At least during coach Dan Lanning’s era, Oregon’s quarterbacks have been seasoned upperclassmen with loads of experience.
Bo Nix played a pair of seasons with the Ducks after transferring from Auburn and Dillon Gabriel helmed the team after two years at Oklahoma.
Now it’s Dante Moore’s turn, but his path has been a bit different.
Moore is the presumed starter for the No. 7 Ducks, although Austin Novosad and Luke Moga have also been in the mix during preseason camp. Lanning is expected to name a starter next week ahead of the team’s opener against Montana State at Autzen Stadium.
Moore was a former five-star recruit who started five games for UCLA as a freshman. He transferred to Oregon and spent last year as Gabriel’s backup, eventually taking a redshirt.
“Those guys have learned from great quarterbacks that have done it at a really, really high level,” Lanning said of his quarterbacks. “For him (Moore) to have that opportunity, show maturity, develop in his leadership, I think it’s going to create great opportunities for our team.”
Just a sophomore, he’s under some pressure to carry on what Nix and Gabriel established.
“Like Coach Lanning always says, pressure is a privilege. I feel the whole offense, we’re talented, we’re ready to compete. A lot of us have chips on our shoulders. I know damn well I’m hungry for sure,” Moore said.
Moore hails from Detroit and originally committed to Oregon, but flipped right before the start of the early signing period to the Bruins under former Ducks coach Chip Kelly.
At UCLA his freshman year, Moore played in nine games with five starts, throwing for 1,610 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. During one particularly rough three-game stretch, he threw six interceptions and was sacked 16 times while throwing just three touchdowns.
By the end of the season it was clear that UCLA was in transition. Moore hit the transfer portal and Kelly eventually left to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.
While Oregon had brought in Gabriel, Moore was willing to wait his turn.
Ahead of this season, he took part in Oregon’s second annual leadership retreat. The bonding exercise with Lanning was all the more important this season after the Ducks lost 10 key players to the NFL draft.
“I feel like this year it was good just to hear everybody’s voice and hear the things we can work on as a team,” Moore said about the experience. “But overall, with what I took from it is understanding my strengths and weaknesses and really understanding that, of course, when you’re winning the team’s going to look at you and when they lose, the team’s always going to look at you. So just me finding better ways of how I can lead the team.”
Moore’s challenges this season will include finding a go-to receiver. Evan Stewart was expected to be one of his main targets but he injured his knee in the offseason and is recovering from surgery to repair a torn right patellar tendon. Stewart was Oregon’s top returning receiver with 48 receptions for 613 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Senior Gary Bryant Jr. and junior Justius Lowe will shoulder greater loads in Stewart’s absence. Then there’s five-star recruit Dakorien Moore, who has spurred anticipation of Moore-to-Moore touchdowns.
At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Dante Moore is known for what Lanning calls his “arm talent.” But the quarterback is working on expanding his skillset.
“I got my speed up and I hit my goal. I’m really excited. I’m excited to show what I can do with my feet,” he said at Oregon’s pre-camp media day.
He was asked by a reporter was his goal was.
“My goal was to hit 21 miles per hour and I hit 21.5,” he said. “I was super excited about that. It made me happy. I almost cried.”
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