Dante Moore is Oregon’s starting quarterback, a 21 year old who was a five star recruit, flopped as a true freshman starter at UCLA, sat a year behind Dillon Gabriel, and then completed better than 71 percent of his passes while taking the Ducks to a College Football Playoff semifinal. He turned down what would likely have been a top five NFL Draft slot to come back. This page carries his bio, his career numbers and a game by game log that updates all season.
| Born | May 24, 2005 (age 21) in East Cleveland, Ohio |
| High school | Martin Luther King in Detroit; won two Michigan Division III state titles and finished with 9,880 passing yards and 135 touchdowns |
| Size | 6 foot 3, listed between 206 and 220 pounds depending on the source |
| Path | Committed to Oregon, flipped to UCLA, started as a true freshman there in 2023, transferred to Oregon in 2024 and sat behind Dillon Gabriel, took over in 2025 |
| Recruiting | Five star by every major service, a top four overall prospect nationally and the No. 1 player in Michigan in the 2023 class |
| Honors | Third team All Big Ten and Orange Bowl offensive MVP in 2025; Manning Award finalist; semifinalist for the Walter Camp, Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards |
2026 Game Log
| Date | Opponent | Result | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 5 | Boise State | W 34 to 27 | 378 | 3 |
Rows are added after each game. The full schedule with live scores is on Oregon football score.
Career Stats
| Season | GS | Comp / Att | Pct | Yards | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 UCLA | 5 | Nine appearances as a true freshman, barely over 50 percent passing with nine interceptions before he was benched | ||||
| 2024 Oregon | 0 | Redshirted behind Dillon Gabriel, 7 of 8 passing in limited work | ||||
| 2025 Oregon | 15 | 296 / 412 | 71.8 | 3,565 | 30 | 10 |
| 2026 to date | 1 | 378 | 3 | |||
Why He Came Back
Moore was in position to be the second quarterback taken in the 2026 NFL Draft behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and chose to return to Oregon instead, saying he would rather be prepared than drafted high and unready. That decision is a large part of why Oregon opened 2026 at No. 2, the highest preseason ranking in school history, and why he shows up near the top of early 2027 draft boards.
The Short Version
Moore started as a true freshman at UCLA behind a leaky line, threw nine interceptions in nine appearances and lost the job. He transferred back to his original commitment at Oregon, sat a year, and in 2025 started all 15 games for a playoff team, completing 296 of 412 for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns. He set the Oregon single game completion percentage record by going 27 of 30 against Minnesota, was the Orange Bowl offensive MVP, and lost only twice, both times to Indiana, including the playoff semifinal. He opened 2026 with a career high 378 yards and three touchdowns in a 34 to 27 escape against Boise State.
Heisman Odds
Moore opened Week 1 around 10 to 1 and drifted to about 15 to 1 despite the 378 yard game, because Miami’s Darian Mensah threw five touchdowns the same weekend and took over the top of the board. The full board updates weekly on Heisman odds.
The Bottom Line
Dante Moore is a 21 year old redshirt junior from East Cleveland who went from benched freshman at UCLA to a 71.8 percent passer on a playoff team at Oregon. He threw for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2025 and turned down the draft to run Dan Lanning’s offense again for a team ranked second in the country. This page updates after every game.