Joel Klatt is planting his flag on Dante Moore.
With college football’s quarterback conversation already taking shape for this season, the analyst’s latest top 10 puts Oregon’s Moore at No. 1, ahead of Texas star Arch Manning, who checks in at No. 2.
Klatt’s list also includes three other Big Ten names with major attention attached to them: Ohio State’s Julian Sayin at No. 3, USC’s Jayden Maiava at No. 7 and Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover at No.
That’s the headline here, but the bigger takeaway is how strongly Klatt views Moore relative to the rest of the field. In the piece, Bergstrom notes that Moore sits atop the list and that, in Klatt’s view, no one else in 2026 matches him at the position.
Moore’s stock is easy to understand. He put together a strong season, and the source notes that if he had gone into the NFL draft, he would have been a top pick. The year didn’t end cleanly, but the overall body of work still gives him a real case for being last season’s best quarterback.
Sayin is the name that complicates the picture. The source points out that his numbers were better, but also raises the obvious question of how much of that success came with help from Ohio State’s defense, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. Maiava, meanwhile, is described as one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the rankings after producing at a high level, though he still needs a defining win or more overall success to fully separate himself.
For now, the safest bet remains Moore. And in Klatt’s ranking, that’s not just a slight edge - it’s the clear No. 1 spot.
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