Proof is in the pudding,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “Every year our draft picks have gone up since we’ve been here.”
Fresh off the NFL draft, the Oregon Ducks capped off spring practices with their annual spring game. The 2025 draft was a historic day for the program. Lanning saw six Ducks selected in the first three rounds of the draft, and 10 selected in total. Both are program records.
Fans packed into Autzen Stadium Saturday afternoon to watch the scrimmage between the Fighting Ducks (white) and the Combat Ducks (black). Full rosters can be found here.
This spring game brought the Autzen debuts of some highly anticipated recruits and transfers. The fans didn’t have to wait much longer to see former Five Star+ recruit and freshman receiver Dakorien Moore. He found the ball in his hands on the first two plays of the game.
The first offensive snap was a deep ball to Moore on the left sideline, hitting the six-foot receiver right in the hands before it was broken up by another star making his Autzen debut. Purdue transfer and junior safety Dillon Thieneman went flying to the sideline to force the incompletion.
On the next play, Moore made sure to reel in the ball, catching a 36-yard bomb from Austin Novosad with a toe-tap finish at the right sideline. The chunk play lit a fire under the Fighting Ducks’ offense, who drove down the field and took the lead when Jayden Limar cracked a 31-yard run for the first touchdown of the game.
The Combat Ducks, led by presumed starter Dante Moore, came out with the chance to strike back. The drive stalled out short of a touchdown but still managed some points off a 47-yard field goal from Oregon native Gage Hurych.
The following drive included the first catch of redshirt-freshman wide receiver Dillon Gresham’s day, securing a first down for 11 yards. The Combat Ducks’ defense forced a punt after a couple of carries from redshirt-freshman Da’Juan Riggs.
“I would say Dillon is one of our most improved players,” Lanning said of Gresham. “I think we all saw what he’s capable of today.”
The middle of the game wasn’t as clean from an offensive standpoint. Both sides punted, and Atticus Sappington pushed a 46-yard field goal attempt out to the right side. Senior kicker Andrew Boyle was able to sink a 26-yard field goal to extend the lead back to seven points going into the half. The defenses combined for six sacks in the first half and finished with 10 on the night.
The second half brought more excitement. True freshman early-enrollee Dierre Hill Jr. got his fair share of carries. On his second of the half, redshirt-freshman cornerback Ify Obidegwu forced a fumble, which was scooped up by redshirt-sophomore linebacker Blake Purchase and returned 46 yards for the defensive touchdown.
“I had a similar play in high school,” Purchase said. “I was thinking about it the whole time, like please don’t get caught.”
After back-to-back punts, Dante Moore led the Combat Ducks down the field to ultimately punch it in with redshirt-junior running back Jay Harris.
After going down two touchdowns early in the half, the Combat Ducks’ defense was energized and getting some hard-hitting defensive stops. The offense was able to absorb some of that energy to drive down the field and attempt a 54-yard field goal, a feat not commonly associated with Oregon kickers.
The Combat Ducks’ defense was dialed in for the second half, stopping the Fighting Ducks once again. They proceeded to march down the field and punch another touchdown in at the goal line, the second of the day for Jay Harris, claiming the first lead of the game for the Combat Ducks.
With all the momentum going in favor of the Combat team, redshirt-freshman quarterback Luke Moga needed to mount a comeback with less than two minutes remaining. After a spectacular catch was made out of bounds by Gresham, freshman cornerback Dorian Brew was whistled for pass interference.
After a catch so impressive, where else would Moga go?
The very next play, he hit Gresham for an electric catch-and-run touchdown covering over 50 yards and reclaiming the lead for the Fighting Ducks.
After a false start and sack started the drive off poorly, Moore threw a prayer down the field that was intercepted by redshirt-freshman safety Aaron Flowers, who ran out the clock for a Fighting Ducks victory.
This was the last look at Oregon before fall camp begins in late summer. The Ducks will make their season debut at Autzen Stadium, where they’ll host Montana State to kick off the 2025 football season on Aug. 30.