Tag: Dante Moore

Tez Johnson predicts Dante Moore will be Heisman Trophy finalist in 2025

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson came out and declared that QB Dante Moore will be a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2025.

It’s a quote that got lost in the middle of what was a hectic and crazy media day ahead of the Rose Bowl earlier this week, but with the day’s events in Eugene, Oregon Duck fans are buzzing after a quote from wide receiver Tez Johnson has surfaced.

The quote was about sophomore quarterback Dante Moore, who has been waiting in the wings behind Dillon Gabriel after transferring in from the UCLA Bruins this past offseason.

Moore, who is expected by many to take over as the Ducks’ QB1 in 2025 after a competition with Austin Novosad, is getting quite the hype from his teammates.

“He’ll be a Heisman finalist next year,” Johnson said of Moore at the Rose Bowl media day. “100 percent. It’s something you haven’t seen yet. That boy can throw a ball like no other. I’ve never seen nothing like it.”

For Oregon fans who are still mourning the loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, and frustrated by the news that 5-star QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was transferring on Friday morning, this is music to your ears.

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I have confirmed with a source close to the program that part of the reasoning for Sagapolutele to transfer was because he had aspirations of starting as a true freshman in Eugene. After joining the team for bowl practices, though, He came to a realization that this would be tough with Moore already proving early on that he is ready to lead the team in 2025.

According to Johnson, Moore has the tools already to be a dynamic player, and his performance in practices with the backup players leaves little to no fall-off from Dillon Gabriel and the starters.

“He is so ready. He is so ready to play,” Johnson continued. “You can just tell. We can put the 2’s in at practice, and they look just like the 1’s.”

While some people may write this off as a player hyping up one of his teammates, it is also important to consider that Johnson has caught passes from a pair of Heisman finalists in the past two years, so he knows what it looks like to see them play.

The past couple of days might have been tough for Duck fans, but going into 2025, there should be hope and expectations building quickly. According to one of the best Ducks we have seen in recent memory, a legend is on the way.

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Assessing the future of Oregon’s QB position after 5-star Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s transfer

Assessing the future of the Oregon Ducks quarterback room after the transfer from 5-star Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

The Oregon Ducks woke up to news on Friday morning that 5-star quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele — who signed with the team and enrolled in December — was entering the transfer portal.

While the window has technically closed, teams who play in bowl games have an additional 5-day window for players to enter the portal if they choose to. Sagapolutele, who was rated as the No. 19 overall player and No. 4 QB in the 2025 class, according to On3, is expected to transfer rather than be released from his letter of intent, finding a new team.

This is objectively unfortunate news for Oregon fans, but the underlying reasoning may be positive in the end. I have confirmed with a source close to the situation that Sagapolutele’s goal was to compete for the QB1 spot in Eugene as a true freshman, but after practicing with the team for a couple of weeks and seeing the development and progress of sophomore Dante Moore, the incoming freshman decided he would have a better path elsewhere.

So where does that leave things for the Ducks? Let’s take a look at the QB room going forward and assess the situation.

Player Departures

Dillon Gabriel

After his one season with the Ducks, Gabriel will head off to the NFL after leading the team to a remarkable 13-0 regular season. He broke numerous records and was named a Heisman Trophy finalist. In the end, Gabriel likely wasn’t in Eugene long enough to leave a legacy like Bo Nix, Justin Herbert, or Marcus Mariota, but he certainly had a massive impact and will be remembered fondly as one of the best QBs in recent Oregon history.

Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele

After his few weeks with the team, Sagapolutele will enter the transfer portal and look to join a new team where he has a good chance to win the starting QB position in 2025. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Sagapolutele is a dynamic player with a strong arm, and he has a high ceiling as a college quarterback.

Returning Players

Dante Moore

With Gabriel now gone, the quarterback position is officially on between the remaining passers in Eugene — Dante Moore, Austin Novosad, and Luke Moga. There is a belief that Moore has a leg up on the competition, seeing as he spent a year as the starter for the UCLA Bruins before transferring to Oregon last year with hopes of taking the reigns after a year learning behind Gabriel. Expectations are high for No. 5.

Austin Novosad 

A lot of fans are already rewarding Moore with the QB1 job in 2025, but let’s not be so quick to count Novosad out of the race. While Moore may be favored to win the starting job, there will still be an open competition for the spot, and based on what we’ve heard from players this year, Novosad has made great improvements and will be in the mix.

Luke Moga

Moga will compete for the starting spot, but with less experience than both Moore and Novosad, it’s fair to expect that he may serve as a backup for at least another year while one of the other two starts for Oregon in 2025.

Incoming Players

Akili Smith Jr. 

With Sagapolutele transferring out of Oregon, Akili Smith Jr. is now the Ducks’ lone QB in the 2025 recruiting class, and he will come in and work to establish a place on the depth chart and work to earn the starting role in years to come after likely redshirting as a freshman.

Future Prospects

2026 4-star QB Jonas Williams

Oregon already has a commitment from 4-star QB Jonas Williams in the 2026 class. Williams is rated by 247Sports as the No. 7 QB and No. 101 player in the nation.

Other 2026 Prospects

The Ducks have been heavily recruiting a number of top QBs in the class of 2026, and are sitting in a good position with several of them. The names to look out for are as follows:

Overall Position Outlook

In general, the Ducks are sitting in a great spot when it comes to the QB room, despite the transfer from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. In 2025, Oregon has confidence that either Dante Moore or Austin Novosad will take over and be a dynamic passer for at least one year, and potentially two. In 2026, either the starter from 2025 remains for another year, the Ducks go to the backup, or the torch gets passed to a young player like Luke Moga or Akili Smith Jr.

Behind them, Oregon will a bevy of young talent to choose from to develop as the next passer.

Losing a 5-star player is never something that you want, but when it comes to the QB spot, the Ducks are in a good spot for years to come.

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Trojans Wire ranks former UCLA QB Dante Moore as best backup in Big Ten

Dante Moore makes the top of the list.

The UCLA Bruins have Ethan Garbers as the starting quarterback for the 2024 season. However, they could have had Dante Moore running the show this year.

In the offseason, Moore entered the portal and then went back to Oregon, where he was previously committed before flipping to UCLA.

Moore is now backing up Dillon Gabriel, so it is unlikely he plays much barring an injury.

Donovan James of Trojans Wire ranked the best backup quarterback in the Big Ten. The list includes UNLV transfer and USC backup Jayden Maiava, but former UCLA QB Dante Moore is at the top of the list.

Former five-star recuit Dante Moore started five games at UCLA in 2023. He played in nine total games, throwing for 11 touchdowns before transferring to Oregon.

He will be behind incoming transfer and Heisman hopeful Dillion Gabriel, who is coming to Eugene from Oklahoma.

Now an Oregon sophomore quarterback, Moore previously spent most of the 2022 college football season committed to the Ducks before flipping to the UCLA Bruins on national signing day.

We can only imagine what Moore could’ve done at UCLA, but he has a ton of talent and will be interesting to see when he gets the playing time in Eugene.

In-helmet communication giving Oregon OC Will Stein new control over offense

With the new in-helmet communication, Will Stein is adapting to more control over the Ducks offense.

College football has been an ever-changing entity for the past several decades, but never more so than over the past five years.

While things like the transfer portal, name, image, and likeness, and conference realignment may garner most of the headlines, one of the most recent changes that we expect to see this fall could be among the biggest game-changers of all.

In-helmet communication has been approved in the FBS, and when it comes to gameplay, this could potentially make a massive difference.

No longer will offenses and defenses be forced to spend valuable pre-snap seconds looking over to the coaches on the sidelines while their plays get signaled in. Now, one player on offense and one player on defense — typically the quarterback and a linebacker — will be designated with a green dot on their helmet, and have communication with a coach through an earpiece up until there are 15 seconds left on the play clock.

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For Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein, this has allowed him to have more of an impact on the offense, dictating plays, audibles, and checks to his signal-caller all in real-time.

So far through spring and fall camp, Stein has been enjoying the process of adapting to the new system. Of course, he also has had to work on condensing the flow of information, and not putting too much on the QB’s plate.

“You don’t want to talk too much because it can just become white noise for the QB,” Stein said on Monday after practice. “But giving them specific things within the play of ‘Hey, if we get this, check to that.’ That also helps as well.”

The new rule was passed back in the spring of 2024, so Oregon got to try things out during the spring football season and get their feet wet with the technology. Now that they’re deep into fall camp, it’s starting to feel more natural for coaches and players.

Somewhat.

“It feels like you’re in a movie,” sophomore QB Dante Moore said of the green dot.”Just hearing what Coach Stein is thinking before he calls a play and helps us out with protections, or helps us out with checking plays. But overall, as a kid you’ve always watched documentaries of some NFL quarterbacks in the huddle, taking control of the huddle, hearing the play call.”

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While getting the process of calling an offense through a speaker may have taken some time, and getting used to the new intricacies of the communication had its learning curves, up next for Stein is learning how his quarterbacks differ when it comes to pre-snap communication.

Bo Nix was such a detail-oriented player that he liked to check everything at the line of scrimmage and change plays when he felt necessary. So will Dillon Gabriel or Dante Moore be the same way?

“I think there’s a fine line because you’ve got to find what the quarterback likes,” Stein said. “Does he want a lot of communication or not a lot? It just depends on the guy, but it’s been really smooth this fall camp.”

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In reality, we won’t see a massive difference this fall when watching the offense operate on the field. The coach will get the play call in from the sideline, and the QB will get his players in position before the snap.

But make no mistake, thanks to the new green dot, the whole world has opened up for Stein and his offense.

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Dante Moore named one of college football’s best backup QBs in 2024

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore was named by 247Sports as one college football’s top backup QBs ahead of the 2024 season.

The backup quarterback is the player a team never wants to have to use, but for the times when the backup’s number is called, it’s comforting to have a second capable shot-caller waiting in the wings.

The Oregon Ducks are one of a handful of teams to have that luxury: an elite starting quarterback, ready to challenge for the Heisman, understudied by Dante Moore — one of college football’s top young gunslingers.  247Sports published a list on Tuesday of the top backup QBs in college football this year, ranking Moore eighth.

Moore’s position is a bit unique on this list because his only prior college experience is as a starter. As a freshman last year, Moore started most of UCLA’s games, which proved to be a challenge he wasn’t ready for. His talent has never been in question, but his need for experience became clear.

This need for experience and development was apparent to Moore as well. After entering the transfer portal, Moore made it clear that a starting spot was not a priority for him, a sentiment contrary to a year before when Moore flipped his high school commitment from Oregon to UCLA after Bo Nix announced he would return to Eugene in 2023.

A few weeks ahead of the 2024 season, there’s no doubt Dillon Gabriel will be Oregon’s week 1 starter, but that could be the best thing for Moore. A year spent sitting behind a Heisman contender and taking control of the Oregon Ducks offense in 2025 as a redshirt sophomore — older and wiser — doesn’t sound like a bad two-year plan to me.

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Oregon quarterbacks to get equal reps, chance to shine in Spring Game

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein says the quarterbacks should get their chance to show out on Saturday.

That quarterback room inside the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex is quite literally brimming with talent. The only problem is that there is just one quarterback can take the snap from the center at a time.

Fortunately, the Spring Game on Saturday can be maneuvered in such a way where all the quarterbacks will get their time to shine on Saturday. According to offensive coordinator Will Stein, not everything has been put together yet, but it will be.

“We haven’t necessarily mapped (quarterback snaps) out quite yet, but it’ll be somewhat even,” Stein said. “You want to give everyone an opportunity and see what they can do in that setting.”

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Fans want to see those signal callers such as Dillon Gabriel, Dante Moore and Austin Novosad show out inside Autzen, but they’ll need receivers running routes and catching passes in order to do so. Those three signal callers have a lot of choices down the field.

“We get evaluations on them every single day and we’ve had two scrimmages already,” Stein said. “We definitely want to give them the limelight with the fans, with the real clock and real officials out there. We’ll get it set and try to make it as even as we can, but it’s never perfect.”

It’ll be quite different to see Gabriel sling it from the left side and just to have anyone other than Bo Nix out there will be an adjustment for everyone. Fans have been waiting a long time to see Moore in a Duck uniform and after a year playing for the UCLA Bruins, they’ll get the chance to see the Detroit prep star in the green and/or yellow.

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They all saw a glimpse of Novosad’s arm in the Fiesta Bowl four months ago, but he’ll be able to show it off inside Autzen in front of a bunch of friendlies.

The immediate future as well as the distant one will be on display for the Ducks and as long as no one suffers an injury, it should be all fun and games for all involved.

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Dante Moore opens up about decommitment from Oregon, transfer back to the Ducks

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore broke down his decision making when transferring from the UCLA Bruins to the Oregon Ducks.

Dan Lanning, Kenny Dillingham, and the Oregon Ducks were rolling with a full head of steam during the summer of 2022. They had just picked up a commitment from Dante Moore, the highest-rated quarterback to ever commit to the Ducks in the modern era. Getting ready for their first official season in Eugene, vibes were high up in Oregon.

Fast forward a few months, and that excitement around the quarterback position had changed slightly. After a successful season saw Dillingham leave the Ducks to take over as the head coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils, Moore announced that he would be decommitting from Oregon. Not long after, he announced his commitment to UCLA, joining Chip Kelly and the Bruins.

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Fast forward another year, and Moore was back in the transfer portal after a bumpy start to his career in Westwood. This time, he came back to Oregon, the place that he fell in love the first time around.

“Many people say there’s many reasons why I left but the real reason why is because Coach Dillingham left,” Moore said on Thursday after practice. “You know, as a quarterback, your OC needs to be your best friend and really at the end of the day when they hired Coach Stein, I didn’t know much of Coach Stein.”

Moore details that he talked with Oregon’s new offensive coordinator a bit before making his decision, but he ultimately felt like going to UCLA and joining Chip Kelly was the right decision.

Things didn’t go smoothly at UCLA, though, where Moore played in nine games, throwing for 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. After getting in and out of the starting lineup, Moore decided that it was time for a change of scenery after his freshman year, one that had a better chance to develop him.

“When I hit the portal, you know, I contacted Coach Lanning and he texted me back. I kind of knew where I was going already,” Moore said. “At the end of the day, out of high school, if things were right, I would have been here right now.”

Now, while Moore is competing with Gabriel for the starting QB spot, he says he feels happy to be where he feels like he belongs, around players who he helped recruit to Oregon when he was a commit.

“Just being out here, you get the best facilities in the world,” Moore said. “Got a great coaching staff. Best playmakers out here on the field. Just have everything around here.”

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Spring Football Questions: Can Dante Moore push Dillon Gabriel for the QB1 spot?

As the Oregon Ducks start spring football, one of the biggest storylines to watch is a QB battle between Dante Moore and Dillon Gabriel.

Spring football is right around the corner for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks, so we are starting to prepare ourselves and knock off the small amount of dust that accumulated during a minuscule two-month offseason. To do that, we’re diving into individual position breakdowns, and asking some of the most important questions that need to be answered over the coming weeks and months. 

Whether we get definitive answers during the month-long spring season for the Ducks or not, it’s clear that Oregon has some major questions to answer as they prepare for life without Bo Nix, and a new reality in the Big Ten Conference competing for a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff. Let’s get the ball rolling with a question about QBs. 

On the morning of December 9, 2023, it appeared that the Oregon Ducks had solved their future quarterback issue. While Bo Nix was still on the roster and preparing to lead the Ducks into the Fiesta Bowl against the Liberty Flames, it was known that the 2024 season would need to bring change with Nix off to the NFL.

In stepped Dillon Gabriel, a transfer from Oklahoma who had shown himself to be one of the more electrifying and dynamic passers in the nation over the previous couple of seasons. Gabriel had one year of eligibility remaining, and he wanted to spend it in Eugene, hoping to follow the Nix model of elevating his draft prospects and closing the final chapter of his college career with legitimate national championship aspirations.

Just nine days later, though, competition arrived for Gabriel, this time in the form of UCLA transfer Dante Moore, a former 5-star prospect with history in Eugene.

For the most part, it has been assumed by fans and most media members following the team this offseason that Gabriel will be the starter from the day that camp starts in the fall. He is, of course, among the betting favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2024, and he enters the season as one of the most experienced passers in the nation, holding 49 starts, 125 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions under his belt, with almost 15,000 yards to throw on top.

Are we so sure that Gabriel’s name should be written in pen at the top of the depth chart, though? Let’s look into that question a bit more.

Spring Position Preview: Ducks’ QB room brings new look, high ceiling into 2024 season

Previewing the Oregon Ducks quarterback room heading in to the 2024 season as we get set for spring football to return later this month.

After a couple of long off-season months, the grass is starting to grow and trees are getting ready to bloom. Spring is coming in Eugene, and with it comes the long-awaited return of football for the Oregon Ducks. A lot will look different in this new year for Dan Lanning and his team, with several of last year’s top players moving onto the NFL, including guys like Bo Nix, Troy Franklin, Bucky Irving, Jackson Powers-Johnson, and Brandon Dorlus. All of that is not to mention the fact that the Ducks are joining the Big Ten, and have a new-look conference to get used to on top of a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff to strive for. 

It’s safe to say that there are a lot of things to talk about going into this spring season, and a lot of storylines to discuss. To get things started, we want to give a position-by-position breakdown of Oregon’s current roster, getting readers up to date on which players left, which players are returning, and what the overall outlook is going into the spring. We will start with the quarterbacks.

When one of the best quarterbacks in the history of college football walks out the door, it’s safe to say that there are big shoes to fill for the next guy stepping up. In 2023, Bo Nix set the college football record for the best completion percentage in the history of the sport, leading the Ducks to a victory in the Fiesta Bowl after finishing third in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Nix is now off to the NFL, where he is projected to be a first-round pick. While Oregon has a lot of production to fill at the QB spot, they did a great job of finding potential difference-makers in the transfer portal at the position, bringing in both Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore to compete for the top spot.

There are also another couple of names to know on the depth chart in the QB room. Here’s a full breakdown of the passers currently on the roster in Eugene.

Dan Lanning states ex-UCLA QB Dante Moore can write ‘interesting’ story at Oregon

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning spoke on Dante Moore’s decision to transfer from UCLA to the Ducks.

UCLA’s biggest loss of the off-season is the biggest gain for conference foe Oregon.

Former Bruins’ true freshman quarterback Dante Moore, who entered the transfer portal in November, recently chose Oregon to be his new home. Finishing his first season with 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, Moore’s year was both promising and tumultuous at times. However, the newly minted Oregon Duck has a fresh start in Eugene and, according to his head coach, Dan Lanning, an opportunity to write his own story.

“It’s going to make for an interesting book for Dante when he writes it someday,” Lanning said.

While Moore’s decision to transfer from UCLA certainly does not bode well for the Bruins, it likely bodes well for Moore.

Oregon has a long track record of developing young quarterbacks and making first-round picks out of them in the NFL. From Heisman winner Marcus Mariota to Los Angeles Chargers stud Justin Herbert, all the way to transfer product and projected first-round quarterback this year Bo Nix, there is a long list of successful signal-calling Ducks.

As the off-season rolls on, the Bruins will need to assess the quarterback talent on their own roster. Today, rising senior Ethan Garber appears to be the obvious choice for the starting job after a strong showing in 2023. But with lots of football to be played before the Bruins’ first game, it’s anyone’s job.