Oregon QB Dante Moore was a former high school star at Detroit King

The Oregon Ducks are playing in the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff, and their quarterback Dante Moore, who once starred at Detroit King, is a big reason why.

Moore will take the biggest stage yet of his football career when the Ducks play No. 1 Indiana in the CFP semifinal on Friday, Jan. 9, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

This is a rematch of an earlier Big Ten tussle, one that helped Indiana supplant the Ducks in the national rankings with a 30-20 win in Eugene.

And with Moore once again under the spotlight, even more attention will be paid to a player who could be the top pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

Here are some key things to know about Moore.

Dante Moore starred at Detroit King high school

Before Moore became a Heisman Trophy candidate at Oregon, he was a prep star at Detroit Martin Luther King from 2019-22, helping King win consecutive Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 state titles from 2021-22.

Moore ranks third in state history in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns, according to MHSAA records, and was the top recruit out of Michigan in the class of 2022. But instead of going to the University of Michigan, who extended an offer while Moore was in seventh grade, Moore committed to Oregon for the 2023 season.

Except that's not where he played in his freshman year in 2023.

Dante Moore's college career started at UCLA

Moore flipped his commitment from Oregon to UCLA following a coaching shuffle at Oregon and looked to immediately become the starter for the Bruins. However, the freshman Moore was initially passed up for junior Ethan Garbers, though Moore ended up the leading passer for an 8-5 Bruins team in 2023.

Moore entered the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 season and found his way back to his original commitment, once again choosing to play for the Ducks – and this time sticking with his choice.

However, it would take time for Moore to find his feet in Eugene.

Dante Moore sat for most of his first season at Oregon

The 2024 Oregon Ducks were Big Ten champions and ranked as the No. 1 team in the country for much of the season, but they didn't do it with Moore under center.

Instead, Oregon leaned on sixth-year senior Dillon Gabriel, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting and eventually was selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Moore, meanwhile, attempted only eight passes all season as the team's primary backup but absorbed a lot from Gabriel, according to his father, Otha Moore.

"Dillon Gabriel, the vet that he is, Dante learned a lot from him," Otha Moore said. "He had a lot of trials and tribulations himself and Dante had a chance to learn behind him."

Dante Moore has taken those lessons and turned them into a season to remember in Eugene.

Dante Moore has turned into a star at Oregon

Dante Moore was an early Heisman Trophy favorite in 2025 as he led the Ducks to a 5-0 record in his first five starts. His only blemish on the season was the loss to Indiana, currently the No. 1 team in the nation, as he has since guided Oregon to eight straight wins (including two in the College Football Playoff over James Madison and Texas Tech).

Dante Moore finished outside the top 10 in the Heisman Trophy voting, with Big Ten quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza of Indiana and Julian Sayin of Ohio State both finishing ahead of him. But with Sayin bounced out early in the playoff and Mendoza gearing up to face Oregon in Atlanta, Dante Moore has an opportunity to exact revenge on his biggest conference rivals.

Dante Moore NFL draft stock: Is he a top-5 pick in first round?

Though he hasn't made an announcement yet, it is expected that Dante Moore will declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, though that's a change from earlier in the season when it was believed he'd come back to Oregon. That was before he started shooting up the draft boards and his offensive coordinator, Will Stein, decided to leave to take the head coaching gig at Kentucky. If Dante Moore does declare, many expect him to be one of the first players selected.

The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner projects that Dante Moore will be the No. 1 overall selection to the Las Vegas Raiders, though others like The Ringer's Danny Kelly see Dante Moore falling to No. 2 to the New York Jets.

His college career is still ongoing, however, with Dante Moore looking to take down Mendoza and the Hoosiers on his way to Oregon's first-ever national championship.

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You can reach Christian at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oregon QB Dante Moore's football journey began in Detroit