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Four-star quarterback Austin Novosad announced Wednesday morning that he has flipped his commitment from Baylor to Oregon after he had been pledged to the Bears for over a year. The news comes after a need arose at quarterback for the Ducks, who lost a quarterback commitment of their own as Dante Moore flipped to UCLA this week.

Moore's flip from Oregon to the Bruins opened up a natural spot in the class for Novosad, who is ranked the No. 9 quarterback in the Class of 2023 by 247Sports. The 6-foot-3 prospect from Dripping Springs, Texas, told 247Sports that "the overall fit was good" with the Ducks.

"Also after meeting Coach Lanning, I could tell that I would fit into the culture there," Novosad said.

Though Oregon starting quarterback Bo Nix announced this week that he is returning for the 2023 season, Novosad should have a shot to compete for the starting quarterback job in 2024. The Ducks also have former four-star prospect Ty Thompson on the roster. Thompson was a redshirt freshman this season and has appeared in 10 games over his career.

Novosad threw for 2,911 yards, 39 touchdowns, and five interceptions as a senior at Dripping Springs High School this past season while guiding his team to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the state semifinals. 

Impact on Oregon

Moore, a five-star quarterback, sent shockwaves through the recruiting world when he changed his commitment from Oregon to UCLA on Monday. Regarded behind only Texas signee Arch Manning and Tennessee commitment Nicholaus Iamaleava, it looked like Moore was going to be Oregon's future at the position.

But with Dorian Thompson-Robinson out of eligibility at UCLA and Nix returning for another season at Oregon, Moore should have a better chance at playing immediately for the Bruins than he would have with the Ducks. Losing a player of Moore's caliber so close to the early signing period was far from ideal for the Ducks, but they managed to salvage things by flipping Novosad, who was highly coveted during the recruiting process.

Scouting report on Novosad

Novosad is considered the No. 86 player in the nation by 247Sports for his class, and he is ranked the No. 15 player in Texas. He's also competed in track for Dripping Springs while serving as the school's primary quarterback for the past three seasons. 247Sports recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks noted that Novosad's "physical upside is a plus." Here is more from Brooks' scouting report on Novosad:

"Excels delivering from the pocket over the middle in the short-to-intermediate passing game. Has shown impressive ball placement consistency to multiple levels. Particularly dangerous hitting moving targets on slants and other inward-breaking routes.

Keeps the ball fairly high with a relatively overheard release. Ball gets out quickly enough. Generates encouraging throw power on the run. Enormous production across three full varsity seasons. Averaged about 275 passing yards per game across nearly three dozen contests from 2020-22. Sometimes requires noticeable load-up to push the ball downfield. Will need over-the-middle intermediate velocity to translate to similar throws outside the numbers. Was not asked to run much in high school, but still can translate multi-sport athleticism better to QB position when required to run."

Impact on Baylor

Novosad's decision to flip to Oregon leaves Baylor lean on quarterback depth. The Bears do not have another quarterback committed in their 2023 class and recently lost redshirt freshman Kyron Drones to the transfer portal. Drones appeared in five games this season behind starter Blake Shapen before choosing Virginia Tech as a transfer destination.

Aside from Shapen, former junior college quarterback Landry Kinne and walk-on Brayson McHenry are the only quarterbacks on Baylor's 2022 roster with eligibility remaining beyond this seaosn, and neither has thrown a pass for the Bears.