Oregon’s quarterback picture has shifted again, and Brock Thomas suddenly sits right in the middle of it.
With senior starter Dante Moore ruled out on the Wednesday Big Ten Conference availability report, the Ducks head into a late-night game at Autzen Stadium against Nebraska still searching for the right answer under center. Dan Lanning made it clear before the game that no spot is guaranteed, and that quarterback will come down to “hard evaluations” after Dylan Raiola’s three turnovers in Oregon’s 17-15 home loss to No. 12 UCLA.
That opens the door for Thomas, a fifth-year senior whose profile looks very different from the other names in the mix. He may not bring the same season-long numbers as Raiola, but he does bring something Oregon can lean on: familiarity. Thomas has spent three seasons with the Ducks, knows the offensive line group well, and has more time operating within the program than Raiola.
Thomas first burned his redshirt during the 2025 season after helping in Oregon’s 56-10 road win at Rutgers, and he appeared in six games that year. His role has been limited, but not empty. Against Wisconsin in 2025, Thomas explained how those reps shaped him.
“Yeah, I mean, it definitely helped. Just like gaining experience in playing, that's how you kind of get better as a player. And I think, yeah, I definitely thought about that a little bit, but it was more just going in there trying to operate," Thomas said specifically of his performance against Wisconsin in 2025.
What Thomas also offers is a steadier emotional runway for this particular game. Raiola could carry the weight of facing his former team, and there may still be residue from his rough night against UCLA.
Thomas doesn’t have that baggage. Instead, he comes in off a strong fourth-quarter relief appearance against the Bruins, where he went 11-for-15 for 156 yards and a touchdown while dealing with steady pressure.
That outing earned praise from UCLA coach Bob Chesney.
"I thought that their guy did a great job. You know, the young kid that came in," Chesney said.
"He took some hits. Got up, picked himself up off the mat.
Just kept doing what he needed to do. But I do like the game plan we had going."
There’s also a local connection that makes Thomas stand out in Oregon’s quarterback conversation. He’s from Eugene and graduated from Sheldon High School in the class of 2023, the same school as Oregon star and Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert.
That background, along with his standing in the program, helps explain why Lanning trusted Thomas to rise to No. 2 in 2025 over previous backup options Luke Moga and Austin Novosad. Lanning said last season that Thomas had earned that spot by showing up every week in practice.
"Over time he's just done a really good job in practice," Lanning said of Thomas last season. "He's operated well.
[Austin Novosad and Luke Moga] have done a really good job as well, but there's not necessarily anything that Brock hasn't done to earn those reps. He's earned them in practice.
We talk about rent is due in football every single week, and he's been a guy who's been paying rent and doing what he's supposed to do."
For Oregon, the question now is whether that practice trust turns into the kind of production the offense needs right away.
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