Dante Moore, a five-star quarterback and the No. 3 overall player in the Class of 2023, shocked the recruiting world when he flipped his commitment from Oregon to UCLA on Monday. Moore had been committed to the Ducks since July 8 but took an official visit to UCLA last week.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Martin Luther King High School in Detroit threw for 9,880 yards and 135 touchdowns during his career, leading his team to back-to-back Division III state championships in 2021 and 2022. He has a 0.9947 overall ranking in the 247Sports composite rankings. If he stays committed and signs on the dotted line with the Bruins, he'll be the third highest-ranked player to ever sign with the program behind EDGE Jaelan Phillips in 2017 (0.9989) and defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes in 2013 (0.9960).
"I went on a visit to UCLA," Moore told ESPN. "I talked to God and my people and really within myself. I knew that UCLA was the right move for me."
Moore is the 13th player to commit to coach Chip Kelly during the current recruiting cycle, and his commitment has vaulted UCLA's recruiting class from No. 52 to No. 27 in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings. He is the only five-star prospect to commit to Kelly's program and one of two quarterbacks, along with three-star prospect Luke Duncan. He sits behind two other quarterbacks in the 247Sports prospect rankings: No. 1 Arch Manning and No. 2 Nicholaus Iamaleava.
Moore will jump straight into a quarterback battle in Westwood that will be fierce following the departure of Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Redshirt junior Ethan Garbers has been on campus for two years after transferring from Washington, and will likely enter the offseason as the No. 1 option after serving as Thompson-Robinson's backup in 2022. Justyn Martin signed with UCLA in the Class of 2022 while the Bruins also received a commitment last week from Kent State transfer quarterback Collin Schlee.
It'll be interesting to see how Kelly handles his quarterback room. Moore doesn't have the experience within the system like the other two primary contenders, but his upside is higher than any quarterback to ever sign with UCLA.
