Dante Moore reveals he eclipsed running 21 miles per hour over the summer

After biding his time behind Dillon Gabriel while redshirting during the 2024 season, Dante Moore is ready to take over the reins of Oregon‘s high-powered offense in 2025. But while the 2023 Five-Star Plus+ quarterback recruit flashed his potential as a passer during his true freshman season at UCLA, it was his dynamic as a runner that the Ducks redshirt sophomore QB focused on this past offseason.

And based on his results — including eclipsing the 20 mph plateau during summer workouts — Moore is all systems go ahead of what many expect to be a breakout 2025 campaign in Eugene. Moore appeared in five games during the 2024 season, maintaining his redshirt while playing just 29 total snaps in his first season at Oregon after transferring from UCLA following the 2023 season.

“I had a great off-summer, I really got my body right, I actually hit my goal I wanted to hit this summer,” Moore said Monday during the team’s media day event in Eugene. “(Oregon head strength coach Wilson) Love and (director of speed and performance Kyle Bolton) have been making sure I got my speed up and I hit my goal, so I’m really excited and (eager) to see what I can do with my feet. I’m happy about that.

“My goal was to hit 21 miles per hour, I hit 21.5 (mph), so I was super excited about that,” Moore added. “Made me happy. I almost cried, but it was good.”

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Moore was the No. 3 overall recruit and second-ranked quarterback in the 2023 class, according to Rivals Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all three primary recruiting media services.

Moore takes over the Ducks’ explosive offense from Gabriel, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist after throwing for 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns to six interceptions in 2024. Despite limited opportunities, Moore showed his potential going 7-of-8 passing (87.5-percent) for 49 yards while being utilized in mostly mop-up duty last season. Moore completed 53.5-percent of his passes (114-of-213) for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns to nine interceptions while starting five of his nine games at UCLA in 2023.

Moore hasn’t been known as much of a runner during his first two seasons of college football, managing just a single 6-yard carry against Michigan State last season and accumulating negative-84 yards on 45 attempts at UCLA, most of which came courtesy of 25 sacks as a true freshman.

Given his new focus on establishing himself as a dual-threat quarterback, it’ll be interesting to see how Moore’s game continues to grown in his first full season as the Ducks’ starting QB.