Austin, TX
What Austin Novosad’s coaches say about Oregon football QB
Oregon football coach Dan Lanning talks after spring game
Oregon football coach Dan Lanning speaks after the Ducks’ annual spring game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
Nothing has been given to Austin Novosad.
Despite possessing arm talent like his coaches had never seen, even as a middle-schooler, Novosad didn’t start as a freshman at Dripping Springs High School near Austin, Texas.
Novosad didn’t start the first game of his sophomore season, either.
After subbing in during the second game of his sophomore season, Novosad looked in complete command of the offense, sprinted for a 40-yard touchdown run and gave his coaches every indication they made a mistake by not playing him in Week 1.
“That first opportunity in varsity, I think you’re like, he can be special,” Dripping Springs head coach Galen Zimmerman said. “I feel like he had some good guys around him that were great athletes, and it was just kind of like everything clicked when he got in the game at quarterback.
“From there, he never came out of the game again for the next three years.”
Novosad has thrived in a reserve role at Oregon under the tutelage of NFL quarterbacks Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, and despite high-profile transfers in and out of the program, is in a full-blown competition with Dante Moore to be Oregon’s starter in 2025.
Here’s what coaches who have known Novosad the longest say about the third-year Duck QB.
‘He’s by far the top arm I’ve ever coached’: Oregon football’s Austin Novosad starred at Texas high school
Even as a middle-schooler, the way the ball flew out of Novosad’s hand impressed his future high school coaches.
When he first joined Dripping Springs’ program as a freshman, the tall and lanky Novosad popped in practice.
Novosad was rewarded for his patience as a sophomore, named his district’s offensive newcomer of the year after leading the Tigers to a 9-4 record and the second round of the state playoffs while completing 65.7% of his passes for 2,673 yards and 35 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
He had two seven-touchdown games that season.
“He’s by far the top arm I’ve ever coached,” offensive coordinator Al Pena said. “I’ve been coaching 17 years, and I’ve coached some good ones.”
Pena, a former Oklahoma State quarterback in the mid-2000s, said Novosad immediately commanded respect in the locker room, even at a young age.
The senior Novosad beat out at quarterback was disappointed but understood and moved to receiver to complement the budding QB. Every starting receiver worked out extra with Novosad after practice.
“Austin was one of those guys that the guys seemed to gravitate towards.
He was a quiet leader. He was always working hard. He was always wanting,” Pena said. “I mean, he was just a junkie for it. He loves football … he just seemed to be a magnet for wanting to get guys to want to work hard and to want to be a part of what we had going on … You wanted to play with him.”
The success only continued to mount for Novosad as a full-time starter his junior season.
He was named an Elite 11 finalist after earning third-team all-state honors and guiding his team to a 10-1 record and the state playoffs again. He was his district’s MVP, completing 63.6% of his passes for 3,399 yards and 40 touchdowns.
As a senior, Novosad was a top-10 quarterback prospect with numerous offers. Dripping Springs made the 6A state playoff quarterfinals and finished with a 12-2 record as Novosad tossed 39 touchdowns.
He finished his high school career with 8,983 yards passing, 114 touchdowns and just 18 interceptions.
A football junkie: Austin Novosad learned from Oregon greats Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel while waiting his turn
A verbal commit to Baylor for a full year, Novosad flipped his commitment and signed with Oregon in December 2022 after the Ducks hired offensive coordinator Will Stein, who had a strong relationship with Novosad while serving as a playcaller at UTSA.
Dripping Springs’ coaches told Novosad what he would be getting in to when he flipped his commitment to the Ducks.
Nix had announced his plans to return for a senior season at Oregon in 2023 and both Zimmerman and Pena told Novosad the Ducks would bring in the best of the best every season to compete at quarterback.
Novosad talked repeatedly throughout the spring about his relationship with Nix, now the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, and what he learned from the five-year collegiate veteran in 2023.
His former coaches said Nix and Gabriel, who arrived through the transfer portal in 2024, left a massive imprint on the way Novosad operates as a college quarterback, along with his work with Stein.
“Dillon and Bo were completely different quarterbacks, but one thing that was the super similar was just the preparation and that’s one thing I really learned from both of them,” Novosad said in the spring. “They executed at a really high level.”
Novosad returned home to Dripping Springs in May and broke down film and concepts he’s learned at Oregon with Pena.
Zimmerman said sometimes he’ll walk into his office with a new play drawn on the board and know exactly where it came from.
“I’m learning from him at this point and it’s awesome,” Pena said. “It definitely is a full-circle moment as a coach.”
None of that is new for Novosad, who has always used every opportunity he could to learn, develop and get better. He’s taken it to “another level” at Oregon, per his coaches.
“He studies as hard as anybody,” Stein said. “He is an extremely process-oriented guy, which is hard in our business, because everything is result-driven and it’s what everybody wants: results and playing time and touchdowns, where he’s the opposite.
“That doesn’t make him less competitive than anybody else. I think he just understands that there is a process and when his time is out there to shine, I believe he’s gonna do a hell of a job.”
After sitting and learning behind Nix as a freshman, two touted quarterback transfers arrived in fifth-year starter Gabriel and 2023 top prospect Moore.
The experienced Gabriel was anointed the starting quarterback for 2024 while Moore and Novosad split time as backups throughout the season in mop-up duty.
Through two seasons, Novosad has played in six games and completed 11 of 13 passes for 59 yards.
“Austin is just a student of the game,” Pena said. “Another quarterback coming in with a whole bunch of experience playing in a bunch of different offenses, and he took that opportunity to get tight with Dillon and learn as much and soak in as much as he could from him. That’s just who Austin is.”
‘If you’re a championship person, then you’ve got the chance to be a championship football player’
Novosad has done all the right things to put himself in a position to compete to be Oregon’s starting quarterback in 2025.
While nothing is assured, his coaches say he’s set himself up for success, no matter when it comes.
In high school, Zimmerman recalled Novosad taking time to help out at middle school track and field meets that his sister competed in.
When he comes home to Texas to visit family and friends, he still takes time to work out and throw to improve his game.
Stein said Novosad competed in the Manning Passing Academy in late June with some of the top quarterbacks in the country and never misses a chance to improve or learn something new.
“If you’re a championship person, then you’ve got the chance to be a championship football player,” Zimmerman said. “That’s him. He’s done a good job, and his parents, as well, he’s got a great family, very supportive family.”
That makes him a perfect fit at Oregon, according to Stein and his teammates, who say “the sky’s the limit” for Novosad.
Whether Novosad gets to start this season at Oregon, next year or elsewhere, his coaches are in agreement his time will come and he has set himself up to shine thanks to his preparation and love for competition and the game.
“Whenever his opportunity comes, I think he’s gonna be ready,” Zimmerman said. “I think he’s gonna prepare himself. I think he’s got a great support system around him as well. I’m excited to see, when he gets his opportunity, no matter what it is. Like he’s that kind of person that you genuinely root for.”
Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin city leaders gathered on East 11th Street on Juneteenth to celebrate the “Black Artists Matter” mural before it must be removed under an order from the Texas Department of Transportation. The mural and the city’s rainbow crosswalk are slated for removal in compliance with a Texas Department of Transportation directive requiring cities to remove political ideologies from roadways. Last October, Gov. Greg Abbott directed TxDOT to enforce the policy.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson stood on the blocked-off street where the yellow letters spelling “Black Artists Matter” are painted on the roadway’s surface. “We will never forget that when the state decided to target our murals, the community stood together to celebrate our city’s diversity, spirit, and creativity,” Watson said.
Watson criticized the state’s actions, saying, “The state government engages in negative rhetoric and threats, it targets communities that it disagrees with and seeks retribution.”
In response to the order, Watson formed the Public Spaces Task Force to identify other ways to celebrate diversity in Austin.
ALSO| Screwworm medications straining animal shelter budgets across Texas
KEYE
Daphne McDole, chief executive officer of the African American Cultural Heritage District and a member of the task force, said she wanted the event held on Juneteenth because of its significance. “I wanted to do it on Juneteenth, it was significant to me because I knew that that was the day my community would be in the district. We will be celebrating over here all day, so it was appropriate,” McDole said.
Task force members said they are exploring alternatives to honor East Austin’s history and diversity. They noted that city leaders in San Antonio created rainbow sidewalks after removing rainbow crosswalks, but said Austin will pursue its own approach.
Task force chair Steven Rivas said the community is focused on preserving the meaning behind the markings. “We chose to come together as a community and find a way to respect what these markings mean and build upon them. If we can’t have them in the street, we’re going to put them off the street,” Rivas said.
AUSTIN, Texas — The screwworm outbreak is having a major impact on animal shelter budgets across Texas. Instant kill and preventative medications for dogs and cats are an unprecedented expense.
Paul is a rescue dog from South Texas, where he was living on the streets and starving. He is now at Austin Pets Alive! getting Screwworm prevention medication and the treatment he needs to get healthy.
“Any dog that enters our shelter period, but especially if they look like this, we are going over them with a fine-tooth comb and looking for anything that might be a wound where a screwworm might have been able to gain access,” said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, CEO and President of Austin Pets Alive!
RELATED| FDA authorizes generic over-the-counter drug to treat New World screwworm in pets
Dr. Jefferson says dogs and cats need regular checks of their eyes, noses, ears, and underneath their fur. But Austin Pets Alive! says the best protection is a combination of Capstar, which is an instant-kill medication for existing active screwworm larvae, and prescription preventatives that provide ongoing protection when administered every 30 days.
“Just to buy the initial Capstar for our program, it was close to $10,000,” said Rebecca Giamona, Asst. Medical Care Director at Austin Pets Alive!
Giamona says preventative meds are also putting a heavy financial strain on the nonprofit’s budget at a cost of around $70,000.
“We need about 5,000 doses of the monthly preventative, and they are roughly $14 to $15 per dose,” said Giamona.
Products with the active ingredients ending in l, a, n, e, r are highly effective at preventing and treating infestations. But keeping Paul and every shelter animal up to date will take help from the public.
“Donations, and hopefully some more donations,” said Giamona.
An infestation of New World Screwworm can be painful, disfiguring, and potentially deadly for animals. Most cases involve livestock, especially cattle, but dogs and cats can also get infestations.
AUSTIN, Texas – Central Texans gather to celebrate Juneteenth or “Freedom Day” on June 19 and commemorate the end of slavery.
What you can do:
The Greater East Austin Youth Association (GEAYA) is hosting the Central Texas Juneteenth Parade and Festival today (6/19).
It’s free and taking place at Rosewood Park in East Austin located at 2300 Rosewood Ave.
The schedule for the events is as follows:
- ACME Juneteenth FunRun – 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
- Juneteenth Historical Parade – 10 AM – 12 PM
- Park Celebration and Fireworks – 12 PM – 9:45 PM
Other events
On June 20, the Carver Kickback: Juneteenth Edition will be taking place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural, and Genealogy Center located at 1165 Angelina Street.
It will be a day of celebration and remembrance and there will be BBQ plates and music as well as vendors and hands-on activations.
The backstory:
Juneteenth commemorates the end of formal slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and more than one month following the end of the American Civil War.
Colloquially known as “The Black 4th of July,” Juneteenth marks the beginning of an African American journey to carve a new place in society for free people to shape identities independent of racial caricature, eradicate slave culture, promote ethnic pride, and create economic prosperity.
The Source: Information from City of Austin and Greater East Austin Youth Association and reporting by Jessica Rivera.
-
Milwaukee, WI1 minute agoToday’s Summerfest schedule and picks: Saturday, June 20
-
Atlanta, GA8 minutes agoAtlanta Ballet Returns to the Fox Theatre to Present Cinderella for One Weekend Only This Fall
-
Minneapolis, MN11 minutes agoMERAUDER, JUDGE, ARKANGEL and many more announced for Minneapolis’ Snow and Flurry 2026
-
Indianapolis, IN16 minutes agoThird Public Safety Camera Added on Washington Street in Downtown Indy
-
Pittsburg, PA23 minutes agoAnalysis: Most Pittsburgh‑area communities are losing residents — here’s why that might be OK
-
Washington, D.C26 minutes agoTrump’s DC makeover frenzy bewilders locals and visitors: ‘It’s like we’re under occupation’
-
Augusta, GA26 minutes agoAugusta Regional Airport hosts drone camp for students
-
Cleveland, OH38 minutes agoCleveland police arrest suspect in involuntary manslaughter investigation, find fentanyl and PCP
