Dante Moore's Top Quotes From Oregon Football Media Day
Oregon will break in its third starting quarterback in as many years when the Ducks kick off the 2025 season in Eugene against Montana State on August 30.
Over the next month Will Stein and the rest of the coaching staff will have to figure out who will take the first snaps of the year. Redshirt sophomore Dante Moore appears to be the lead candidate to follow Dillon Gabriel and he spoke with reporters at Oregon Football media day in Eugene on Monday.
Here are some of his top quotes.
On his takeaways from this year’s leadership retreat
Moore: “Overall Coach Lanning knows the recipe of how to become a great leader and how to be a great person vocally and just somebody to watch every day, to understand that’s a true leader. I feel like this year it was good just to hear everybody’s voice and to hear the things we can work on as a team. But overall what I took from it was understanding my strengths and weaknesses and really understanding that when you’re winning the team’s gonna look at you and when you’re losing the team’s always gonna look at you.”
On how he balances battling for the starting job and cementing himself as a leader
Moore: “During this fall camp it’s gonna be a great time to connect with the team and be out there on the field. Of course the quarterback room’s always gonna be competing, that’s how we are as a quarterback group. We’re always gonna be teaching each other, helping each other out and making sure that we all improve every day. I’m excited. Of course I have many things for myself to work on and make sure I get better at. And like I said I’m excited to see what happens within this next upcoming month and get ready for the season.”
On the advantages of uncertainty around the team
Moore: “The best player wins and the best player plays in the game. So overall just ready to compete, have fun. And that’s the most important thing is having fun.”
On keys to team getting better during fall camp
Moore: “I feel like the biggest thing for us it understand that it’s gonna be hot. It’s gonna be long days, but that’s the most important time to lean on a brother and understand how to connect to somebody. I feel like during these times when we’re sleeping in the facility, when we’re just vibing with each other on our breaks during the day, I feel like that’s the best time to understand and get to know somebody and when times get hard you feel like you can trust that person. Because come game time it’s gonna be cold probably when we travel somewhere or it’s gonna be hot somewhere, it’s always gonna be that time where you look at your brother and say I can trust in you. So I feel like that’s the biggest point for us.”
On building chemistry
Moore: “A lot of it can be in football, a lot of it can be out there in practice, but at the end of the day I feel like as a team we always hang out with each other at each other’s houses. I took the O-line out to go bowling. A lot of the offensive skills, you guys have probably seen the video of us flipping into the water. Just having great times of that nature. I feel just the best thing is just to connect outside of the facility. But now it’s fall camp now, so we’re gonna be in the facility now. But most important is just talking with each other and watching film together.”
On growth of Dakorien Moore
Moore: “He’s grown being more vocal. Especially to me with certain looks and certain things he gets. I remember when he first got here, I was doing most of the talking of course because like you say he’s young and he’s learning things now. But we were in Texas together and we were out there just throwing at the high school and just getting closer and closer. And on the flight we got an install of our upcoming plays and we were flying from Salt Lake to here and we’re sitting next to each other on the plane, so I’m like alright it’s time to quiz him. Overall just him understanding the plays now. He has a full grasp of it now. He’s a great learner and he’s very competitive.”
On Kenyon Sadiq, getting him the ball
Moore: “I’ve always known that, give 18 the ball regardless. Ever since I came here just seeing him, how much of a freak athlete he is. He’s just amazing at what he does. That just makes sense, he’s the best tight end in the country. You might as well give him the ball. He knows what he can do with it.“
On what he enjoys about being a quarterback
Moore: “I feel like it’s better if I throw the ball or hand the ball off to people and they score and they get in the end zone. I like to see their reactions. I like to see how excited they are. So it makes me excited. I think that’s the biggest joy. Also when you score a touchdown, if I run and a lineman picks you up. I don’t know it’s a lot of joy to it. I’m just blessed to be a quarterback for sure.”
On making running a bigger part of his game this season
Moore: ‘I had a great off summer. I really got my body right. I actually hit my goal I wanted to hit this summer. Coach Love and Coach Bolt, they’ve been making sure I got my speed up. And I hit my goal, so I’m really excited and I’m ready to see what I can do with my feet. My goal was to hit 21 miles per hour. I hit 21.5. So I was super excited about that.”
