Tag: Oregon recruiting

Report: Chances are drastically low that Oregon holds on to 5-star QB Dante Moore

According to 247Sports’ @SWiltfong247, all of the tea leaves show that 5-star QB Dante Moore is going to end up at UCLA, not Oregon.

The last few days have seemingly pointed toward one outcome for the Oregon Ducks: Five-star quarterback Dante Moore flips his commitment to the UCLA Bruins.

The latest intel from 247Sports’ Steve Wilftong may be the most damning information in that narrative so far.

On Saturday morning, Wiltfong reported that all signs point toward Moore committing to UCLA, and it would take a massive change for Dan Lanning and the Ducks to hold onto the elite prospect.

“Friday night’s intel says it’s all but done that he would end up in Westwood,” Wiltfong wrote. “Ducks head coach Dan Lanning and new offensive coordinator Will Stein are working to hold on to Moore late in the process but the likelihood of that unless something changes is drastically is low.”

Moore took an official visit to UCLA last weekend, which was the first sign of trouble for the Ducks, and the buzz surrounding a potential flip has built since. The idea is that in Los Angeles Moore would have a path to start as a true freshman. The same can’t be said in Eugene with the potential return of Bo Nix for the 2023 season.

There is also the transfer QB situation to monitor. UCLA is hosting both Kent State QB Collin Schlee and Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei on visits this weekend. Should either opt for UCLA, it might make Moore reconsider his potential flip decision.

Whatever happens, though, it’s clear the Ducks have to seriously worry about the potential of their five-star QB flipping schools. They’ve been trying to get him on campus for a visit this weekend, but that doesn’t look like it is happening.

Dante Moore’s Recruiting Profile

Tracking the Oregon QB dominoes with Dante Moore, Bo Nix, DJ Uiagalelei and more

At this point, there are a million different ways that Oregon’s QB situation could play out. Let’s try to keep them straight.

When it comes to the quarterback position for the Oregon Ducks, there are about a million different ways we could answer the question “who starts at QB in 2023?”

Will it be Bo Nix? That’s my odds-on favorite at the moment, but the Ducks’ 2022 starter had an opportunity to announce to the world that he’s coming back for another year with Oregon on Friday afternoon, and he instead kicked the can down the road.

Will it be five-star recruit Dante Moore? If you asked me a week ago, I would have said that he is a likely option, but the way the recruiting world has unfolded over the past few days makes that seem rather unlikely at this point.

What about a transfer who isn’t on the roster? That’s a reasonable path, and there are a number of viable available options who would likely love to play in Eugene.

While there can’t be multiple answers to this question, it’s easy to see how all of these options are connected in some way or another. Over the past few days, it’s become incredibly confusing to keep track of who is going where, and what school is looking at what player — so much so that you might be better off with a ball of string, some push pins and a cork-board as we get down to the end of the recruiting cycle.

Let’s dive into what we know and see what it tells us about where the Ducks go from here.

Notable Quotes: Dan Lanning talks recruiting, Will Stein, and Holiday Bowl vs. North Carolina

With recruiting winding down and Holiday Bowl prep ramping up, there was a lot for Dan Lanning to talk about on Friday.

It’s been quite a while since we had a chance to talk to Oregon Ducks’ head coach Dan Lanning, and a great deal has transpired since.

It’s a busy time of year for any college football coach with the early recruiting cycle rolling on and prep for bowl games taking place. In addition, the Ducks were faced with an offensive coordinator hire, choosing UTSA’s Will Stein to run Oregon’s offense after Kenny Dillingham’s departure for Arizona State.

The Ducks are in full bowl-prep mode. They face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28. After practice on Friday, we had a chance to talk to Lanning and select student-athletes.

Here are some of the most notable things that Lanning had to say.

8 potential flip candidates for the Oregon Ducks ahead of early signing period

Who are the guys that Oregon is trying to flip, and what is the likelihood that they pull it off? We break it down here.

We are officially in the final stretch of the early recruiting window, with less than a week until the early signing period starts for college football. This weekend we will see a flurry of both visits and potential commitments, as schools try to get players on campus one last time before the dead period begins and players have to make their decisions.

For the Oregon Ducks, it is expected to be an incredibly active time. Not only are some high-profile players already confirmed to be on campus, but we expect more names to be added to the visitor list in Eugene. We will see both players who are committed to the Ducks and players who are either uncommitted or committed elsewhere on campus.

With signing season comes flip season, and Dan Lanning is looking to make a statement. A number of players could end up flipping to the Ducks in the next week. Of course, there are also a couple of players committed to Oregon that could end up flipping to other schools.

Let’s go over all of the candidates and break down what to watch for in the coming days as the recruiting window winds down.

Every Pac-12 team’s top-ranked recruits in the 2023 class

We know how the recruiting rankings look in the Pac-12, but do you know which players make up those rankings? A look at each school’s top commits.

With just about a week left until the early signing period begins in college football, we continue to look at the landscape in the Pac-12 conference and how the teams stack up when it comes to potential incoming players.

Earlier in the week, we looked at the standings in the Pac-12 recruiting rankings, with the Oregon Ducks barely edging the USC Trojans for the top spot. There is still a lot left to happen before the end of the cycle, so we plan to check back into these rankings after the early signing period closes and as national signing day approaches in February.

To get another look at the recruiting classes out west, we wanted to take a glimpse at individual players for each team, highlighting the top three recruits for each Pac-12 school ahead at this point in the recruiting cycle.

Here are the top hauls for the schools out west.

Note: Some of the recruiting rankings have changed since our initial article about Pac-12 standings. The following team rankings are updated.

Recruiting Party: Expected visitors for Oregon Ducks before dead period and signing day

There are some big names on Oregon’s visitor list this weekend, and some buzz about massive late additions as well.

As we continue to speed towards the end of the early recruiting cycle and watch while college football teams make their final push for prospects that they hope to land on or before early signing day, one last weekend of visits is upon us.

With the recruiting dead period starting on Sunday, December 18, this weekend gives coaching staffs one last opportunity to get players on campus for visits, potentially landing a commitment before the early signing period starts on December 21.

For the Oregon Ducks, it’s shaping up to be an incredibly star-studded weekend.

With multiple reports out there that Nike co-founder and Oregon mega-booster Phil Knight will be on campus this weekend, we can expect the Ducks to pull out all of the stops as they try to make a splash in the recruiting world and sign a standout class on Wednesday.

We already know of several players who will be on campus, and we are looking to confirm a few more as the weekend approaches. Here is an updated list of players who will be in Eugene.

Top-ranked JUCO IOL keeps Oregon among final 5 schools

The Ducks are still in the mix for Keyshawn Blackstock, the No. 1 ranked JUCO IOL in the 2023 class.

We know that offensive line is a big area of need for the Oregon Ducks this offseason, and it appears that they are working hard to fill that need.

Keyshawn Blackstock, the No. 1 rated JUCO IOL and No. 3 overall JUCO player in the nation, recently listed his top 5 schools, including the Oregon Ducks among them. It appears that the Ducks are in a great position to add Blackstock to the 2023 recruiting class, given a 55.4% chance of landing him according to On3.

The Ducks already have a commitment from 4-star JUCO lineman George Silva, who is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 JUCO OT in the class. We will see in the coming weeks or months if Klemm is able to land another big body on the offensive line.

Keyshawn Blackstock’s Recruiting Profile

What Washington’s latest QB loss means for 5-star Dante Moore and the Ducks

Ohio State recently flipped Washington’s 4-star QB commit. Believe it or not, that move tells us something about Oregon’s 5-star QB Dante Moore.

As the day was winding down on Tuesday, it started to become clear that the Washington Huskies were in trouble.

Predictions started flooding in for 2023 4-star QB commit Lincoln Keinholz to flip from the Huskies to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Keinholz is rated by 247Sports as the No. 13 QB in the class and No. 172 overall player in the nation.

While this is a big loss for the Huskies, who no longer have a QB commit that is in line to take over for Michael Penix Jr. after the 2023 season, it also has some ramifications across the Pac-12 and national recruiting world. In particular, it might tell us a lot about Oregon Ducks’ 5-star QB commit Dante Moore.

Let’s get into some of the ripple effects of the Ohio State QB flip and see what we can learn from it.

How the 2023 Pac-12 recruiting rankings shake out before early signing period

We’re getting into the stretch run of recruiting before the early signing period. Will these Pac-12 rankings change when all is said and done?

We are just over a week away from the early signing period getting off to a start in the college football world, which means that the next several days will be spent with coaches around the nation frantically visiting recruits and doing their best to shore up commitments and but a stamp on their teams’ future.

A lot of recruits will also be making visits, which is something that we saw take place in Eugene over the weekend, and something we will continue to see this coming weekend was well.

As we get into the brunt of the recruiting season, we wanted to take a quick look at where things currently stand when it comes to the recruiting hierarchy in the Pac-12. Who holds the belt for the No. 1 spot in the rankings out west, and who will hold the belt after the signing period has passed? Will there be any late flips that change things? Will one fanbase be upset when all is said and done?

We can’t know for sure until December 21 comes, but for now, here’s where things stand going into the stretch run of recruiting season.

LOOK: 5-star Oregon QB Dante Moore posts pictures of visit to UCLA

After his visit to UCLA this weekend, Oregon’s 5-star QB Dante Moore posted pictures in a Bruins’ jersey on his Instagram.

The reported news that Oregon Ducks fans were nervous about earlier in the week came true over the weekend, with 5-star quarterback Dante Moore taking an official visit to Los Angeles to see Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins.

Moore, who committed to the Ducks in July and has repeatedly said that he is locked in with Oregon, is expected to put pen to paper during the early signing period later this month. Moore is rated as the No. 2 overall player in the 2023 class.

Regardless of how solid he seems to be on his commitment to Oregon, Duck fans have still been pretty hesitant of a flip after the departure of offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who was the main recruiter for Moore. This late visit to UCLA raises some eyebrows, but the Ducks are still expected to be in a good place to land Moore in a couple of weeks.

Dan Lanning paid a visit to Moore last week in Detroit, and Will Stein, Oregon’s new offensive coordinator, was able to sit down with the 5-star QB earlier this week to develop a relationship.

While all of that should inspire confidence in Oregon fans, the site of your prized recruit — the highest-rated QB to ever commit to the Ducks — in a UCLA uniform just a couple of weeks ahead of signing day is not easy to see.

Here are the pictures that Moore posted after his visit to UCLA.