ESPN names biggest X-factor for Oregon Ducks in 2025 season
A lot of the team and their talent are well-known quantities. We know how good Matayo Uiagalelei is. We know how good Kenyon Sadiq is and others on this stacked roster. But there's one question mark that needs to be answered, and unfortunately for Oregon, that question resides at the quarterback position.
Redshirt sophomore Dante Moore is going to have the reins of Oregon football in his hands.
He was one of the highest recruits in the Class of 2023 when Oregon recruited him before he chose UCLA, presumably for playing time. He got it, and it didn't go great for the true freshman. Moore had an up-and-down year, starting in five games while throwing 11 TDs and 9 INTs. But he wasn't anything near what the Bruins hoped he would be.
After a coaching change, it was a foregone conclusion that Moore would look for greener pastures, but his decision to come to Oregon was unprecedented in this day and age, where playing time is Priority No. 1. Moore knew he would redshirt the 2024 season and learn under Dillon Gabriel. He came to Eugene anyway.
Flash forward to 2025 and Moore has the chance to show everyone that becoming a Duck was a genius maneuver. This goes one of two ways. Moore will continue to be that good, but not great, quarterback he was at UCLA, or, which is what the Ducks hope and need, he will become the quarterback everyone thought he would be coming out of the prep ranks.
According to ESPN, the answer to that question could be the key to the entire Duck season in 2025.
"Dan Lanning's team is so deep and well-rounded that it's hard to say the Ducks' success this season will hinge entirely on Moore. And yet, since the Ducks' lineage of quarterbacks (Justin Herbert, Bo Nix, and Dillon Gabriel) has buoyed Oregon's offense in recent years, Moore has some big shoes to fill," said ESPN writer Paolo Uggetti.
"The 20-year-old sophomore spent a year learning under Gabriel and offensive coordinator Will Stein after getting thrown into the fire as a true freshman starter during his lone season at UCLA. This time, the stage will be much bigger and the pressure much higher."
There's no reason to believe Moore won't be the quarterback the Ducks need him to be. He studied under one of the longest-tenured signal callers in college football history in Gabriel. Lanning and Stein have also demonstrated their expertise in developing quarterbacks at Oregon. They're 2-for-2 with Nix and Gabriel. Moore could easily make it a trifecta.
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