‘He’s there;’ Dante Moore’s mastery at Oregon rivals Nix, Gabriel

The Oregon Ducks are diving deeper into spring practices, putting the pads on and installing plays they will display in a few weeks during the annual spring game. With a mix of new and familiar faces surrounding the offense, the biggest thing the Ducks have going for them is continuity under center.

Dante Moore faced highs and lows in his first season as Oregon's starter. He tossed 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but faltered late in the season in some of the Ducks' biggest games. Now with a new offensive coordinator but a similar system, Moore is expected to take a huge step forward in his third season in Eugene and his second as the leader of the offense.

That goes beyond being a leader in the locker room and a prolific passer on Saturdays. In his third spring with the Ducks and in the same offense, the Ducks are looking for Moore to make a mental leap as well, diagnosing what he can see on the field and making the calls the coaches can't.

The Ducks have had veteran signal-callers recently, including Dillon Gabriel playing his sixth season in 2024 and Bo Nix playing his fifth season in 2023. Part of the reason the Ducks had so much success with them under center was because of how they took command on the field and made changes based on what they saw.

Dan Lanning has referred to Moore as a "coach on the field" this spring, and he echoed that sentiment again on Tuesday when asked about Moore's development within the system and how far he might be from obtaining the same level of mastery that Nix and Gabriel accomplished.

"He's there," Lanning said. "I'm very confident. You know, he checked to a play today in practice that we didn't even have tagged with a potential check because of the look that he saw. So it's great to see from him that he's really out there operating as a coach on the field, right?"

That's the type of leadership and smarts that the Ducks will need to be on display this fall if they are going to get over the hump in the College Football Playoff. Moore will have some veteran targets to throw to, but he will also have to manage multiple new starters along the offensive line and freshmen wideouts still learning the offense.

"We just gotta get everybody else operating at that same level," Lanning said.

Moore will get his first opportunity to display his new confidence within the Oregon offense on April 25 when the Ducks take the field for the spring game.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dante Moore mastering Oregon offense, per Lanning