Dante Moore picked Oregon over Michigan football and this trend of losing recruits to other programs over “NIL money” is concerning.
The NIL era hasn’t been kind to Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football.
A week after his “Harbaugh on vacation” mini video series hit social media, the reigning Big Ten champion head coach lost his top 2023 quarterback target to Oregon.
Was this surprising? No, Dante Moore had been trending toward the Ducks ever since his official visit to Eugene and everyone expected Oregon to win this one. There were rumors of major NIL money involved and while that may be true, one thing is for certain: Michigan is falling behind on the times — and fast.
Michigan is one of the most storied programs in college football and it would be a perfect program to capitalize on the NIL because it has so much to offer student-athletes.
In fact, Michigan has one of the best bases with major donors and there are so many NIL opportunities to take advantage of in Ann Arbor, but it simply isn’t happening. So watching as Moore, a Detroit native, picked Oregon over the home-state Wolverines because of the NIL was a tough pill for many to swallow. And for good reason.
Moore grew up in a family that hated Ohio State. In fact, his dad even has a tattoo of Michigan peeing on Ohio State. Therefore, Dante probably grew up rooting for Michigan and/or Michigan State (rarely is it both, but it does happen) and yet still decided to pack up his life and move across the country to play college ball at Oregon.
Yes, the same Oregon that is in limbo after USC and UCLA both decided they’re going to leave for the Big Ten. No one knows if the Ducks are going to remain in a dying Pac-12 or join a dying Big 12 or try to join the Big Ten. Yet Moore still chose that future over Michigan.
It’s not that Harbaugh didn’t want Moore — he 100 percent did — but rather he’s coaching at a school that preaches “make your money while you’re here” instead of trying to sell recruits on potential NIL deals. Times have changed seemingly overnight in the NCAA and yet Michigan is still trying to live in the past.
It’s time to adjust. It’s time to join the rest of the country.
If not, Michigan will soon be a symbol of the past which is unacceptable for a reigning Big Ten champ.