Oregon football: Did Dante Moore make the right transfer choice?

When Dante Moore was going through the recruiting process, Oregon football sat at the top of his list. He was high on the Ducks and he even committed there to learn from Kenny Dillingham who turned Bo Nix's career around. It was the perfect fit for the Detroit native.

But when Dillingham left for the Arizona State job, Moore decided to reopen his recruitment he heard Chip Kelly's recruiting pitch out. He committed to the Bruins shortly after.

Moore, a former five-star recruit, was expecting to start right away and he eventually got his opportunity, but he didn't exactly excel. The Bruins didn't quite have the pieces to compete in the Pac-12 and the freshman quarterback from Michigan suffered through some extreme growing pains, passing for just over 1,600 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine picks. He also completed just about 53 percent of his throws.

It was a year to forget, but it was a learning experience.

So when he entered the transfer portal this offseason, everyone expected him to go to a school that had a history of producing solid quarterbacks and needed a starter. Well, he chose Oregon which had just landed the commitment of Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel nine days earlier. He knew that he would likely be in the backup role for a year, but he was willing to make the move.

Gabriel is going to start for Oregon this season and Moore will be the backup and potentially even redshirt if he can. So why would the former five-star who transferred to look for a better situation pick a school that already had a starter lined up? Because he's smart.

Moore knew that he wasn't ready yet when he took over in 2023. He did what was asked from him and had his struggles. It was a bad situation to be thrown into. And yet he did it without complaining. He looked out for himself in the offseason and found a better spot. He knew that he would likely be the backup, but learning behind a successful veteran like Gabriel would only help him and Oregon has been known for turning quarterbacks around (just ask Nix).

We likely won't see much of Moore in 2024, if at all, but that's clearly OK with him. He made a move that will help him improve in 2025 and beyond and potentially mold him into that first-round talent that he was projected to be when he was in high school.

Did Moore make the right decision? For the long-term, absolutely.