Eugene has seen more 5-star walk-throughs than downtown LA over recent years. Oregon, with Nike and Phil Knight fanning the flames of their magnetic recruiting framework, has been a force out west. Head coach Dan Lanning has seen most of his efforts in mobilizing high-rated prospects to his program reciprocated by said prospects. One such 5-star prospect is Dante Moore. The QB1-elect epitomizes the allure of playing for Coach Lanning and his Ducks. You see, Moore’s path to Eugene wasn’t conventional in the slightest. Not in how it came about, and certainly not in the circumstances it came about.

Dante Moore’s traversal to being penciled in atop the depth chart has been rather fascinating. He was initially committed to Oregon but sensationally flipped to fellow Pacific Coast dwellers UCLA. Moore was actually the starter for the Bruins at the back half of his true freshman year in 2023. But he still hit the portal and came north, which was odd enough. But what made this peculiar was that he did this less than a fortnight after Dillon Gabriel also moved to Eugene from Norman after a fruitful tenure with Oklahoma. Moore inadvertently sat behind the uber-experienced Gabriel as this understudy last season. This was almost unprecedented, since he’d proven he could be a starter at a Power 4-level program already. So why take what was essentially a backward step? His comments, a vocal admiration of Gabriel and Lanning’s program, finally answer this.

Dante Moore spoke to On3’s Pete Nakos as he gears towards his first fall as Oregon’s likely starting quarterback. What stood out about their conversation was Moore’s reverence for his predecessor, Gabriel. Being in the QB room with the guy who’s got more starts than any of his contemporaries on the FBS level is exactly the kind of experience you’d expect. “This past year has been a learning year for me,” Dante Moore admitted. But he sees the proverbial glass being half-full. “Transferring in with Dillon was probably one of the best things I ever did,” he said, before proceeding to bestow praise on 3rd round draft pick Dillon Gabriel.

“Coming to Oregon and competing with Dillon and standing behind him, I learned a lot from him. He’s been in college for quite some time, and I’m glad that the Browns picked him up. Overall, he taught me a lot. The way we competed with each other in the weight room, in the classroom, and out there on the field. It’s been a great year, and I got close with the team,” remarked Dante Moore.

“It was a year that I needed, for sure.” he later resounded. Biding your time in the shadows despite being a fairly proven quantity is a testament to Moore’s mental fortitude. Nakos also revealed that the two were roommates before every Oregon game last season. Moore really was trying to squeeze every trick of the trade out of his senior.

Dante Moore made nine total appearances for UCLA, in which he threw for 1,610 yards, 11 TDs, and 9 picks. His exit came in tandem with Chip Kelly leaving for Ohio State at the outset of the 2024 season. It’s up for conjecture whether Moore was ready to slot in under center had Dillon Gabriel not been in the equation. But would Oregon have won the Big 10 in that alternative reality? Unlikely. Would Moore have been as confident of the schemes and self-assured heading into next season sans Gabriel’s lead? Also unlikely. Dillon Gabriel is unanimously rated at the collegiate level, and the Cleveland Browns sure recognize his value. This segues into CFB media figurehead Kirk Herbstreit’s comments on the QB that just hit the airwaves.

Kirk Herbstreit saw from afar what Dante Moore saw up close in Dillon Gabriel

Kirk Herbstreit is grandfathered into College Football and its every intricate wrinkle. There is some real credence baked into the College GameDay mainstay’s judgment of QBs, as a former Ohio State signal-caller himself. So his take on Dillon Gabriel both drives home just how underrated the player is by the wider football sphere, as well as attests to Dante Moore’s adulation of him.

Herbstreit guested on The Learning Leader Show, hosted by his fellow Centerville, OH, native Ryan Hawk. He was asked his opinion about Shedeur Sanders and his now-infamous NFL Draft slide among other things. Whether it was because the subject had been discussed ad nauseam or because he wanted no part of any controversy, Kirk Herbstreit maneuvered the conversation toward Shedeur’s new Browns teammate Dillon Gabriel. “They also drafted Dillon Gabriel, who I’m a huge fan of,” said Herbstreit. “If you remember Dillon Gabriel in Eugene, he played pretty well. He’s very accurate. He can move around, he’s just short. I mean, if he were 6’2, everyone would probably be putting him in the first round.” Even though that final bit may seem hyperbolic instinctively, it really isn’t. Gabriel was like that in Ducks green, and Moore witnessed it from front-row seats.

Dan Lanning and Oregon knew they had Dillon Gabriel on a year-long rental when they got him. That rental paid dividends, winning hardware in year 1 after realigning to the Big 10. But this is a coach and program with a lot of momentum behind them, and Dante Moore will be tasked to pick up the slack. The passing of the baton appears to have been smooth. It remains to be seen if the heir to the vacant throne can maintain or even build upon the previous regime’s success.