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QuickTake:
He went to Japan, danced onstage at Zach Bryan’s concert and wound up on the cover of a video game. Now, Dante Moore is ready to get back to business.
CHICAGO — Dan Lanning’s voice had grown hoarse, his cheeks had reddened and the fatigue of getting asked the same question over and over again was beginning to show.
Lunch was long past at Big Ten Media Day at the Chicago Hilton as the fifth-year Oregon coach gritted his teeth through another round of: Is this finally the year?
“We’re close,” Lanning told reporters in a litany of ways.
Dante Moore had one of those questions, too.
The redshirt junior was arguably the biggest draw of Wednesday’s session — a 21-year-old on the cover of sports video game EA College Football 27 and on preseason Heisman Trophy ballots, getting pulled in every direction.
“They all want to know about my decision coming back,” Moore said, sandwiched between a live interview on ESPN and a desk appearance with the Big Ten Network. “And it’s been the same answer each time.”
That’s where the media training kicked in. Moore launched into a rehearsed answer about preparation, development and how that season-ending loss to Indiana “still brings a fire to my soul.” He wore a forest-green suit jacket over a white shirt buttoned all the way to the collar, glasses, his hair big. When he finished his spiel, he smiled and shimmied a 6-foot-3 frame that had added 17 pounds over the offseason.
And to be fair to the reporters, Moore knew they had to ask it.
In his first season starting for the Ducks, Moore passed for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading Oregon to the College Football Playoff semifinals. His memory of a tearful hug with teammate Jamari Johnson in the locker room after the Peach Bowl loss could have been one of the final moments of his college career.
With that arm talent and size, Moore was a projected first-round NFL draft pick.
So, yeah, he understood why his presence in Chicago piqued interest.
But what became clear Wednesday has been in front of college football fans all along. Dante Moore is loving everything that comes with being a modern star in college football.
Even Wednesday’s interviews.
“I’ve seen a lot of people do interviews and they’re just really tight when they answer. Like, it’s just a conversation. It’s just about being relaxed and enjoying it,” he said. “You don’t have to rush.”
The side quests
Moore figured something big was coming.
The last time the Ducks had a returning quarterback drawing Heisman attention, Oregon rolled out its “BoDacious” campaign for Bo Nix, plastering the quarterback’s image on a billboard in New York City and across a pair of buildings in Dallas.
A month before media days, Moore saw his own campaign come to fruition in Japan during Oregon’s June two-day football showcase in Tokyo.
He and a few teammates arrived at Shibuya Crossing — one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world — and saw the quarterback’s face accompanied by the caption: “Yes, there’s Moore!”
“I had heard a little bit about it, but I didn’t know it was that wild,” Moore said. “It was everywhere.”
He was asked: Any part of you uncomfortable with that sort of attention?
“No, I love it,” Moore said. “I enjoy all of it — especially being there with my teammates.”
It was far from Moore’s only experience during an offseason full of side quests.
There was promotional work for EA Sports, where he’s the first Oregon cover athlete since Joey Harrington in 2003. There was a trip to Mexico, a quick jaunt home to Detroit to run a girls flag football camp, an on-stage appearance during last week’s Zach Bryan concert in Eugene and a pair of World Cup matches in Seattle.
Moore grew up playing soccer and was in the stands for the United States’ 2-0 victory over Australia, as well as the Americans’ loss to Belgium in the Round of 16.
“This is probably one of the best offseasons I’ve ever had in my life,” Moore said. “It’s just knowing how much time I have, breaks, scheduling. I kind of became a master of it this offseason.”
That, his coach said, is the key.
Respecting the platform
Lanning’s question and Moore’s question are linked.
After four seasons that have included a Fiesta Bowl victory, a Big Ten championship and an Orange Bowl win, there is only one milestone left for Lanning to reach at Oregon.
Until he becomes the first coach in program history to lead the Ducks to the top of college football, the question will continue to follow him.
Mario Cristobal got similar questions at Oregon. So did Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich, the last coach to lead the Ducks to the national championship game behind a redshirt junior quarterback who skipped the NFL Draft, returned for another season and won the Heisman Trophy.
Lanning’s goal is to build a program capable of avoiding peaks and valleys. But this season’s championship hopes are grounded in Moore, even with the return of players such as A’Mauri Washington, Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei.
“Ultimately, you want to make the best team you could possibly make,” Lanning said. “But you want to be a team that’s capable of winning it all. That’s what everybody is building for.”
Moore is the foundation — hardly a new idea in this sport. What is new is navigating a version of college football in which that quarterback can spend his offseason taking in the “other” football, appearing on concert stages and seeing his face displayed above one of the busiest places on Earth.
Moore likely would not still be wearing an Oregon jersey if college football had not transformed into a sport in which its stars could fully capitalize on their stardom.
Still, Lanning said he isn’t worried about the focus of the player who could put an end to his most persistent question.
“I think we’ve been really fortunate in some ways for us to make sure that, hey, here’s the direction we think that you should push yourself,” Lanning said. “But also, we have some really good stewards, like Dante, that can handle the spotlight and know when to check in and check out, who don’t let the moment become bigger than the moment and realize the most important thing is how you perform on the field.
“That’s what’s given you the platform.”
Moore knows this.
In a month, the season begins — and with it, four months in which every throw will be dissected for Heisman worthiness, followed by an even longer stretch under the microscope leading into next spring’s NFL Draft.
He may never have another offseason quite like this one.
The work begins next week, and there is no guaranteed end date in sight.
But a week before Moore straps on a helmet in Eugene and does the thing that earned him the best offseason of his life, a clearer question came into focus:
Why wouldn’t Dante Moore have wanted to come back?
