QB Dante Moore staying at Oregon, opts against entering NFL draft
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Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, projected to be one of the top picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, announced Wednesday that he is staying in school.
Moore made the announcement on ESPN's SportCenter on the last day underclassmen not playing in the College Football Playoff championship game can declare for the draft.
The Ducks finished 13-2, the only losses coming against Indiana in the regular season on Oct. 11 and in the CFP semifinals on Jan. 9.
A 6-foot-3, 206-pound redshirt sophomore, Moore was ranked among the top overall draft prospects and second quarterback behind Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. Instead, he likely will be one of the top prospects for the 2027 draft.
"Even this year, I had many great throws, many great plays, but at the end of the day, I feel like I could still learn so much more," Moore said on SportCenter. "Of course, as a kid, since four years old, I've dreamed about being in the NFL. But, of course this team, we've been through a lot, and a lot of people are returning, so I feel like we've got exciting things coming this year, and I'm excited to keep pushing my team."
Moore completed 296 of 412 passes for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 15 games, averaging 237.67 yards per game. He also rushed 73 times for 156 yards and two TDs.
A five-star recruit ranked in the top four by national recruiting services out of Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School in Detroit, Moore played in nine games and made five starts as a freshman at UCLA in 2023. Moore used a redshirt season in 2024 after transferring to Oregon, where he appeared in five games as Dillon Gabriel's backup and was 7-of-8 passing for 49 yards.
Oregon under coach Dan Lanning has had great recent success with transfer quarterbacks Bo Nix, Gabriel and Moore.
Former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola announced Monday on Instagram that he is transferring to Oregon. He could potentially redshirt now that Moore has announced his return for the 2026 season.
Raiola, who has two years of eligibility remaining, started 22 games for the Cornhuskers over the past two seasons, passing for 4,819 yards and 31 touchdowns. His 2025 season ended with a broken right fibula in Nebraska's loss to Southern California on Nov. 1. The injury is not expected to affect his readiness to start next season.
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