Dante Moore is going through the recruiting process for the second time in two years. The five-star freshman quarterback, who some people had ranked higher than Arch Manning in the college football recruiting Class of 2023, announced that he is going to enter the transfer portal after one year at UCLA.
Moore is now a free agent, and perhaps the most intriguing player in the portal. Even though his freshman year was a rollercoaster, the upside is tremendous.
As of right now, there is no clear indication as to where he might end up, but he was committed to Oregon before flipping his decision last December. Moore was the Bruins’ highest-rated commit, ever.
And just like that — he is gone!
While speaking to Matt Zenitz of 247 Sports, Moore threw heavy shade at Chip Kelly and UCLA. There was no direct mention of his soon-to-be former program. However, by saying what he wants out of his next team, it implies that was not possible in Westwood because he is leaving for a reason.
For these next upcoming years, I just want to go to a place where I can get developed. That’s the main thing is really development, making sure you’re bettering yourself every day and having a staff around you that’s going to help develop you.
So I’d say the biggest things are going to a place where I can get developed and continue to love and have fun playing football and be around a place that loves college football and be around great athletes.
— Dante Moore
Basically, Moore implicitly criticized his ability to “get developed and continue to love and have fun playing football” while with the Bruins. That is the insinuation by entering the portal to seek those specific things, no?
Moore did not win the starting job during fall camp despite a lot of speculation that he might. UCLA still played its five-star freshman extensively during its season-opener and gave him his first start in Week 2.
Moore looked awesome. He threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
His next four starts did not go as well. Moore threw multiple pick-sixes, was unable to push the ball downfield, and finished the year with 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions on just 53% passing in nine total appearances. Not great.
Ethan Garbers finished the season as the starter and ran away with the job. The third-year signal-caller is slated to return to UCLA as the incumbent next season.
That likely played a big role in Moore’s decision to bounce. He wants to start. He wants to play.
Michigan, Michigan State, Auburn and Washington are among the rumored programs with interest in Moore. It is all speculation at this point, though there has been a lot of smoke out of East Lansing early.
Wherever he ends up, Moore wants to get developed. And clearly, by leaving the program, that was not an option with the Bruins.