When the Oregon Ducks' quarterback room gets brought up by the national media, Dante Moore is the focus — and rightfully so. The Ducks also have arguably the top backup in the nation in Dylan Raiola waiting in the wings, taking a developmental year after starting 22 games for the Nebraska Cornhuskers over the last two seasons.
This offseason, both have commanded headlines at separate times. But that's not all that the Oregon quarterback room has to offer.
Patiently waiting, learning from the experienced starters, and improving his craft outside of the public light is redshirt sophomore quarterback Akili Smith Jr. His name holds a lot of weight in Ducks circles, as his father, of the same name, started two seasons at Oregon and threw for a combined
4,605 yards and 42 touchdowns. He was drafted 3rd overall in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Talk about pressure for the younger Smith. And don't mistake the legacy recruit for anything less than a bona-fide four-star with exceptional tools and an NFL-caliber frame. He just has to harness it, something he's been doing during his second fall camp in Eugene.
“I can't speak enough of how much KJ has grown from the spring till now," Oregon quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai told reporters. "He's taken a huge leap, and a lot of that's just like playing in the confines of the system. You know, I think we do a lot here schematically, and we give these guys a bunch of tools and things they can get to. But it's easy for a young kid to kind of get overwhelmed by that and go out there, and everything's moving a million hours an hour. I think KJ has done a good job this fall of just settling down. What is this play asking of me? And going out there and operating."
It's not uncommon in college football for a player's mind to be ahead of his body, with limitations placed on his potential because of his lacking height, weight or athleticism.
That's not the case for Smith, who doesn't have official measurements listed — though Ka'ai gave his best guess.
"You talk about a physical specimen," he said. The kid's 6’2”, 240-something. Runs like the wind. Has a rocket arm. You know, he's a freak physical talent, and you see that in practice frequently."
With the physical talent already there, the challenge is to marry Smith's mind and body, not an easy challenge in the slightest. Just ask Moore, the former five-star recruit who struggled mightily during his true freshman season with the UCLA Bruins. He went from a quarterback who completed just 53.5% of his passes and had significant issues with processing and decision making to one of the best at both traits in all of college football within the span of a couple years.
Moore has a way of studying that Smith can learn to tweak and emulate in his own fashion, Ka'ai says. The proof is right in front of him, in the same position room.
Though there isn't a set-in-stone time for when Smith will push for real playing time at Oregon, as the expectation is that Raiola is the starter in 2027 and potentially 2028, that's not stopping the uber-talented legacy recruit from continuing to put his head down and get to work.
Ka'ai is certainly noticing.
“You can see through camp all that work that he's put in in the off season since the spring game until now, and he can see the fruit of his labor now. It's a testament to the kid. It's a testament to the rest of the guys that are around our room helping us out."
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Akili Smith Jr. learning to harness 'freak' talent at Oregon
