Dante Moore has great expectations this season. Not only to lead the Oregon Ducks to the program's first championship. Not only to become a top NFL draft pick. Not only to become a Heisman finalist and potentially win the award.
Moore has the opportunity to leave a legacy behind in Eugene that will be remembered for generations, similar to Oregon's lone Heisman winner, Marcus Mariota.
Mariota is entering his 12th season in the NFL. Before that, he was a kid from Hawaii who waited his turn to get under center for the Ducks. When he did, he won the Heisman Trophy in 2014 and took the Ducks to the national championship game before becoming the No. 2 pick.
Since then, Mariota and Oregon have become synonymous. From having an athletic facility built
in his name to future players like Dillon Gabriel and Dylan Raiola calling for permission to wear his No. 8, Mariota carries a level of respect in Oregon history that very few alumni have reached. Above all, he's also an experienced quarterback with a lot to teach.
Moore hasn't wasted any of those opportunities to learn this offseason, reaching out to NFL greats like Cam Newton and Peyton Manning, as well as the former Oregon quarterback.
“Marcus is a special talent," Moore told reporters on Tuesday. "He's been playing the game for a long time, and being able to watch — I mean, you watch his college film, you watch the NFL film — it’s just the way he plays the game with his speed. It's just mentally going through progressions, or even using his legs to make plays. Of course, you know, he's loved here for who he is as a person, but you know also as a player. And I think the biggest thing with him is just how he is in this world outside of football."
Moore has had an offseason full of sidequests. Passing on the draft and working on his craft in the spring and summer, traveling to Tokyo, launching a Heisman campaign, gracing the cover of a video game, you name it. A lot has been asked, and a lot is expected of a guy who is still just 21 years old.
The offseason is time for Moore to learn new techniques and find areas to improve his game. That includes conversations with Mariota, but those conversations can stretch beyond the field of play, serving as a reminder of why the goal to play in the NFL and be remembered at Oregon really matters.
"Just the way he carries himself, the way he loves his family, the way he is as a father," Moore said of Mariota. "And I kind of feel like me as a man in life, I've just got to learn from him. We're on the range together. Just watching him, you know, hug his daughter and his son, everybody. He's doing great things in life. I want to follow in his footsteps.
Moore is pretty close to Mariota's footsteps, having sat at Oregon for a year to watch and learn before taking over and guiding the Ducks to a major bowl victory. In what is likely Moore's final season with the Ducks, he could follow Mariota's map to winning a Heisman and being a top NFL draft pick.
Beyond the accolades, Moore is following in Mariota's footsteps in terms of technique and mastery of the offense as well. Quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai, who was once Mariota's teammate with the Ducks, said he and Moore often watch Mariota's college and NFL tape. One thing that Moore has picked up is Mariota's footwork on zone reads, deciding when to pull the ball and run off the edge.
Mariota hasn't worn an Oregon uniform on the field in nearly 12 years. Yet, he's still the example and the gold standard that the Ducks strive for, not to recreate, but to mold and shape leaders and incredible quarterbacks.
"What do you see on the first floor (of the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex)? You see the Heisman, and he's the only one here who's won that thing," Ka'ai said of Mariota. "Every kid we're recruiting nowadays, they know Marcus Mariota. Every kid 16 to 25 years old grew up watching him play. Anybody who comes here, everybody on our roster, he's a role model, and he's set the standard of what it means to be an Oregon athlete."
The Ducks don't need Moore to turn into Mariota to win a national championship in 2026. Rather, the hope is that the connection between the two Oregon greats will lead Moore to continue to be himself, and that will translate to the field.
Moore said he has logged off of social media during fall camp to limit the distractions of preseason awards and watch lists. Mariota never had social media while at Oregon. The two will always be connected by their success in the gun with the Ducks, but also by their ability to improve one another, both on and off the field.
In December, Moore could lift the Heisman Trophy in New York City, just like Mariota did 12 years ago. But by learning from Oregon's most beloved and decorated athlete, Moore could do what Mariota fell just short of: bringing a national championship back to Eugene.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dante Moore hopes to follow in Marcus Mariota's footsteps at Oregon
