Texas A&M Football and Michigan are looking to make a move with Dante Moore, while Notre Dame football aims to stay in the lead. We rank the top five.
The recruitment of five-star quarterback Dante Moore has been one of the most interesting to follow in the 2023 college football recruiting class.
Michigan, the in-state program, seemed like a strong bet at one point, but after Jim Harbaugh showed his interest in the NFL, that seemed to raise some doubts. Plus, Michigan lost offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.
Gattis was enough to get Miami an unofficial visit but I don’t see the Hurricanes as a real player in this recruitment right now and Texas A&M football is a program that’s looking to make a move.
Michigan hosted Moore for an unofficial visit in late May and the Aggies are hosting the five-star quarterback for a visit in mid-June.
Things are definitely heating up and the one sure thing is that Moore seems months away from making a commitment. So as we head into June, where do things stand? We re-rank the top five contenders for the five-star quarterback.
5. LSU
The Tigers might be in second place right now according to the On3.com prediction machine since they are sitting at a 22 percent chance to win his commitment (Notre Dame football is at 37 in the lead) but there hasn’t been a ton of chatter since his official visit in April.
Joe Burrow was there and spent some time with Moore which certainly helped. Burrow was a Midwest kid that ended up in Baton Rouge and we all know how that worked out.
Don’t get me wrong, LSU is still in the top five and I think they sit better than teams like Miami, but the Tigers have work to do and just don’t seem to have that much momentum.
4. Oregon
Oregon is another team that I have listed a little lower than the On3 prediction machine. The Ducks did really well when they hosted Dante Moore for his official visit and there was even momentum coming out of it about a possible commitment.
At the very least, there was some thought that Oregon could supplant Notre Dame football as the new leader.
However, the Ducks have shown more interest in other quarterbacks than some of the other top contenders — namely Michigan and Notre Dame. The Ducks currently lead via On3 in the recruitment of Jaden Rashada, another five-star QB in 2023.
The prediction machine gives them a 57-percent chance to get Rashada’s commitment and he’s expected to announce his decision this month.
Four-star quarterback Avery Johnson is also expected to make an official visit to Oregon in June, so the Ducks have their eggs in more than Moore’s basket and I don’t see them waiting him out.
3. Texas A&M football
When you talk about things that any elite college football quarterback recruit would want, Texas A&M football checks the boxes.
The Aggies have an elite (national-championship winning) head coach in Jimbo Fisher who has won at the highest levels and also sent quarterbacks (Jameis Winston and Kellen Mond) to the NFL draft in the early rounds.
Fisher is also building a powerhouse at Texas A&M and that’s evidenced by his stellar recruiting classes including the top-ranked signing class in 2022 (which ranked as the best ever according to 247 sports composite rankings).
Moore is taking an unofficial visit and that’s an opportunity for Texas A&M football to surge in this recruitment and become a true contender. The key will be impressing him on this trip and getting him back to College Station for an official visit in the future.
"“I am really interested to see how things are in Texas,” Moore told On3. “Since Johnny Manziel came through and played there, I have had an interest in Texas A&M. It is a top program with some history and I have always wanted to see how things are there. This will be a big visit for me.”"
Texas A&M football lost the pledge of Eli Holstein, but Moore said that’s what got his attention and it’s been said before but a truly elite QB is really what’s been holding the Aggies back, and Dante Moore could be the guy, although Conner Weigman might be too.
Either way, this visit will be a potential game-changer in Dante Moore’s recruitment, so that’s why the Aggies are sitting at third, with the chance to move up.
2. Michigan
Michigan football has been the constant with Dante Moore the longest and originally offered him when he was back in middle school.
That was Jim Harbaugh who made the offer back then and it will be up to Jim Harbaugh to win over Moore if he’s going to sign with the Wolverines.
Notre Dame football has Marcus Freeman, but Harbaugh is a proven winner and last season, he proved his doubters wrong by beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten.
In that regard, Michigan seems like less of a risk. Moore would have to sit behind J.J. McCarthy but he would likely take over the job by 2024 and his recent visit seemed to generate some momentum for the Wolverines, who are also hoping to get him back for an official visit.
Michigan is 26 miles away and the Wolverines, despite some struggles, landed Donovan Edwards and Will Johnson, the top-two players in the past two recruiting classes in the state of Michigan, so don’t count them out with Dante Moore.
1. Notre Dame Football
For months, Notre Dame football was talked about as the presumed leader for Moore. The Irish hosted him for a visit in March (an unofficial one) and there was hope that he might commit.
Of course, he didn’t and since then, the Irish have been losing momentum.
Momentum can be hard to judge on the recruiting trail but Moore has visited Oregon, LSU, Michigan, and now Texas A&M since he’s last been to South Bend.
The Irish will need to get him on campus soon and with three official visits left, that will be a good place to start. However, the longer this drags out, the worse it is for Notre Dame.
The On3 prediction machine gave the Irish an 89-percent chance to win this recruitment at one time and now that’s down to 37 percent.
Still, it wouldn’t surprise me if this battle came down to Michigan and Notre Dame, which according to the way things have been going lately, the Irish probably wouldn’t mind that at all.