We will see a lot of new faces debut as their new teams’ quarterbacks this season. And the most anticipated one among them is that of Oregon’s Dante Moore. He has some huge shoes to fill, and that too, not just from a single predecessor. Ducks fans will be hoping that Moore can reach the ceiling set by Dillon Gabriel and Bo Nix. Gabriel, after transferring from Oklahoma, had a flawless season in his debut in the Big 10. Although he unfortunately felt short in the first bout of the playoffs. Dan Lanning brought in Moore with a high-stakes plan. Now, will the HC be successful with it?

Moore, when he was recruited by UCLA, was the program’s highest-rated recruit in recent times. But he moved out of Westwood after just 1 season, hauling in 1,610 yards and 11 TDs. At Eugene, on the other hand, Dillon Gabriel was playing his last college football season. Fans were hoping Gabriel would be the right successor to Bo Nix, and he delivered perfectly on that hope. Gabriel led the Ducks to an unbeaten season until the playoff run fell short, and also won Oregon a Big 10 championship. After Gabriel’s departure, the future looked dark for the program.

And that’s why Lanning is placing all his bets on Dante Moore to continue the trend of great Oregon QBs. On3’s J.D. PicKell thinks Moore can even end up being a strong contender for the Heisman. “My expectation for him is the expectation that’s been set there from Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel. I expect Dante Moore to be a Heisman finalist,” he said in a July 1 video of The Hard Count. “Is he any less talented from a physical gifting standpoint than Dillon Gabriel? I don’t think so,” he added. Moore has been in the Oregon system for one full year now, learning everything he could from Gabriel and the ins and outs of the system.

Lanning was clear about Moore sitting out for a year. But the QB wasn’t empty-handed while missing out on field time. “They brought him over to sit for a year and decided to pay him for a year while he was sitting. You know how much you got to believe in a guy to pay for a player that’s not actually going to play for another season? So Dante Moore, I’m excited about what he’s gonna bring to the table.” PicKell said. Despite the optimism, uncertainty still surrounds Moore’s first season as the Ducks’ starting QB. His numbers show that he has the talent and that he has some flaws. He racked up 9 interceptions in 2023, which indicates that Moore had struggles with decision-making.

But PicKell is confident that Moore will once again emerge as a just successor to a CFB great, as Gabriel was for Nix. “I think he’s going to be a guy that is ultimately, again, a Heisman Trophy finalist and just continues to live up to the bar that has been set at the quarterback position there by Will Stein, by way of Bo Nix and Dylan Gabriel, with them both being Heisman Trophy finalists each of the last two seasons,” he said. Moore was ranked by USA Today as the 4 best QB in the Big 10, after Drew Allar, Luke Altmyer, and Dylan Raiola. He was predicted to reach 3000 yards this season (when Evan Stewart was still a factor), like Marcus Mariota did in his breakout year at Oregon.

However, all of this will only be if Moore wins the QB1 race at Eugene. He is still battling for the job with Austin Novosad and Luke Moga. The contenders, at certain points in the race, made it a three-way fight, instead of it sliding towards Dante Moore’s favor. Moore is the majority’s favorite to win the race and take on the mantle from Gabriel. But Dan Lanning thinks that all three have benefited from being under Gabriel’s shadow, as they now compete for the chance to succeed him.

Dante Moore’s QB1 competition has also learnt from Gabriel, says Lanning

Whoever ends up being Oregon’s QB1 is going to have a heap of expectations burdening his shoulders. That’s because the program has churned out excellent quarterbacks in the past. There were times in the race when Novosad had an edge over the other two. And sometimes, Moga shone brighter than the rest. Dan Lanning thinks that being in the system this past year and watching Dillon Gabriel light up the field was productive for the three contenders.

He said in a June 30 sit-down on Big Ten Football, “I think we got a group of guys that we can win with. There’s a lot of talk about Dante Moore, Austin Novosad, Luke Moga. All those guys have done a great job of learning our system, being a part of it. They got an opportunity to watch a great quarterback last year in Dillon. I think they all learned, you know, a considerable amount from each one of, you know, from him and from their experience here so far.”

Moore, Novosad, and Moga are all inexperienced when it comes to time on the field. Moga is yet to see action, whereas Moore and Novosad have pitched in 49 and 59 yards respectively. But fans and experts are keen on Moore taking the crown, and living up to the hype of being the best successor possible for Dillon Gabriel. Tell us who your pick is to be Oregon’s next star QB?