The preseason is the perfect time for players to be in “the best shape of their lives,” every position to be “up for grabs” and fans to overreact to every practice clip they get their eyes on. 

Simply put, it’s hard to fully grasp how a player might perform going forward, much less the one position everyone cares about — quarterback. 

To help clear the water that cliches and platitudes dilute, The Daily Emerald has taken a look back at old Oregon media days to figure out if anything real can be determined from Dan Lanning and company’s words about Dante Moore. 

The obvious stars

The consensus knew what Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel would likely be before either took a snap at Oregon. With Nix, it was expected that then-offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham would unlock his potential (which he did), and Gabriel, well, was always the guy — with coaches and players saying so from the start. 

The underachievers

Rare omissions from Oregon’s recent quarterback success, Tyler Shough and Anthony Brown both struggled in the first years following the Justin Herbert era. 

However, despite his eventual performance, then-head coach Mario Cristobal was complimentary of Shough in Oregon’s 2020 virtual media day. 

“He’s done a great job, he really has,” Cristobal said during Oregon’s virtual 2020 Pac-12 Football Media Day. “In spring ball, he got off to a great, great start. He has a natural just field presence; he has a commanding presence out there.” 

However, that optimism in Shough faltered after a season, with Cristobal deciding to start Brown — who had the lowest Oregon QBR over the past 14 years in his one year as a starter in Eugene — instead. 

The quarterback competition winners

With Vernon Adams Jr. and Justin Herbert — two reasonable comparisons for Moore given his competition with Austin Novosad — it was seemingly obvious how the quarterback competition would go. 

Coaches almost always tend to lean toward the more talented option, with Oregon receivers coach Matt Lubick saying to USAToday that in his scouting of Adams, he found that “every game, he was the best player on the field.” 

Marcus Mariota

An anomaly in college football as a whole, the four-star quarterback from Hawaii is without a doubt the greatest quarterback in Oregon history. 

Few outside the Ducks’ building saw Mariota’s success coming before a breakout 2012 spring game for the redshirt freshman quarterback served as a coming-out party for the next three years. 

“I was convinced (Mariota) was going to be the guy,” then-assistant coach Gary Campbell said of Mariota to The Athletic. “We had closed practices, so people never got the chance to see him. But I did. I saw him.” 

Where does Moore fall in?

Head coaches will always back their guy, with Dan Lanning proving to be no different as a primary voice in Nix’s and Gabriel’s Heisman runs. 

Looking to Herbert and Adams as reasonable comparisons for Moore makes sense for Ducks fans, as both were incredibly talented but needed some additional refining — something Oregon has done well historically. 

For what it’s worth, though, former Oregon receiver Tez Johnson was incredibly complimentary of Moore at the 2025 Rose Bowl Media Day. 

“He’ll be a Heisman finalist next year,” Johnson said. “100%It’s something you haven’t seen yet. That boy can throw a ball like no other. I’ve never seen nothing like it.”

Regardless of being able to read through the lines that narratives and social media create, there are worse places for Oregon to be than entering the season with a former 5-star quarterback — especially one who just spent a year learning an offense that has turned in two Heisman-finalist seasons in two years.