Dante Moore didn’t put himself near the top of Oregon’s quarterback mountain - at least not yet.
In a blind ranking with Overtime Szn’s Instagram account, the current Ducks quarterback was asked to place five of the biggest names in program history. Moore went with Marcus Mariota at No.
1, Dan Fouts at No. 2, Justin Herbert at No.
3, Bo Nix at No. 4 and his former teammate Dillon Gabriel at No. 5.
The order started with Herbert, whom Moore slotted third. Herbert spent 2016-2019 at Oregon, finished his Ducks career by winning a Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl, and then went No. 6 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Mariota came next, and Moore didn’t hesitate. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner landed at No.
- Mariota played at Oregon from 2011-2014, powered a high-scoring offense, won two Rose Bowls and reached the College Football Playoff National Championship game before the Tennessee Titans took him No. 2 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Moore then placed Nix fourth. Nix’s final two college seasons came in Eugene in 2022 and 2023, when he finished third in Heisman voting in 2023. He was selected No. 12 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Broncos.
Gabriel, who spent one season at Oregon in 2024, came in at No. 5. He helped the Ducks go undefeated in the regular season and win a Big Ten title before the Browns picked him in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Fouts, meanwhile, checked in at No. 2.
He played for Oregon from 1969-1972, earned First-team All-Pac-8 honors in 1972 and was drafted in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. His pro career ran from 1973-1987, and he made six All-Pro teams and six Pro Bowls.
Moore’s own place in that conversation is still being written.
He started his college career at UCLA in 2023 as a five-star recruit and a true freshman thrown into the fire. That season, he passed for 1,610 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions before entering the portal and transferring to Oregon.
In 2024, Moore backed up Gabriel. Then in 2025, he took over as the starter and delivered a big year: 3,565 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while starting all 15 games. Oregon reached the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Moore passed on the NFL after that season and returned to Eugene for another shot at a national title. If he gets the Ducks their first championship in program history, his name will sit in a very different spot in Oregon quarterback history.
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