The Oregon Ducks are walking into 2025 with more questions than answers, and all eyes are on Dante Moore to provide them. After years of riding the wave with big-time quarterbacks like Justin Herbert and Dillon Gabriel, head coach Dan Lanning is betting on Moore to be the next big guy. It’s a risky move. Moore didn’t exactly justify the 5 stars after his name during his brief stint at UCLA, but well, the stars were there for a reason. And that’s exactly what the Ducks are banking on. Now, with the Ducks reshaping their identity in the Big Ten, or should we say reshaping the Big Ten to their identity, Moore is finally stepping into a spotlight he was always meant to occupy.
Moore’s potential isn’t in doubt, but will he reach that? Will he perform consistently? These are the questions lingering in the minds of fans and analysts alike. Oregon could’ve spent big to land a more proven QB through the portal, but they didn’t. Instead, the Ducks are leaning into development, trusting their system and their staff, especially Dan Lanning’s right-hand man and offensive coordinator Will Stein, who is being paid $1.75 million to mold Moore into something special. And Moore seems to understand the moment. From reshaping his body to refining his game, the quarterback has taken a hard look in the mirror and is starting to embrace the challenge in front of him. And Dante Moore is acknowledging all the effort being done by Will Stein in making him into the savior of the Ducks.
“One thing I will say about being here with Coach Stein, and I love him to death. He’s played the quarterback position. He knows how it feels to be out there on the football field, how to be in the fire. So when it comes to him coaching us, he knows that covers them,” said Moore. And if you should know anything about Will Stein, it’s this. He is obsessed with growth. And that obsession is beginning to rub off on Dante Moore. The young quarterback is diving headfirst into the grind. With Stein’s quarterback-minded guidance, Dante Moore is being challenged, refined, and recalibrated.
“If we’re off, you know, missing a couple of receivers at practice, he knows how to get us back in rhythm, a little quick, short throw, things of that nature,” Moore explained. That attention to the smallest details, to the pace and tempo of every throw, is exactly what Moore needs to unlock the quarterback everyone hoped he’d be coming out of high school.
“Will’s previously said that he likes to work with quarterbacks to kind of formulate what contents do look like that. There are four fundamentals that you’re trying to do every year. What’s that process like of being involved in the room, of trying to find what works for you guys and what works,” said Moore. If there’s anyone who can make Dante Moore what he was thought to be, it’s Will Stein, and he’s diving headfirst into that job of his.
It’s rare to see a program like Oregon hand over the reins to a QB with so little college experience. But Moore’s humility, work ethic, and the Ducks’ staff can very well redefine history. Lanning and Stein have gone all-in on Moore. If the gamble pays off, Oregon could literally make history by barging into a conference and owning it twice in two years.
Pressure, legacy, and a quarterback race still undecided
Dante Moore might be the face splashed across headlines, but inside the Oregon locker room, the quarterback job is still up for grabs. While Moore continues to draw Heisman whispers and comparisons to Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, Dan Lanning hasn’t handed him the keys just yet. Behind the scenes, Austin Novosad and Luke Moga are keeping things tight, making it clear this isn’t just a coronation. The Ducks have a reputation for churning out top-tier QBs, and Lanning’s made sure that this race pushes all three contenders to tap into that legacy. “There’s no timeline on when we’ll name a starter,” Lanning said during spring camp. “Each of them is competing every day, and we want this to be earned.”
Moore, to his credit, hasn’t backed down from the fight. After a rocky freshman year at UCLA, he’s leaned into the development Oregon offers. The mentorship under Gabriel, the year to absorb Will Stein’s system, and now the full-speed reps with Oregon’s ones—this is the version of Dante Moore fans were promised. “They brought him over to sit for a year and decided to pay him for a year while he was sitting,” On3’s J.D. PicKell said. “You know how much you got to believe in a guy to pay for a player that’s not actually going to play for another season? So Dante Moore, I’m excited about what he’s gonna bring to the table.”
The job may ultimately go to Moore, but it won’t be handed to him. Oregon’s quarterback culture demands proof, not promise. And with Dan Lanning preaching competition at every level, this camp could define more than just a depth chart; it might signal whether the Ducks can sustain their top-tier QB lineage or if Moore’s story is still waiting for its true beginning. Either way, offensive coordinator Will Stein will have the final say in shaping whoever emerges as the next Oregon star.
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