Five reasons why Dante Moore will emerge as the Oregon starter

In a film review for "Darren Talks Ball," host Darren identifies five key reasons Dante Moore will emerge as "that next great starting quarterback for Oregon."

This isn't to knock the other quarterbacks on the Ducks roster. Austin Novosad, Luke Moga and Akili Smith Jr. are all competitors with D1 ability who will get their time in Eugene or elsewhere. Moore has the talent to win now.

1. Accuracy and the ability to layer throws.

In the first clip at 1:45 on the highlight film from the Oregon Spring Game in April, Moore completes an intermediate route to Kenyon Sadiq dragging across the field against a linebacker, good for 28 yards.

It's an elite throw because Sadiq is moving away from him and across the field, requiring the quarterback to layer the ball over the linebacker and under the deeper defender while leading his receiver toward the boundary. The ball has to be on time. Moore's throw is "in stride and on the money."

2. The ability to hit all the throws on the field, and instinctively fit them to the situation

At 4:10 of the highlight tape Moore throws a play-action fade to a receiver down the sideline, a throw he has to drop into the bucket. "There's only about two yards of space he has to throw the ball into and he puts it right there," Darren says.

The play is a 26-yard connection, and it's a pass Moore can make perhaps better than any Oregon starter since Justin Herbert.

3. Arm strength and accuracy

At 5:26 Moore throws a deep post to Malik Benson in the end zone against tight coverage. Jahlil Florence makes a great play to knock the ball away, but the throw is right on the numbers.

Moore lays the ball out in front of the receiver, a 55-yard throw with a defender in his face. It's a spring game but the delivery is next-level for poise and placement.

4. Improved reads, confidence and recognition.

There's a corner blitz (7:02) and Moore sees he has one-on-one coverage on Dillon Gresham to the outside. His running back chips the blitzer, allowing him to layer the pass over the cornerback and under the safety for 33 yards down to the 7.

5. Underappreciated athleticism and mobility

At 8:15, the tape pulls a play from Moore's true freshman season at UCLA. He is pressured, rolls out of the pocket to his right and hits his receiver 30+ yards down the field on the run.

Casual observers think of the Detroit native as a slow-footed pocket passer, but this play shows his athletic talent and ability to improvise. This summer he worked with the Oregon staff on his speed, and he's up to 21.5 mph on the GPS.

As Scott Reed notes at Duck Sports Central, he can deliver a beautiful ball with a flick of the wrist.

At fishduck.com and elsewhere, Oregon fans actively wonder when Dan Lanning will name a starter, but the fourth-year Duck head coach (35-6) isn't likely to tip his hand a moment before he has to. The depth chart for Montana State will no doubt include "Or" at several positions. He may even open the game with some nonstarters on the field, as he did on defense a couple of seasons ago against Portland State.

Lanning loves gamesmanship and deception. Remember last season, the deliberate 12-man penalty in the closing moments against Ohio State, or inducing Michigan into a penalty with a strange formation on a punt play? In fall camp interviews he's taunted the press with asides about misleading them with published weights or declining to answer questions about specific players and their progress.

He guards information, looking for any advantage that might help him win while trying to obscure any detail that might be of value to an opponent. The quarterback competition is just another example.

After the scrimmage on Saturday all he would say was, “None of our quarterbacks threw a pick today. They were all pretty efficient. They checked it pretty well. They took what was there and used their legs.”

Buried in that deliberately vague statement is the reality that Dante Moore is going to win a lot of games as the Oregon starter.