Five-star QB Dante Moore announces commitment to Oregon
Friday may one day be looked back upon as pivotal moment in Oregon football history if coach Dan Lanning and this new Ducks coaching staff are able to leave their mark on the program in a big way.
Lanning and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham scored their biggest recruiting win yet as five-star quarterback Dante Moore announced his commitment to Oregon, as the Ducks beat out in-state Michigan for the Detroit standout.
Moore, who is ranked the No. 4 pro-style QB and the No. 9 overall national prospect in this 2023 recruiting class, announced his decision live on SportsCenter on Friday morning.
"Coach Lanning of course being the head coach he just came off a national championship so he knows what it takes to get to a national championship and what to build [into] a program. Coach Dillingham, I can say he's a great offensive coordinator and a great quarterback coach, and our bond has been going on for three-plus years now," Moore said on ESPN. "Like I said, they have a great staff, the playmakers there, of course everybody had the hashtag 'Dante to Dont'e'. They have a lot of playmakers, a lot of people to help me get to where I need to be."
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Moore referenced emerging sophomore wide receiver Dont'e Thornton, who along with sophomore wideout Troy Franklin and sophomore slot weapon Seven McGee form an exciting and explosive group of pass-catchers who will still be there when Moore arrives in 2023.
Meanwhile, that relationship with Ducks offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham might have been the biggest factor in this massive recruiting win for Oregon.
"The most important thing, of course, to me this whole recruiting process is of course going to a program that's going to develop quarterbacks," Moore said. "The main thing being a player going into high school and into college is development. Of course the other piece would be facility-wise, all the attributes to help me reach my goal through college ... having playmakers around you helping you be the best you can be on the field."
Moore expounded on his relationships and trust in the Ducks coaching staff while talking to our Matt Moreno last week during the Elite 11 Finals in Redondo Beach, Calif. -- especially that connection with Dillingham, which goes back to the offensive coordinator's time at Florida State and continued uninterrupted through his move to Oregon.
"One thing I appreciate is if you know their back story of them being parents, them being a coach and what it took for them to be a coach, and a lot of people on staff have their why," Moore said. "If you really understand the why of coach Lanning and what he's done to get to that spot, coach Dillingham and the other coaches on staff and really take that in and appreciate that staff and what they're doing."
Moore was in Eugene for his third visit to campus during the Ducks' big recruiting weekend late last month, and afterward he emphasized the recruiting momentum he saw for the program.
"Probably the biggest takeaway is seeing the amount of recruits that's coming from the East Coast or down south, especially like Richard," Moore told Duck Sports Authority. "Seeing the amount of recruits that they're recruiting to get on campus that's far away. A lot of people think Oregon is going to be a lot of California and a lot of people from the West Coast, but I'm just really big taking away how they're recruiting and getting people from the east and down south."
And the Ducks do have major momentum.
While much is made about the defensive potential of this coaching staff with Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who have both contributed to national championship programs at Georgia and Alabama respectively, it's hard to ignore what the Ducks are building on the offensive side.
They won a major recruiting battle for five-star OT Josh Conerly late in the 2022 cycle, landed Rivals100 WR Kyle Kasper (who reclassified into the 2022 class), and have one of the most dynamic playmakers in this 2023 class committed in four-star WR Jurrion Dickey.
Not to mention, the Ducks are in the top 3 for five-star running back Richard Young, who has made multiple visits to Eugene.
And now they have their QB of the future -- the highest-ranked quarterback left in this 2023 class, who put on a show at the Elite 11 finals last week.
Yes, it sure seems like Oregon is building something special, and if the Ducks do reach the heights this staff and the fans hope for, this day may indeed be looked back on as one of the most significant in the process.