, Moore) have leapt up draft boards upon transferring to Eugene.

It's a strategy Moore employed two years ago. He started as a five-star true freshman for UCLA in 2023, transferred to Oregon that offseason and sat behind Gabriel for a season. Now, he's being talked about as a potential second overall pick.

Raiola and his camp see a similar path as possible even though they'd prefer to just be Oregon's QB1 in 2026. Whether that happens depends on how Oregon views its quarterback transfer board, which includes players outside of Raiola.

Oregon's 2026 contender status

Despite a 34-point loss in the Peach Bowl to Indiana, the Ducks again look like a title contender in 2026.

Dan Lanning has signed three straight top-five high school classes, is once again pursuing high-level talent in the portal and projects to return double-digit starters pending NFL Draft decisions.

Oregon will begin the year in the preseason top 10. How high it climbs likely depends on whether the Ducks are led by Moore or someone else is the big question.

If the Ducks manage to keep Moore and land Raiola, they'd have the unquestioned top quarterback room in the country. Were Oregon to end up with Raiola as its QB1, he'd be a worthy but still reasonably unproven successor to the Ducks' recent run of quarterbacks.

Either way, even as LSU, Miami and Tennessee attempt to fill their quarterback spots, the Ducks have by far the most interesting signal caller quandary ahead of them.

Two five-stars with multiple years of starting experience in one room together? It's possible.