Dante Moore, the No. 8 overall prospect and fourth-ranked quarterback in the Class of 2023, according to 247Sports, announced his commitment to Oregon on Friday over Texas A&M, LSU, Notre Dame and Michigan. Moore, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan, was the top uncommitted quarterback in the current recruiting cycle.
The top-ranked player in the state of Michigan, Moore has thrown for 7,488 yards and 103 touchdowns in three high school seasons. He led his team to the state championship in 2021 and has made the state playoffs in all three of his high school seasons.
So what does Moore's commitment mean for Oregon and the 2023 class moving forward? Let's break it down.
Oregon is set up for the future
The Ducks lured Bo Nix from Auburn during the offseason, and the senior is slated to be starting quarterback ahead of former four-star quarterback Ty Thompson. The current depth chart, however, suggests that Moore could step right in and compete for the starting job in Eugene, while Nix could use the free year of eligibility that the NCAA granted all players during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and come back in 2023. Either way, immediate playing time is available for Moore, which undoubtedly was a selling point for Lanning on the recruiting trail. The commitment of Moore will dramatically increase the culture of competition at Oregon, which is the most important piece of Lanning's puzzle.
Dan Lanning has made his statement
Part of the reason Lanning was hired from Georgia was to continue the high-end recruiting that was a staple in ex-coach Mario Cristobal's program. Moore is the 11th player in Lanning's 2023 recruiting class, and he has elevated the Ducks' team recruiting ranking from No. 26 to No. 17. Lanning, 36, has never been a head coach at the college level but was so highly regarded in coaching circles that he earned a gig at a national championship-caliber program just four years into serving as a position coach. The old saying is that it's the Jimmy's and the Joe's, not X's and O's, that are the foundation of college football powers. Lanning clearly understands that and is following through on his plan.
The 2023 QB cupboard is bare
Teams in search of high school quarterbacks better hope for some decommitments because there aren't many highly ranked signal-callers left on the board in the Class of 2023. Dylan Longergan from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia, is the only Top247 quarterback and four-star prospect who hasn't decided on his college destination yet. He is ranked No. 158 overall and is the ninth-ranked quarterback in a loaded quarterback class.
That might become a trend as well. High-profile college teams have made a concerted effort to stack top-tier quarterbacks on each other in order to create a culture of competition that championship-caliber squads need in order to reach the peak of the sport. That does, however, open the door for teams that are left out in the cold in any given class to raid the transfer portal market due to the talent level of the players who are looking for new homes.
