UCLA football: Realistic expectations for Dante Moore in 2023

Chip Kelly won arguably his biggest recruiting battle as UCLA football coach, landing five-star quarterback Dante Moore from Detroit.

What made the win even bigger was the fact that Kelly was able to flip the five-star quarterback from his previous program, Oregon, thanks to the offensive coordinator change with his primary recruiter, Kenny Dillingham, heading off to Arizona State.

Moore comes to UCLA with the hopes of taking over as QB1 with Dorian Thompson-Robinson moving on after a successful career.

Those aren’t going to be easy shoes to fill as DTR was a fan favorite and he turned the Bruins from bottom-dwellers into Pac-12 contenders.

So what are the realistic expectations for Moore in year one?

Realistic expectations for UCLA football’s new QB1

Will Moore win the starting job over Ethan Garbers? I believe so, but Kelly really likes the veteran quarterback and is refusing to name a starter until the offseason battle takes place.

I do think Moore wins out, though.

As for expectations, numbers-wise, I think Moore is good enough to pass for over 2,500 yards and 15-20 touchdowns in year one. He’s probably capable of much more, but I’m setting the bar low because no one has seen him play against college defenses. Plus, UCLA is losing a ton from that offense, including top receiver Jake Bobo, Kazmeir Allen, and Zach Charbonnet.

That might put a little too much pressure on the freshman quarterback with too many weapons to replace. But I think he’s good enough to make everyone around him better and Kelly will add some new talented pieces to help him out in the portal.

My predicted stat line is 2,700 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine picks.