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5-star QB Dante Moore: The most important recruiting target in modern Oregon Ducks football history (Analysis)

As the last class of 2023 five-star quarterback standing in the NIL era, Moore has almost unparalleled leverage historically in college football.

The high school quarterback class of 2023 is historically talented.

Four of the nation's top eight prospects are signal-callers, the highest number of elite quarterback prospects in one class in the history of 247Sports rankings.

The next closest? The class of 2018, which featured three quarterbacks among the nation's top eight prospects - Trevor Lawrence (No. 1; Clemson), Justin Fields (No. 2, Georgia) and J.T. Daniels (No. 6; USC).

So unsurprisingly there's been a mad scramble among college football programs to secure one of those elite talents this recruiting cycle - Arch Manning, Malachi Nelson, Nicholaus Iamaleava and Dante Moore.

Even Jaden Rashada, the nation's No. 29 overall prospect, has generated that kind of buzz as the fifth superstar quarterback in the class. 

All along the Oregon Ducks football program has had one goal.

"Get one of the elite quarterbacks - at all costs."  

Nelson was the first major QB off the board, flipping from Oklahoma to USC when Lincoln Riley became the head coach at Southern Cal last fall. Manning never considered the Ducks before choosing Texas. Oregon made a real run at Iamaleava before he committed to Tennessee, reportedly aided by an $8 million NIL deal. And the Ducks were a major player for Rashada for a time before he committed to Miami amid reports of a $9.5 million NIL signing

Dante Moore

During that stretch, several other quality quarterbacks came off the board - Jackson Arnold (Oklahoma), Christopher Vizzina (Clemson), Eli Holstein (Alabama), Avery Johnson (Kansas State) and many others.

However, Oregon never wavered from its goal to land one of the nation's top signal-callers. 

So much so, in fact, that two of the aforementioned quarterbacks either directly or indirectly - via a coach - said Oregon's dogged pursuit of one of the "Big 4" in the class of 2023 made them shy away from the Ducks.

"They never told me they were taking two quarterbacks, but I always felt like that was their plan," Johnson said following his June official visit to Eugene. "I don't know what they told Dante (Moore). It was never really clear to me. I just had this feeling in the back of my mind that they were all-in on Dante." 

He wasn't the only major quarterback prospect to feel that way. 

The Ducks gamble has to pay off, because they put all of their chips on a five-star addition and passed on the rest of the quarterback class along the way.

Over the past eight months, nearly every major quarterback in the country has chosen their future home, leaving Moore (No. 4 quarterback; No. 8 overall prospect) and Georgia high school product Dylan Lonergan (No. 9 quarterback; No. 158 nationally) as the only available passers in the nation's top 350 prospects.

Lonergan isn't considering Oregon, and he has a commitment date set for Tuesday.

It's "Moore or bust" for the Ducks in a time when the program finds itself at a quarterback crossroads. 

After producing Marcus Mariota (2012-2014) and Justin Herbert (2016-2019), the Ducks were characterized as a "quarterback star-maker," a sterling reputation with a foundation built off the backs of Chris Miller, Bill Musgrave, Akili Smith, A.J. Feeley, Joey Harrington, Kellen Clemens, Darron Thomas and many others who had noteworthy pro careers. 

However, Oregon has struggled to developed its next signal-caller, as a series of transfers has buoyed a depth chart sprinkled with bluechip misses - Braxton Burmeister, Tyler Shough, Cale Millen and still-undefined Jay Butterfield and Ty Thompson, the program's first-ever five-star quarterback recruits (Rivals).

Simply put, the Ducks need a quarterback win.

And they need it to be a Lanning recruit to keep their reputation going and to stave off the negative recruiting approach that Oregon is pivoting to becoming a defensive-minded program. 

The elephant in the room? 

At this point, getting an elite quarterback could come with a hefty NIL price tag. 

And perhaps that's the biggest reason that Moore, a Detroit, Michigan native, is the most important target in program history.

His recruitment will define, in a moment of need, if Oregon can be a big winner in the NIL era. 

With Iamaleava reportedly receiving $8 million and Rashada $9.5 million, you can only imagine what Moore will command.

As the last class of 2023 five-star quarterback standing in the NIL era - and one who is coming off SI's MVP performance at the Elite 11 quarterback camp - Moore has almost unparalleled leverage historically in college football.

Oregon, LSU, Texas A&M and Michigan all still need a 2023 quarterback, and unsurprisingly all four are reportedly in pursuit of Moore. 

You do the math. 

Dante Moore

Dante Moore at the Elite 11 Finals

In the class of 2002, Oregon bested BYU and Nebraska late for Haloti Ngata, who went on to be a superstar in both college and the NFL.

But he was an interior defensive lineman and didn't single-handedly alter the future of Oregon football. 

In the class of 2005, Oregon landed Washington five-star running back Jonathan Stewart, who went on to be a 2008 NFL first-round draft pick. 

But his commitment didn't lead to a Washington pipeline. 

Mariota won the Heisman Trophy at Oregon, but coming out of Hawaii in the class of 2011 he wasn't viewed as a massive recruiting victory. 

That same year, Oregon shocked the world with the addition of De'Anthony Thomas, who flipped from the Trojans to the Ducks and went on to define the Chip Kelly era in Eugene. 

Maybe he's the closest to what Moore would mean for the Ducks, but even "The Black Mamba" was primarily a regional recruiting statement. 

The "De La Salle 4" in 2004? Kayvon Thibodeaux in 2019? Noah Sewell or Justin Flowe in 2020?

They were all major additions for the program, huge moments and massive recruiting victories.

But none was a consensus five-star quarterback, and only Thibodeaux and Ngata were in the discussion as the nation's No. 1 overall prospect.

Moore checks both of those boxes. 

Equally important, Oregon's relentless pursuit of a five-star quarterback has become an all-or-nothing proposition, as nearly every major signal-caller has locked in their college future. 

For Oregon, "five-star quarterback or bust" has not-so-subtly shifted to "Moore or bust" in recent weeks. 

Where is the nation's last remaining five-star quarterback headed?

That's the million-dollar question. 

And it won't take long to get an answer.

Moore has set a commitment date for Friday at 9 a.m. PT on ESPN's Sportscenter. 

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