What Austin Novosad’s coaches say about Oregon football QB

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.