Oregon Football's Will Stein, Experienced QBs: A Match Made in Football Heaven?

Experienced with experience. That's Oregon football's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Will Stein with veteran quarterbacks. If all goes as planned, portal transfer QB Dillon Gabriel is next in line to benefit from Stein’s experience.

Oregon offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Will Stein throws during practice with the Oregon Ducks Saturday, April 6, 2024 at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Experienced with experience. That's Oregon football's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Will Stein with veteran quarterbacks.

Stein has a successful history of coaching such QBs. Going back to his time as UTSA’s offensive coordinator where he coached Frank Harris (a seven-year QB with the Roadrunners) to his tenure at Oregon, Stein has displayed an uncanny ability to relate to these athletes.

If all goes as planned, portal transfer QB Dillon Gabriel is next in line to benefit from Stein’s experience.

Stein made a recent appearance with On3’s Andy Staples where he was asked about the difference in coaching players who are very experienced and played in a lot of games compared to working with younger players.

“I just think the conversations on a day-to-day basis are upper level,” Stein said. “It’s like teaching a grad student basic level algebra. The conversations are well thought out and they usually come very prepared to work.”

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel looks to pass during practice with the Ducks Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Stein also had high praise for Bo Nix, Denver’s first round pick and 12th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“When you think about Bo and the way that he prepared on a daily basis was unlike anybody else I have ever been around,” Stein said.

One only needs to look at what the Ducks’ offense accomplished in the 2023 season to confirm the success with Nix running the offense. Oregon was the second-ranked offense with the following categories: 44.2 points per game, 342.8 passing yards per game, 526.6 yards of total offense.

With Nix moving on to the NFL, the torch has been passed to another portal transfer athlete. Gabriel comes to Eugene as a sixth-year senior after starting his career at UCF and Oklahoma.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix drops back to pass during the first quarter against Colorado in Eugene Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA

Stein has been impressed by Gabriel’s work ethic so far and gives him credit for his hard work, both on and off the field.

“Dillon has exceeded all expectations in that facet of his game is his preparation,” Stein said. “His film study, the way he takes care of his body, it’s truly like coaching a pro. I’ve never been in the NFL, but I imagine this is as close as it’s going to get, coaching these veteran quarterbacks in college.”

Gabriel has yet to play a down in a regular season game, but his success at Oklahoma bodes well for the Ducks’ offense. He will enter the 2024 season ranked highly in NCAA career statistics. He is tied fourth in total touchdowns (152), seventh in total yards (nearly 16,000), eighth in passing yards (14,865) and eighth in passing touchdowns (125).

Stein is also appreciative of the value these veterans add to the team, specifically making the offense better. Ducks’ fans have every reason to be excited about the 2024 campaign with an established offensive coordinator, a new, veteran signal-caller, and their inaugural year in the Big Ten Conference.

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