The QB1 situation at Oregon is still smoky, clouded by uncertainty and rising pressure. What looked like a surefire victory for Dante Moore is now turning out to be a three-man race. As offseason practices roll in Eugene, after wrapping up spring ball, Dan Lanning still hasn’t tipped his hand. That set showed what each of the three contenders–Moore, Austin Novosad, and Luke Moga–brought to the table. Dan Lanning had high expectations for Moore when the QB decided to transfer to his program. Now, however, it looks like Moore might not be the solution Lanning was hoping for.

It wasn’t going to be easy for any of the three to live up to the impact Dillon Gabriel left on the program. And yet, Lanning offered a six-figure sum for Moore to sit behind the stellar QB for one season and learn from him. “Dante has all the ability in the world,” the HC said about him, ahead of the spring game. Moore’s performance in the scrimmage had both good and bad. As the days pass, Lanning will near the day when he has to name his starting quarterback, who will be his shot, to also achieve a one-of-a-kind feat of producing 3 consecutive Heisman finalists. With Dante Moore in consideration, the HC’s hopes of a season led by an elite QB look dim.

Spencer McLaughlin explored this uncertain future in a May 19 episode of the Locked On Ducks podcast. The host thought Moore had very low chance of making it as Oregon’s QB1. “Dante Moore has not been named Oregon starting quarterback. I don’t expect him to be,” McLaughlin declared. “I don’t know that Dan Lanning will ever do that. They might take the Michigan approach or just, you know, be in that same sort of headspace. ‘We don’t need to name nobody for nothing. We know internally,’” he added. Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, on the other hand, still has people rooting for him to get the starting role.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t think he should be good, and there is some historical precedent for this,” McLaughlin also countered. He likened Moore’s situation by comparing him with Marcus Mariota. “The arguably greatest player in the history of Oregon football was really good from the moment he set foot on the turf at Stadium. […] But Mariota’s stats that season, I actually think, are a pretty good baseline for what I expect for Dante Moore.” The legendary QB’s first season saw him produce 2,677 yards, a 68.5% completion rate, and 32 TDs. Mariota topped it all off with a brilliant 12-1 season for his debut.

“I think statistically that’s a pretty fair expectation, ballpark, in your mind to have of what Dante Moore puts on the field this year,” McLaughlin added. Moore played 9 games in his debut season at UCLA, and started in 5 of them. He still managed to produce 1,610 yards and 11 TDs, with 9 interceptions. “I actually think Dante Moore could throw for slightly more yards. Like I think he could get around 3,000 pretty easily with the weapons that he’s got,” McLaughlin claimed. Moore is known for his mean arm strength and deep ball accuracy. The QB has the goods in him to be Oregon’s next star. But for him to do that, he has to work on correcting some flaws first.

Dante Moore’s problematic UCLA past remains a problem

Moore has one flaw that keeps popping up in conversations about his development. McLaughlin also touched upon it. “[From] his time at UCLA, he struggled protecting the football. It is the biggest knock that you can throw on him. It’s why he was removed from the starting role, after capturing it early in the season from Ethan Garbers.” Moore’s only win in his lone UCLA season came against Houston. In that game, too, he produced 2 turnovers. “Moore never found the balance between holding onto the ball for too long and giving up on the play too quickly,” wrote Jack Nelson for Daily Bruin.

Eventually, Garbers had to step back into the Bruins’ offense as QB1. Before Nico Iamaleava arrived at UCLA, Moore was the program’s biggest recruit in the Chip Kelly era. Going as a five-star prospect, the QB failed to make the mark people expected of him in his first year. Debut season mistakes can be attacked lightly by critics because of the experience criteria. But Moore is on a comparatively bigger stage. He has Dan Lanning’s backing and a good offense to connect with on the field. And, he had the chance to take it easy and learn behind Dillon Gabriel.

This will be Moore’s third year in college football. Dan Lanning had a strategy in mind when he recruited him, and he has waited patiently for it to be able to play out. Now Moore can either rise to the moment or risk being overtaken. The onus is now on Moore to finally prove his 5-star status and display some fireworks for the Autzen crowd.