Interesting review in the Miami Herald of Dante Moore & the supposed "QB developmental problem in college football". What do you think of his analysis?

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/omar-kelly/article314101230.html

Well, whoop. dee. doo-doo.

Tell us something the average OBD members hasn't been speculating all season.

This isn't entirely new... College football is the unofficial lower league for the NFL and the NFL treats it as such. QB development doesn't really happen in the NFL anymore and instead they are looking for ready made talent.

I remember ten years ago an article complaining about how many spread QBs are in college and how that didn't mesh with what the league was looking for.

The reality is that CFB and the NFL are two different metas in terms of how the game is played. I don't think any college teams anymore have the talent to fully execute an NFL style of offense and defense because the talent required isn't condensed on any one roster. The NFL has ALL the athletic freaks from CFB and as a result the worst NFL team has more freakish athletic talent than even that 2022 Georgia team that was freaky good.

Dante Moore is not ready by NFL standards to be a starting QB unless they want to develop him but that's not realistic. The Ducks are also not an NFL roster.

It's one of the reasons why trying to predict the best NFL talent from college is so difficult and how players who seem good but not great in college may rise to NFL super stars.

Anyways... Rant over.

While I agree that Dante could use another year (although I would still advise him to enter the draft if he’s going to be a top 5 pick), I disagree with the author’s reasons. Dante is a very good game manager, which is even more important in the NFL than in college. He was almost certainly asked to protect the football against Texas Tech and take what the defense gave him. He is more than capable of making all the throws including into tight windows. Did the author not see the pass to our TE on a clutch play with the defender in his back pocket?

Comparing him to Cam Ward? He’s the last QB I would want to be compared to. Sure he made spectacular plays and could put up points but he always seemed to turn the ball over, at the end of the game, in a crucial situation. Dante does not do that.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by OregonDucks

My reaction is problem for who?

Selfishly, I want us to attract/develop the best college QB that will lead us to be good enough to make the playoff. Mission accomplished.

If he translates to the NFL, that’s cool, but I also really don’t care that much if he doesn’t. Really doesn’t keep me up at night seeing Marcus make a career out of being a backup, or Joey not becoming a hall of famer.

1 hour ago, OregonDucks said:

While I agree that Dante could use another year (although I would still advise him to enter the draft if he’s going to be a top 5 pick), I disagree with the author’s reasons. Dante is a very good game manager, which is even more important in the NFL than in college. He was almost certainly asked to protect the football against Texas Tech and take what the defense gave him. He is more than capable of making all the throws including into tight windows. Did the author not see the pass to our TE on a clutch play with the defender in his back pocket?

Comparing him to Cam Ward? He’s the last QB I would want to be compared to. Sure he made spectacular plays and could put up points but he always seemed to turn the ball over, at the end of the game, in a crucial situation. Dante does not do that.

I found the Cam Ward comparison laughable. As if Cam Ward is the epitome of a college quarterback who came out "NFL Ready". A guy named Bo Nix would have been a much better example for the writer to use, but his "homerism" wouldn't allow him to see beyond the Miami sports scene.

Edited 20 hours ago20 hr by Chas Man

UCLA to Oregon. Georgia to Miami. Cal to Indiana. Ferris State to Ole Miss.

The only surprising 'QB development program' is Georgia, with a mutually agreed-upon change at QB.

The free market is going to produce incubator programs and development schools. And how long is a productive OC going to be in the same place to groom a QB?

The need to develop your own QB is yesterday's CFB news.

Nowadays it's going to be a rarity for a starting QB to stay more than 2 years (whether recruited from HS or plucked from the transfer portal). That makes it much more difficult to develop knowledge/consistency for an offense...particularly to the level it takes to win a CFP championship.

I found this to be pretty interesting for those interested on this topic.

Dante balanced his Indiana and Texas Tech issues with his performances at Penn State and Iowa. If there’s one thing that may bring him back for another year is to grow out of his inconsistency issue.

I'm waiting on a post submitted to this site about who is projected to transfer to Oregon if Dante Moore declares. I was just on ESPN.com and their second leading story is that Brenden Sorsby (Cincinatti QB) is visiting Texas Tech today, and then he flies to LSU on Sunday or some time in the coming days.

I had hoped that if we beat TT that it might sway Sorsby to come here. It would be a 2 for 1. A win and a new QB. Hopefully, Sorsby can wait until after the National Championship to make a decision- and immediately book a flight to Eugene for a visit.

If you google who is likely to transfer to Oregon, Google AI points to a CBS Sports article from a few days ago written by Cory Nagel:

"If Moore exits, Oregon would be aggressive but selective in targeting its next quarterback. Names like Dylan Raiola, Sam Leavitt, and Josh Hoover would immediately surface as potential fits. The Ducks offer something few programs can: a proven pathway to statistical production and NFL credibility."

Raiola or Leavitt? Are you kidding me?!?! No. This is Oregon we're talking about. Not Washington or UCLA. Come on.

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by 2002duck

2 hours ago, kirklandduck said:

Nowadays it's going to be a rarity for a starting QB to stay more than 2 years (whether recruited from HS or plucked from the transfer portal). That makes it much more difficult to develop knowledge/consistency for an offense...particularly to the level it takes to win a CFP championship.

Good thought. But you can bring in experience, as Oregon did with Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, Miami did with Cam Ward and Carson Beck, and Indiana did with Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Menzoza.

One of the four Final 4 transfer QBs will win a title this season. Transfer Will Howard won a title last season. Tom Brady won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.

Experienced faces in new places is true today for every position. You have to make sure you bring in high-character, coachable guys who love to play football to accompany solid recruiting.

I think a playoff-quality O-line is as difficult to develop as any position, including QB. Dan and his assistants did a fantastic job this season of getting many new starters on both sides of the ball to play together.

Dante goes pro, and I expect a transfer to start for OBD next season.

BTW, the Kentucky starting QB is in the portal. Novo to Lexington?

2 hours ago, 2002duck said:

I'm waiting on a post submitted to this site about who is projected to transfer to Oregon if Dante Moore declares. I was just on ESPN.com and their second leading story is that Brenden Sorsby (Cincinatti QB) is visiting Texas Tech today, and then he flies to LSU on Sunday or some time in the coming days.

I had hoped that if we beat TT that it might sway Sorsby to come here. It would be a 2 for 1. A win and a new QB. Hopefully, Sorsby can wait until after the National Championship to make a decision- and immediately book a flight to Eugene for a visit.

If you google who is likely to transfer to Oregon, Google AI points to a CBS Sports article from a few days ago written by Cory Nagel:

"If Moore exits, Oregon would be aggressive but selective in targeting its next quarterback. Names like Dylan Raiola, Sam Leavitt, and Josh Hoover would immediately surface as potential fits. The Ducks offer something few programs can: a proven pathway to statistical production and NFL credibility."

Raiola or Leavitt? Are you kidding me?!?! No. This is Oregon we're talking about. Not Washington or UCLA. Come on.

I agree with you on Riola, but not on Sam Leavitt.

Leavitt is from West Linn, Oregon. When healthy in 2025, Leavitt threw for 319 yards and led a late TD drive in the win over Texas Tech.

In last season's PO, if a targeting call that should have been made late in the game against Texas was called, Leavitt would have led ASU back from a big deficit in an upset of the Longhorns and played Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

When healthy, Leavitt played very well for ASU. Dilly thought Leavitt was worthy of the ASU starting spot when he transferred in from Michigan State.

Leavitt missed five games this season and also missed ASU's Sun Bowl loss to Duke.

In two seasons, he threw for 4,513 yards, 34 TDs, and ran for 10 TDs. He consistently earned high grades from PFF.

If Dan pursues Leavitt, it will only be with Dillingham's recommendation.

Cincinnati QB Sorsby tailed off significantly late in the season. I think there could be more hype than substance with Sorsby.

Leavitt or Hoover yes. Riola no thanks, seems like a nutcase.

When you analyze the premise of the article the writer is saying a college football player develops by being a starter. Start at a lesser school and transfer. True in lots of sports. Baseball players move up to the majors from the minors. In football, the college game is the NFL minor leagues. You don’t get the necessary skills sitting on the bench.

Lanning says that you improve by playing football. Practice helps, but without game experience a QB is unlikely to start for the 10-12 teams at the top and be successful. Nix and Gabriel both improved as Duck starters, but they were good when they arrived. Moore needs another year.

I can't disagree with the premise of this article even if Cam Ward is a poor comparison for Dante.

While the following observations may seem a bit off the topic of experience, they relate to it in important ways:

Is there an advantage for a QB to start their development at one program and system, then transfer to another? Does having to adapt to a new culture, coaching and offensive system build flexibility and maturity?

Example in point: When a certain QB transferred to OBD the derogatory narrative was Bo "Pix". A change of scenery, culture and coaching (under two different OCs, incidentally) buried that misnomer.

Not every kid comes out of HS with fully developed skills. Arm strength and foot speed, sure. But leadership and judgement? How many 18 year old frontal cortices have those traits right off the bat? The ability to read coverages, set alignments and make the right calls at the LOS doesn't automatically get gifted with the 5☆ howitzer arm. That takes time, maturity and perhaps the most important factors, experience and mentorship.

I would argue that a change of venue helps build flexibility, adaptability and confidence, not to mention experience.

While the author of the article in this thread is being a bit harsh on Dante, the premise of another year of development is valid. He already knows what it feels like to get thrown into the fire too soon, struggle, then get benched in favor of a journeyman QB with less talent but more experience. I doubt he wants to repeat that in the NFL.

Regardless of how this CFP run turns out, here's hoping that he takes the lessons learned by his immediate predecessors to heart and gives himself another year at Oregon.