Tag: Dante Moore

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.

Dan Lanning talks about Dillon Gabriel, Dante Moore in Ducks’ 2024 QB room

Dan Lanning went on the Pat McAfee Show and discussed Oregon’s unique QB situation for 2024.

This is going to be a story in 2024 and be a talking point for nearly every Oregon football telecast next season.

The Ducks will possess one of the more unique quarterback situations in the nation with a graduate transfer in Dillon Gabriel, and former 5-star UCLA quarterback Dante Moore. Behind them, the Ducks also have redshirt freshman Austin Novosad, and true freshman Luke Moga.

It’s an embarrassment of riches and a depth chart that not only has quantity, but quality. Oregon coach Dan Lanning went on the Pat McAfee Show on ESPN recently and discussed his signal callers and when they’ll bring to the Ducks in 2024.

Competition is the secret and those are guys that want to come compete, want to be the best version of themselves and they know they can come do it here. They see what I see in this place. And we want to get great players. One thing we tell our players when they come, like the minute you get here we’re going to go try to bring better and continue to bring better and that’s how you get the best out of yourselves. We want competitors. Those guys are both great competitors, great quarterbacks and we’re going to have a bunch of them on this team that can make us great.

While the belief is that Moore will sit behind Gabriel for the 2024 season and be ready to take over in 2025, don’t be surprised if we get more of a QB competition than some might think leading up to this coming season. Moore is the former No. 3 overall player in the 2023 class, and he could very well push Gabriel for the starting spot.

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Which former Pac-12 team has the highest ceiling in year 1 of the expanded Big Ten?

A look at which former Pac-12 team has the highest ceiling year year 1 of the expanded Big Ten conference in 2024.

Next season of college football is going to be very different and strange.

Oregon, Washington, and the Los Angeles schools will compete in the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff is expanding by six more teams.

USC began this process with the other schools following and going their own way. The end result was the death of the Pac-12. Although the Ducks will be playing in a new conference, according to TrojansWire, Oregon will be the prohibitive favorite thanks to one player.

“Dillon Gabriel is a much better quarterback than Will Howard (Ohio State), and certainly much more proven and established than (USC’s) Miller Moss,” TrojansWire.com editor Matt Zemek said. “The Ducks are recruiting well and adding players via the transfer portal well across the board. They appear to have the most balanced team with an anchor at the sport’s most important position. They’re in the driver’s seat right now.”

While we at DucksWire would like to agree and Zemek is probably right, we would like to think Oregon is just one of several really good teams in the Big Ten in 2024. The Buckeyes, Wolverines, and Nittany Lions will provide stiff competition.

Since he does cover one team in Los Angeles, Zemek has a unique perspective on UCLA as well and for some reason, he’s not as high on former Bruin and current Duck quarterback Dante Moore as most people.

“Moore struggled in 2023. I didn’t get the sense he was about to turn the corner or that one more year was going to bring forth his best,” Zemek said. “He just didn’t live up to the hype. The Bruins need an elite portal quarterback in the spring.”

He is right, however. UCLA is in trouble if they don’t find a quarterback soon.

Austin Novosad isn’t backing down from a competitive quarterback room

Austin Novosad, a true freshman QB for the Oregon Ducks, isn’t fazed by the pair of QBs transferring to Oregon.

It only took a few years for the transfer portal to revolutionize the way college quarterbacks are recruited, and there might not be a better example of the new world order than the Oregon Ducks.

In the 2024 offseason, it seems the Ducks are trying to strike gold with Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel the way they did with Bo Nix in 2022, while also building for the future with sophomore transfer Dante Moore, a former five-star prospect in 2023.

The unfortunate byproduct of pursuing transfer QBs is how players already on the roster are affected. We saw this with Ty Thompson, who stuck around in Eugene as a backup for three years before being forced out by the incoming transfers of Gabriel and Moore.

However, there is another talented QB already on the Ducks roster who isn’t ready to bow out of the battle yet: Austin Novosad. A year ago, Novosad was Oregon’s lone QB commit in the class of 2023 (since Moore had decommitted days prior). Novosad was a four-star recruit and 247 Sports’ No. 13 QB prospect in the class of 2023.

Novosad played in two games as a freshman, playing behind Nix and Thompson, and will likely be the third-string again in 2024 behind Gabriel and Moore. Still, Novosad seems happy to be in Eugene and excited to compete for a spot on the field, even after Moore’s transfer was announced.

“It’s a great opportunity and an opportunity for me to compete and just go out there and make everyone better,” Novosad said on Tuesday in his first interview as a Duck. “We’re going to have a good room, and I’m excited for it.”

The odds of ever becoming the Ducks starting QB aren’t stacked in Novosad’s favor. He’ll only have to compete with Dillon Gabriel for one season since Gabriel will run out of eligibility. After 2024, Novosad and Moore will likely both have three remaining years of eligibility. In addition, Novosad will be competing with 2024 QB recruit Luke Moga and 2025 QB commit Akili Smith Jr.

Needless to say, the window for Novosad to become the starter at Oregon isn’t gaping.

In the two games Novosad played this season, he took 13 snaps and threw four passes — all of which he completed. It wasn’t a big enough sample to judge the true freshman’s talent, especially since the games were against Portland State and Hawaii. Practice will be the only avenue for Novosad to move up the depth chart.

There is a chance we see Novosad at the helm with a more substantial role in a few weeks. With Thompson transferring from Oregon, Novosad will  back up Nix in the Fiesta Bowl. If the Ducks can build a substantial lead against the Liberty Flames — as they did so often this season — Novosad may play a few drives, with a chance to showcase his talent.

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SIGNED: 3-star QB Luke Moga is a officially a Duck

Luke Moga, a 3-star QB recruit from Arizona, signed his National Letter of Intent to join the Oregon Ducks.

Luke Moga, a 3-star quarterback recruit in the class of 2024, is officially an Oregon Duck. On Wednesday, he signed his national letter of intent to attend Oregon and is expected to enroll almost immediately.

Moga played his high school in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was renowned for his speed. In his sophomore year of high school, Moga ran a 10.93 100-meter dash, which is only 0.61 seconds slower than Ducks CB Rodrick Pleasant (a former track star) ran in his sophomore year.

Moga’s speed is impressive, but what’s talked about less is his talent throwing the ball. Moga has a strong arm, and excels at extending plays when the pocket collapses, both of which are skills he’ll need to achieve his goal of becoming the Ducks starting QB.

Initially, Moga was one of two Ducks’ QB commits in the class of 2024, the other being 4-star Michael Van Buren. But after buzz picked up that the Ducks would be pursuing a QB in the portal, Van Buren decommitted and flipped his commitment to Mississippi State.

Moga chose to stick with the Ducks, but he is walking into a loaded QB room. Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel and UCLA transfer Dante Moore will most likely be the QB1 and QB2 in 2024, Austin Novosad will play third string, and in 2025 Moga will have to compete with QB commit Akili Smith Jr. Moga has a narrow window to break into a starting role as a Duck, but it’s challenge he seems excited for.

Here are some of Moga’s highlights:

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Where Dante Moore, newest Ducks stand among the top-rated transfers in Dan Lanning era

Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks kicked off a very busy week of recruiting with an incredibly busy Monday, landing three new players via the transfer portal and bolstering their roster for the 2024 season. With Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel …

Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks kicked off a very busy week of recruiting with an incredibly busy Monday, landing three new players via the transfer portal and bolstering their roster for the 2024 season.

With Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel already in the fold, the Ducks added the likes of Northwest Missouri State RB Jay Harris, Indiana OL Matthew Bedford, and finally, UCLA QB Dante Moore as the nightcap.

With these four incoming transfers, the Ducks have found ways to improve at major positions of need this offseason, with more improvements to come as well.

So where do these new Ducks rank among the 27 (non-specialist) Oregon transfers in the Lanning era? There are two ways to look at it. For starters, you can take into account the 247Sports Transfer Portal rankings. However, those rankings don’t always hold true to what we see playing out on the field — for instance, Bo Nix was a 3-star prospect in the portal, who finished his college career as a Heisman Trophy finalist in New York.

For good measure, I added my own rankings based on how good each player ended up being in Eugene.

With all of that being said, let’s take a look at the best transfers that the Ducks have landed since Lanning has been here, and see where the new trio mixes in:

Editor’s Note: Jay Harris is transferring from the DII ranks, so he does not have a 247Sports Transfer Portal Rating and does not make our transfer rankings. Don’t take that as meaning that he is not talented and well-qualified to be a major difference-maker for the Ducks in 2024. 

With addition of Dante Moore, Ducks have built one of best QB rooms in the nation

With the addition of transfer Dante Moore, the Oregon Ducks have successfully built one of the best quarterback rooms in the nation.

For the entirety of his career, Dan Lanning has been seen as a defensive guy. He played linebacker in high school and college and coached on the defensive side of the ball until ultimately becoming a defensive-minded head coach at Oregon.

He seems to have a pretty deft touch when it comes to curating the quarterback position, though.

Since Lanning came to Oregon in December of 2021, the Ducks’ have made a point to recruit the QB spot at a high level, whether that be in the high school or college transfer portal ranks. From landing Bo Nix out of the portal early in his tenure to securing commitments from guys like Akili Smith Jr. or Dillon Gabriel, getting high-profile QBs to come to Eugene has never been a problem. That fact was stated once again on Monday night when former UCLA QB Dante Moore announced his transfer to the Ducks.

Moore, a former 5-star QB, was committed to Oregon a year ago but flipped to UCLA late in the process. After a frustrating freshman season, he ultimately found his way back to Eugene, in order to get developed and see his career take off. This will likely take place in 2024 after a season backing up Gabriel, which is the presumed outcome of a spring QB battle in Eugene.

Now, with the two of them in the fold, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Ducks will have one of the best QB rooms in the nation going forward. After years of grabbing transfer portal passers in order to keep the ship afloat, from Dakota Prukop to Anthony Brown, Oregon can truly develop what they have and trust the process going forward.

Here is a look at the QBs on the roster, their outlook when it comes to future playing time, and some potential names to know in the recruiting world going forward as well.