Tuesday Ted Talk: Realistic Expectations for Dante Moore in 2025

There are a wide variety of perspectives surrounding potential Oregon starting quarterback Dante Moore this offseason. Some national media pundits view him outside of the Big Ten’s top 5 starting quarterbacks, while his teammates throw around the word Heisman when discussing the former 5-star. These perspectives pose a question all Duck fans will have in their head throughout the summer months – what should we realistically expect from Dante Moore in 2025? 

The critics of Dante point to his up and down freshman season at UCLA in 2023 as an example of their uncertainty. When chronicling Dante’s short time in Westwood, you have to keep in mind 3 things – he was a true freshman thrown into the fire, the Bruin staff did not adjust to Dante’s skillset, and the offensive line was bad. 

It became crystal clear through the 2023 season that Chip Kelly had zero interest in not only remaining a head coach in college football, but developing Dante Moore. If there is one thing that can kill the confidence of a young quarterback, it’s the alternating of playing status throughout their first season, which is exactly what happened at UCLA.

Combining the lack of consistency of playing time with a poor offensive line is just the icing on the cake. Moore was sacked 16 times in 9 games with the Bruins, and the UCLA front allowed 42 sacks during the entire season, ranking 122nd in college football. It was the perfect storm for a less than stellar true freshman season for Moore, and a perfect opportunity to find his way back to Eugene. 

A Fresh Start

2024 was the ultimate reset and learning experience for Mr. Moore. To be able to learn under the most experienced quarterback in college football history as well as having a full year to be able to learn Will Stein’s QB friendly offense is exactly what optimists are pointing to as an example that Dante has cleansed himself of that 2023 season. Optimists, like myself, have more reasons to point to than just sitting under the learning tree. 

For me, and a lot of others, it’s the weapons and the aforementioned system. Being able to throw to dynamic pass catchers like Kenyon Sadiq, Evan Stewart, Dakorien Moore and others is a significant upgrade from what he was throwing to in Southern California. Furthermore, Will Stein’s system emphasizes, among other things, efficient turnover free football and great pass protection – 2 things that were not present during his time at UCLA. 

Whether you are a critic or an optimist, there is a path that has already been paved by a 5-star transfer quarterback that struggled at his previous institution that could shed some light on what we could expect from Dante Moore. The journeys of Bo Nix and Dante Moore are not complete carbon copies, and Dante could certainly have a different path at Oregon, but there are enough similarities to formulate realistic expectations based on what has already happened in Eugene. 

Bo Nix’s first season in Eugene saw him improve his completion percentage by 12 percentage points, throw for over 1,300 more yards and more than double his touchdown passes from the previous season at Auburn. In 2022, Bo saw a big jump certainly, but the best was yet to come in 2023. A similar 2 year plan seems to be a realistic expectation for Dante Moore at Oregon. 

Regardless of the weapons, system, and talent of Dante Moore, he is still a new quarterback, and presents the Ducks offensive coaching staff with a challenge they haven’t faced yet – developing a young quarterback. Dante is a microcosm of Oregon football as a whole not only for 2025, but 2026 as well. A great, young talent, with all the potential in the world – but lacking experience. Like the rest of the roster, Dante might see some bumps in the road early in the season, but I would expect him, like the team, to be playing his best football later in the season when he has shaken off some of the rust.

I believe Dante and Oregon can do great things in 2025, but 2026 could potentially be the year we see Dante reach his ceiling in his 2nd season leading the Ducks offense, much like Bo Nix in 2023. Could Dante go out there, light up the world, and win the Heisman in 2025? Sure he could, but expecting that type of season might not be the most realistic expectations from a first year quarterback. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the ride.