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Dan Lanning has had an upper hand in the roster revamping, and why wouldn’t he? Oregon, with Nike and Phil Knight backing them up, continues to stretch along the target lists and successfully swoops most of them in Eugene. His behavior, genuine understanding, and empathy for every recruit are a plus to their top-tier athletic and academic flexes. Say for Dante Moore, who gets back to the Ducks campus two separate times, first as a high school recruit and then via the portal. Moore’s UCLA stint ended up with growing pains, making him realize physical talent alone does not guarantee immediate success. He came back to the Lanning’s squad and sat behind Dillon Gabriel for the entire 2024. But can he finally stand out in 2025?
It’s a big question mark for Lanning and all the Ducks fans. The doubt might sound most legit as Dilon capped off the season in his top-tier form. He finished the season 326 of 447 passing for 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He added 75 carries for 149 yards and seven scores on the ground. So, replacing the current Cleveland Browns QB will be a heck of a task for Moore. It’s more so as he has zero experience under the center.
But it can be his biggest blessing as well. Yes, you heard it right. On3’s J.D. PicKell seems his extended time on the bench only added to his understanding of the Ducks’ offense. “My biggest takeaway is, he is going to be able to, I think, play with better anticipation, having sat for a year in that offense, because what you saw from him at UCLA was a lot of learning on the fly. Now the arm talent is obvious,” Pickell skipped to the good part, focusing on his breathing time for over a year at the Ducks offense. “The physical tools are obvious. But with him now being in a Will Stein system, where he knows where to go with the football before the play even starts or he knows his reads before the play even starts and it’s not a thinking through. It’s just a playing football kind of thing. That’s going to serve him well. Because that’s how Oregon’s offense runs.”
With the Bruins, he completed 114 passes for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns. Moore also recorded nine interceptions and had a 53.5 completion percentage. In 2024, Moore’s playing time further decreased. He scored only eight passing attempts as he sat behind Gabriel. After a successful high school stint, Moore followed Kenny Dillingham, the then OC of the Ducks, back in 2022. But as he left for Arizona State, Moore pulled the rug. Oregon’s OC and QBs coach, Will Stein, was still a stranger to him. But eventually they bonded well, marking a great future promise for one of the most coveted offenses in the nation.
”Oregon’s offense runs by being a step ahead of you from the snap – or from before the snap – should even say. Like the ball is caught, rocked out, thrown. We say it a lot on this show. Will Stein wants that ball out in right around two seconds […] For the most part, we want to run on time.” PicKell continued raving about the positives of Moore’s 2025 stint, “Dante Moore, having sat for a year again, is better equipped now to run on time within this offense.”
Moore might be quite a gun for Lanning, but can he be enough to appease the fuming rage of the Nittany Lions early in the season?
Oregon might get its head shoved against the fierce SEC rival
The Ducks have to deal with a gauntlet schedule before they face James Franklin’s Penn State. On September 20, the Ducks will get exposed against their archrival Oregon State. While Oregon State might be a lighter threat to the Ducks, next week they will play Penn State.
The travelling time to Pennsylvania and all the other preparations within just a week might burn them out before they lace up their shoes. On top, Franklin and the Lions will lurk behind to avenge their devastating Big Ten Championship defeat at Beaver Stadium. Bob Flounders of PennLive PSU had an early warning for Coach Lanning.
”Oregon does not have a bye week before the game,” Bob Flounders said. ”Oregon is coming off a rivalry battle with Oregon State. It’s still a rivalry game for them. Emotions will be high in that game, regardless of the level of competition from the Beavers. Coming off that game [with the Oregon State Beavers]… the preparation, it might have been a little bit more difficult on the Ducks.”
Penn State will get the contagious home game advantage, the psyched-up fans going loud, and additionally, a bye week before the game. Meanwhile, we can only keep our fingers crossed and pray for Coach Lanning and Dante Moore, as their schedule also isn’t in their favor.
The post Dan Lanning Finds Solace in Surprising Dante Moore Verdict After New Revelation Puts Pressure on Oregon HC appeared first on EssentiallySports.
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