Candid Conversations: Five-Star QB Dante Moore On Creepy Fans, Best Visit, More

The Wolverine’s EJ Holland recently sat down with five-star quarterback Dante Moore and talked about a wide range of topics.

Here is the full Q&A…

EJ: What’s the best part of the recruiting process?

DM: Getting to know information from different types of coaches. It can be about the offensive playbook, their lives and their stories about becoming coaches. Some might be sad stories. Some might be positive. Getting a lot of knowledge from coaches is one thing I can take away from the recruiting process. Also, seeing the country. I get to go on many plane rides and see things I’ve never seen before in different states.

EJ: What’s the worst part of the recruiting process?

DM: Just getting a million messages a day. I try to keep up with as many messages from coaches as I can keep up with. At some point, you get dead tired. When Sept. 1 hit and coaches were allowed to text me, my phone was blowing up. It was freezing. Just keeping up with messages is the most difficult part.

EJ: What’s the best visit you’ve been on?

DM: I’ve been on many good visits, but probably Oregon. That was the most fun. The facilities are top-notch. My dad and I had a great time with the coaches and seeing the campus. I really like Coach (Dan) Lanning. When it comes to Nike, Oregon has all the gear you could possibly want in the world. I’ve had more, but Oregon takes the top.

EJ: What’s the best meal you’ve had on a recruiting visit?

DM: Hmm. I don’t know. I remember my first time going to LA. Y’all know my favorite restaurant is In-N-Out.

EJ: What’s the meanest thing someone has said to you on social media?

DM: A lot of mean things don’t get through to me. But I got a DM that said ‘You suck. Haha. I love you. Go to Notre Dame.’ That was weird. I haven’t seen anything too mean, but there is some weird stuff.

EJ: What’s the weirdest interaction you’ve had with a fan?

DM: I was at Penn State for the White Out game. I was walking behind the players and coaches, and a guy literally grabbed me and pulled me to the side. He tapped my shoulder and showed me his whole arm. He had a Notre Dame tattoo down his whole arm, but he had a Penn State shirt on. I was confused. He said ‘I’m just here to see you.’ It was crazy. That was the weirdest.

EJ: Was he a Penn State fan or a Notre Dame fan? (laughs)

DM: I don’t know. He had a Penn State shirt and pants but a Notre Dame tattoo. He just said ‘I’m here to see you.’ A lot of crazy stuff happens with Notre Dame. It’s weird. I’m not sure why, but it happens with them.

EJ: Have you ever had a weird moment with a coach?

DM: I’ve had weird conversations, but nothing where I look at them differently and walk away (laughs). I will say I don’t like going on visits, where the first thing they say is ‘we have this planned for you and can’t wait to talk about the offense.’ That throws me off. When I go on visits, I want to enjoy it and talk about our lives and jokes. When it gets time for the football part, we can always talk about it.

EJ: What’s the best message you’ve received from a coach?

DM: I was talking to Coach (Mike) Norvell at Florida State. He was busy the whole day on the visit, so he was the last one I talked to. He had a joke of the day on the board. We were sitting there, and I couldn’t figure it out. We were laughing. After that, we talked about life. Getting knowledge from him and learning about his struggles made me look at this recruiting process differently and how much I need to appreciate football. He told me this is a moment that doesn’t last forever and to enjoy it. He even had my dad thinking about it. I’m thankful for him.

EJ: Who is your favorite player that you’ve met on a visit?

DM: I always talked to Andre (Seldon) at Michigan (before he left). I’ve enjoyed talking to Donovan (Edwards) and JJ (McCarthy). I love talking to a lot of players at Michigan. But my favorite is Penn State because there are a lot of Detroit players there that I’ve been close to, especially Jaylen Reed, Kalen King and Kobe King.

EJ: There are a lot of rivalries throughout the Midwest. What’s your favorite?

DM: The biggest one is Michigan and Ohio State. It’s probably the biggest game of the year in college football. This year was shocking. Ohio State had a nine- or ten-year run on them. Seeing Michigan come out on top was crazy for sure. I love seeing that game every year. It’s always in November, which is a fun time to see it.

EJ: You didn’t get to go this year because you were playing for a state title. Talk about watching it before your game.

DM: We met at the school around 11:30. I got there with a big smoothie and enjoyed watching what the environment looked like. My brother went to the game with his friend, and he told me it was loud and crazy with the snow. We watched it in a classroom, and there was no audio, so it was weird. But like I said, it was a great game. It was great to see Michigan back on top. Ohio State is going to bounce back. I just love seeing it every year.

EJ: What are your thoughts on NIL and what it means for recruits?

DM: To be honest, they should have been doing this. Reggie Bush had an issue with his Heisman, and I heard some stories about that. It just throws me off. NIL should have always been there. College players were in the NCAA video game and not being paid for it, so I can see why they stopped making it. NIL is a great way for you to make money. There are a lot of great athletes that should get paid for what they are doing it. I’m enjoying it, but it should have happened in the past.

EJ: How much does winning play a role in your recruitment?

DM: It’s big to see what they’ve done. But schools have ups and downs. People were praying (Jim) Harbaugh got fired. You saw what Michigan did this season. Up and down seasons happen. It’s football. I’ll look into it, but it’s not the biggest thing.

EJ: What are the biggest things that you are looking into?

DM: Coaching staff for sure — the offensive coordinator and head coach. Getting to know each other personally and building a bond is the biggest thing.

EJ: Do you feel pressure to make an early decision because you are a quarterback?

DM: Yeah, a little bit. Being a quarterback, you probably want to commit early and build your class. Some schools might fill up. For example, Michigan State is always going to be a school I look into since they’ve been loyal since Day 1. But they just got a quarterback commit. Quarterbacks are going to take spots, so I might have to pick it up a little bit, but right now, I’m just trying to enjoy it.

EJ: Who is the best 2023 recruit not named Dante Moore?

DM: Carnell Tate. The way he carries himself, the swag he has and the way he dominates people makes him the best. You see the 7-on-7’s, and the way he catches the ball and runs routes. We’ve been close for a year or two.

EJ: Who’s your favorite recruiting reporter?

DM: I’ll give it you (laughs). You, Allen Trieu and Steve (Wiltfong). You guys are probably the big three. I appreciate y’all.

EJ: (Laughs). The real question is: How do you handle recruiting media since you probably get bombarded all the time by people you’ve never met before or maybe once at a camp?

DM: It’s always reporters jobs to do stories. I’m not stressed. But I’m always going to want to talk to the ones that have been loyal and helped me out.

EJ: What you think about Crystal Balls, Recruiting Prediction Machines, etc.?

DM: It’s just funny. If they’re right, they’re right. If they’re wrong, they’re wrong. It’s crazy how it works. Every time you see one, everybody gets excited. Some of it might be true. Some of it might not. There are a lot of things to it.

EJ: You recently had one for Notre Dame. What was your reaction to that?

DM: It was crazy, man. I was reading the comments. It went crazy on the media. I didn’t even know anything about it. I was like ‘wow’ when I saw it on Instagram and things like that. Through the talks with my class, we hate it. All these fans say you’re going there when one goes in, and it might be wrong. You don’t want to go to another school and fans are upset about it. We didn’t do that. It’s other people controlling it. We hate it, to be honest.