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Oregon QB coach Koa Ka’ai reveals how he uses ice cream flavors to aid in recruiting

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko04/08/26nickkosko59

Oregon QB coach Koa Ka’ai revealed how he uses ice cream flavors to aid in recruiting for the Ducks and it was quite the explanation. So if you like chocolate or vanilla ice cream, you’d better answer right away.

Before you think about it, there is no right or wrong answer. Either way, Ka’ai wants you to think on your feet, especially if you’re a quarterback for Oregon.

“I ask (recruits) a question like this all the time: ‘Hey, do you like chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream?'” Ka’ai said. “The minute a kid pauses, I don’t really want that kid, right? Because you need to have some type of conviction, right, wrong, or indifferent. So whether you like chocolate or you like vanilla, I don’t really care. But if you sit there and say, ‘Ah, Coach, I don’t know … is it melted? Is it not? What’s the brand,’ so on and so forth.

“Like, what is this kid gonna do on third down in front of 110,000? He’s probably gonna think about it more than he should. He’s not gonna have conviction, right? So it’s, like I just said, long-winded, I understand, but it’s the mental aspect is really what we’re after.”

Oregon certainly has a quarterback who’s improved under Ka’ai and head coach Dan Lanning’s watch: Dante Moore. Although we don’t exactly know if he prefers vanilla or chocolate ice cream.

Moore elected to return to school for one more year rather than enter the 2026 NFL Draft. Now, Oregon is in a position to contend for a national title once again.

In addition to Moore growing after a career year, Ka’ai has grown as well, per Lanning. If the staff continues to evolve, the offense can be even better.

“Koa’s grown a ton in my time here,” Lanning said of the Oregon QB coach. “He’s always been an extremely intelligent player, and then obviously a coach as well. And he’s worked with every position really for us on offense. He’s been an integral part of what we’ve done, and really coached our quarterbacks last year. And allowed Will to be in somewhat of that OC role.

“So he’s worn that hat every single day. This really isn’t new territory for him. Maybe new territory by title, but this is something he’s done at a really high level already and excited about his growth.”