Quarterback dominoes: A late reshuffling before National Signing Day

The final days before National Signing Day are here, with just a little under a week until the country’s top recruits officially put pen to paper. And as there is every year, there’s no shortage of drama heading into next Wednesday.

Recruits across the country are getting final pitches from the coaches they’re considering, as well as the coaches and programs they’re committed to in some cases. Nowhere is that more apparent than among the quarterbacks, where we could be in for a doozy of a finish to the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Already, we’ve seen four-star Pierre (S.D.) quarterback Lincoln Kienholz decommit from Washington and then shortly after pledge to Ohio State. His commitment gives the Buckeyes their 2023 signal-caller, but it also opens up a hole in the Huskies’ class just days before the signing period.

But that’s far from the end of the quarterback dominoes in the Pacific Northwest. On Wednesday, On3 four-star passer Sam Leavitt announced his decommitment from Washington State, and a day later, Michigan State landed one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country over the past few months.

UCLA making a late push for 5-star Dante Moore

That news of course follows the Spartans’ short-lived pursuit of Oregon five-star quarterback commit Dante Moore, who considered MSU the first time before pledging to the Ducks. Now though, UCLA is working to flip the nation’s No. 4 passer in the On3 Consensus after a weekend official visit to Westwood.

The Ducks could have starter Bo Nix returning after an excellent 2022 season; meanwhile, the path to an immediate starting job and a significant NIL package have Moore reconsidering his future in Eugene. With Leavitt’s commitment to the Spartans a short time ago — along with the potential for Moore to choose either Oregon or UCLA — we could be in for some major fireworks over the next few days with three Pac-12 teams all potentially in need of a quarterback.

One name to keep an eye on is four-star Missouri commit Gabarri Johnson. The Tacoma (Wash.) native committed to the Tigers in May, but his quarterbacks coach — Bush Hamdan — recently left Missouri for the offensive coordinator job at Boise State. The Ducks, Huskies and Cougars all extended offers to him prior to his commitment, and at one time Washington was considered the leader for him.

Given what we’ve seen over the last few days and weeks, a few more shakeups on the quarterback board wouldn’t be a big surprise.