UCLA lands commitment from Dante Moore, the highest-rated quarterback in school history

Since his arrival at UCLA, Chip Kelly was known for sprinkling four-star high school prospects into a heavy mix of more lightly regarded players that he could develop.

That’s changed in a momentous way.

Five-star quarterback recruit Dante Moore flipped his verbal commitment from Oregon to the Bruins on Monday, the Detroit King High standout announcing his decision with a Twitter graphic showing him in sunglasses above images of the Hollywood sign and the Rose Bowl.

The No. 3 overall prospect in his high school class, according to 247Sports, Moore immediately becomes the biggest get of Kelly’s five years at UCLA and a possible high-end replacement for the departing Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

He’s the school’s highest-rated quarterback recruit in the history of the 247Sports rankings and the third-highest overall, trailing only edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes.

His commitment two days before national signing day boosted the Bruins’ 2023 recruiting class from No. 31 to No. 22 nationally in the 247Sports rankings. Moore’s change of allegiance came one day after Oregon quarterback Bo Nix announced he was returning for the 2023 season and less than a month after Moore’s primary recruiter with the Ducks, offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, left to become Arizona State’s head coach.

At 6-2, 210, Moore combines good size with a strong arm and precision accuracy on both short and deep routes. He’ll join a crowded quarterback room that might start to feel claustrophobic with the recent commitment of Kent State transfer Collin Schlee in addition to incumbents Ethan Garbers, Justyn Martin and Chase Garbers. Schlee is considered one of the nation’s top transfer quarterbacks after completing 59% of his passes last season for 2,109 yards and 13 touchdowns with five interceptions.

It’s possible that at least one quarterback will depart given the arrival of such a highly regarded player. Garbers, UCLA’s primary backup the last two seasons who started one game in 2021 when Thompson-Robinson was injured, has three years of eligibility remaining and Martin has four. Martin was a four-star prospect out of Inglewood High who has impressed in practice with his poise and decision-making for a true freshman.

A four-year starter in high school, Moore led his team to back-to-back state titles while throwing for 9,880 yards and 135 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. Moore was named the Associated Press Player of the Year for Division 3-4 by a panel of sportswriters from across the state of Michigan.

Among the schools he seriously considered, Moore had initially picked Oregon over home-state Michigan.