Dante Moore recruitment: 5-star 2023 quarterback flips from Oregon to UCLA
Five-star quarterback Dante Moore flipped his commitment from Oregon to UCLA, the player announced in an Instagram post on Monday.
Moore originally gave his pledge to Oregon back in July but took an official visit to UCLA this week and met with head coach Chip Kelly, culminating in the highly-touted quarterback prospect shocking the world and making the jump.
"I went on a visit to UCLA," Moore told ESPN after making the announcement. "I talked to God and my people and really within myself. I knew that UCLA was the right move for me."
Here's what you need to know about the news and what it means going forward.
College football recruiting update: Dante Moore flips to UCLA
Highly touted 5-star college football recruit Dante Moore is heading to UCLA
Where he ranks: Dante Moore is listed as the No. 5 quarterback in the 2023 college football recruiting class, according to the industry generated 247Sports Composite. The service ranks Moore as the No. 11 player overall nationally.
Why not Oregon? Speaking with ESPN, Moore hinted that the addition of former Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham taking the head coaching job at Arizona State. Moore and Dillingham had developed a relationship over the last few years. Bo Nix announcing he was returning to Oregon did not factor into Moore's decision, the quarterback told ESPN.
Why UCLA? Moore indicated that he built a strong relationship with head coach Chip Kelly, Bruins quarterback coach Ryan Gunderson, and receiver coach Jerry Neuheisel during his recruitment, and Moore said he admired the offense that Kelly built at Oregon.
NIL motivations? Not according to the quarterback, who said that NIL did not play an important factor in his move, noting that "I want to keep football the main thing."
Where UCLA landed: Moore's commitment moved UCLA to the No. 35 overall position in the team recruiting rankings, according to 247Sports, with the Bruins having 14 commitments at the time of the quarterback's announcement.
Highly regarded: Moore becomes the first five-star prospect to sign with UCLA since linebacker Jaelan Phillips, the No. 1 overall player, in 2017. The quarterback is also the first five-star recruit Chip Kelly has signed during his tenure at UCLA.
More: College football recruiting rankings for 2023 updated
Moore's production: The quarterback threw for 9,880 yards and 135 touchdowns during his career at Martin Luther King High in Detroit and helped lead the school to a pair of consecutive Division III state championships in Michigan.
What's next for Moore: He'll seemingly head right into a quarterback competition for the right to replace Dorian Thompson-Robinson, whose NCAA eligibility will be exhausted after this year. Collin Schlee also transferred in from Kent State, but the current favorite is redshirt junior Ethan Garbers, who's been on the team for two years after transferring from Washington.
What it means for UCLA: The addition of such a highly-regarded recruit is an important moment in Kelly's recruiting efforts at UCLA, efforts which observers have not been quick to compliment since his arrival there. But after the Bruins enjoyed success on the field this year, winning eight games and earning a spot in the top 25 rankings, Moore's addition could be the first step in Kelly finally getting a stronger foothold on the recruiting trail and building UCLA in the image of the Oregon program he helped build in recent years.
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