Dan Lanning on landing Dante Moore: This place had something he desired the whole time

The Oregon Ducks have been having a strong offseason recruiting in the transfer portal, currently ranked No. 6 in On3’s 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

Oregon has added 11 new players to its roster through the transfer portal so far this offseason, headlined by the additions to their quarterback room that set the team up for short-term and long-term success. With former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel joining the team for his final college football season and former UCLA quarterback Dante Moore following his true freshman season with the Bruins.

Transfer portal movement has been particularly prevalent at the quarterback position, but a decision like Moore’s is uncommon. As most quarterbacks seek out programs where they can play as soon as possible with as little competition. With that in mind, Ducks head coach Dan Lanning spoke with On3’s JD PicKell about Moore’s decision to join Oregon through the transfer portal.

“It really parlayed off of our conversations before he went to UCLA to start and there was a really strong relationship there,” Lanning said.

Moore was one of the most highly touted recruits for the 2023 recruiting class, a five-star prospect ranked the No. 3 overall player and the No. 2 quarterback in the nation according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He had the rare opportunity to start as a true freshman at UCLA, becoming the first ninth true freshman in program history to start under center for the Bruins. Where he completed 53.5% of his passes for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in his nine game appearances and five starts for UCLA.

But after his lone season with the Bruins, Moore decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal following the season and join the Ducks. A choice that Lanning believes checked all the boxes Moore needed dating back to his days as a high school recruit when he was originally committed to the Ducks before flipping to UCLA.

“I think this place had something he desired and something he wanted to be a part of kind of the whole time and maybe going somewhere else helped him realize that even more. That this is the place that he wanted to be, wanted to experience, and some of the guys that he wanted to play with,” Lanning explained.

Moore will likely sit behind Gabriel during the 2024 season, with Gabriel boasting 49 starts in his college career fresh off of his most impressive season to date. Throwing for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns along with 373 yards on the ground and 12 rushing touchdowns for the Sooners.

But the long game could pay off for the Detroit native, who can now better set himself up for future success after spending next season developing at a place he was eager to join.