Dante Moore es el maestro de la ofensiva de Oregon, y su nueva identidad audaz
Though there were countless highlights to choose from during Oregon’s 66-point demolition of Oklahoma State last weekend, a game in which the Ducks secured their largest-ever margin of victory over a Power 4 opponent, the one that set social media ablaze began with a free rusher bearing down on quarterback Dante Moore.
Uncertain whether his tailback, Noah Whittington, could slide over in time to pick up the blitzing linebacker, Moore instinctively spun to his right and rolled outside the pocket toward the hashmarks. Then, he set his feet, squared his shoulders and held his follow-through like a 3-point shooter while lofting a perfect pass down the sideline toward true freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore, the five-star phenom and No. 1 recruit in the country at his position, a title that previously belonged to Ohio State standout Jeremiah Smith.
From there, Dakorien Moore, who caught the ball some 37 yards downfield, shimmied back over the middle — at which point he forced two flailing defenders to collide — and raced diagonally into the end zone for a breathtaking touchdown, the first of his highly anticipated collegiate career. It was a thing of beauty from one Moore to another.
“He’s an elite passer,” Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein told me when discussing Dante Moore in a recent phone conversation, “and there are certain things I can’t teach. God gave him the ability to throw the ball when he was born, and we try to capitalize on his skill sets with our passing game and with our approach every single game.”
Having inherited the starting job from Dillon Gabriel, whose one-year stint with the Ducks produced an undefeated regular season and the first Big Ten championship in school history, Moore is now the maestro for what appears to be one of the sport’s most diverse and explosive offenses. In winning its first two games by a combined score of 128-16, which is currently the largest point differential in college football, Oregon has filleted opponents with 18 total touchdowns and an average gain of more than 9 yards per play.
Five different Oregon players have already found the end zone as runners this season, including Dakorien Moore on a lovely 25-yard end around against Oklahoma State, and four different pass catchers have hauled in scores from the team’s burgeoning Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback.
The stunning breadth of Oregon’s attack, which will be on display Saturday when the fourth-ranked Ducks visit Northwestern for “Big Noon Saturday” (Saturday, noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), reflects a new identity that runs in contrast to last year’s more star-centric approach. Gone is leading tailback Jordan James, a fifth-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers, whose tally of 1,267 rushing yards was more than double that of his closest teammate. Gone, too, are dominant wide receiver Tez Johnson, a seventh-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and elite tight end Terrance Ferguson, a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Rams, whose totals of 83 catches and 43 catches, respectively, dwarfed everyone else at their positions.
Dante Moore #5 has helped guide Oregon to a 2-0 start this season. (Photo by Robin Alam/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
This year’s version of the Ducks’ offense, which certainly looks good enough for the Ducks to be in contention for a national championship, is invoking a far more balanced approach.
“As a quarterback,” Moore told me in a recent phone conversation, “it’s kind of like the point guard on the basketball court. Just helping make sure that everything is running the right way and making sure that I’m giving the ball to the playmakers.”
It’s a role that Moore is performing exceptionally well with 479 passing yards, six touchdowns and a completion rate of 77.3% that fits nicely between the marks established by Gabriel (72.8%) and predecessor Bo Nix (77.9%) during the last two campaigns. Now a redshirt sophomore, Moore was originally committed to Oregon from July 8, 2022, through early December that same year, a stretch that overlapped with his senior season at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School in Detroit, where he developed into a five-star recruit and the No. 4 overall prospect in the country. But Moore flipped his pledge during the early signing period and wound up enrolling at UCLA, ultimately making five starts as a true freshman for former head coach Chip Kelly with decidedly mixed results. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4, 2023, and recommitted to Oregon shortly before Christmas.
Since then, Stein told me, Moore has done nothing but seek opportunities for growth and development without so much as a whimper for additional playing time. Not when Gabriel’s arrival all but assured that he’d be a backup in 2024. Not this past spring and summer when head coach Dan Lanning, ever the competitor, declined to publicly name a starter in the battle between Moore and Austin Novosad, a former four-star recruit, prior to the team’s opener against Montana State.
But once Moore got his chance, there’s no denying how much he’s sizzled in his first two starts: He has yet to register a turnover-worthy play so far this season, according to Pro Football Focus, and he has an average release time of just 2.6 seconds.
When taken together, those statistics suggest Moore is playing with an enviable blend of accuracy and decisiveness that helps explain why Oregon’s skill players have already amassed more than 300 yards after the catch. He’s placing the ball exactly where it needs to be to maximize production.
“Some guys just have that ‘it’ factor and that ability to put the ball in certain places that other people might not be able to,” Stein told me. “I think what Dante does such a good job of is just calmness inside the confines of a pocket and being able to anticipate throws.”
Said Moore: “I want to make sure it’s easiest for them to catch and run with the ball. As a quarterback, it’s important that you are very precise with your location of where you’re putting the football on the receiver’s body. It’s [about] proteger el fútbol y no causar pérdidas de balón. Pero tenemos muchos grandes creadores de juego, así que realmente [I’m just] dándoles una oportunidad y tirar la pelota en cualquier parte del área. Se asegurarán de que vayan a buscarlo “.
Que incluye nombres familiares de desarrollo rápido como el ala cerrada Kenyon Sadiqque tiene tres atrapadas para 60 yardas y un touchdown y podría ser una selección temprana en el próximo año Borrador de la NFL. Incluye estrellas en ciernes como Dakorien Moore, que enganchó tres pases para 26 yardas en un debut relativamente tranquilo contra el estado de Montana, Aparte de su espectacular obstáculo de un defensor a lo largo de la banca – Antes de explotar para anotar un touchdown cada uno como corredor y receptor la semana pasada. E incluye a los veteranos jornaleros como el ex recipiente estatal de Alabama/Florida Malik Benson y ex USC El receptor Gary Bryant Jr., ambos empatados en el liderazgo del equipo en recepciones (siete) y recibir touchdowns (dos) después de esperar pacientemente detrás de múltiples profesionales futuros por la oportunidad de ganar roles más destacados.
El lastre proviene de un ataque apresurado que destrozó a los dos primeros oponentes de Oregon para 565 yardas y 10 touchdowns combinados: totales sísmicos que ocupan el octavo lugar en el país y el segundo en el país, respectivamente. Los siete acarreos de los Ducks de más de 20 yardas pertenecen a tres corredores diferentes, un receptor abierto y un mariscal de campo de respaldo, con Texas Tech como el único equipo Power 4 que puede igualar el número de carreras explosivas de Oregon. Todo lo cual es posible gracias a una línea ofensiva reconstruida que solo ha entregado tres tacleadas por pérdida y aún no ha permitido un saco a pesar de introducir tres entrantes plug-and-play del portal de transferencia, incluidos ambos tacleadas ofensivas.
“Eso también se remonta al liderazgo que tenemos en nuestro equipo”, dijo Lanning. “De los veteranos, de esos tipos pueden ver cómo se ve, cómo tienen que prepararse y luego una buena evaluación, un buen desarrollo de esos tipos, poniéndolos en posición para jugar. Por lo tanto, es un crédito para nuestros entrenadores y nuestros jugadores”.
Dan Lanning posee un récord de 37-6 durante su tiempo como entrenador en jefe en Oregon. (Foto de Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
Cuando Lanning se sentó para su conferencia de prensa semanal el lunes, dos días retirados del estado de los Ducks del estado de Oklahoma, tenía algunos números para compartir. Ochenta y un jugadores habían subido al campo contra los Cowboys, dijo Lanning, y un asombroso 19 de ellos habían tocado el balón. Ocho jugadores ofensivos diferentes anotaron touchdowns, para deleite de Moore.
Es difícil imaginar otro mariscal de campo con un elenco de apoyo más profundo.
“Tenemos muchos buenos jugadores”, me dijo Stein, “y creo que cuando su mariscal de campo está jugando bien y encontrando diferentes personas en el campo, eso también ayuda, ¿sabes? Así que creo que hemos hecho un gran trabajo como personal esta temporada, probablemente más que nunca, de asegurarse de tener los tipos adecuados en el campo para las jugadas particulares que estamos corriendo e intentando mostrar sus habilidades”.
Michael Cohen Cubre el fútbol universitario y el baloncesto universitario para Fox Sports. Seguirlo @Michael_Cohen13.
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