Transfer QB Dante Moore on playing for Oregon football, Dan Lanning
Oregon football quarterback Dante Moore talks transferring to Oregon and learning from fellow transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Dante Moore put himself back on Oregon’s radar with a phone call to Dan Lanning in December.
But the two didn’t talk football, at least not at first.
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The former UCLA quarterback, who was once committed to Lanning and the Ducks, reached out to the Oregon coach soon after entering the transfer portal when the 2023 regular season ended.
“I called him, really just checking up on life,” Moore said Thursday. “My mom, sadly, she had breast cancer and I was playing through that throughout the season. She got diagnosed with it during spring ball last year, so really, the first couple things he asked me was checking in on my mother.”
Moore’s mother has improved. His own prospects for personal growth seem to be trending in that same direction as well.
The road to Oregon hasn’t been the most straight forward for Moore, a former five-star recruit in the class of 2023 who was ranked as the nation’s No. 2 overall player by ESPN and No. 3 overall by 247Sports.
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He was verbally committed to the Ducks throughout the fall of 2022 then flipped to the Bruins right before the start of the early signing period that December.
The Detroit native said his change of heart came after Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham was named head coach at Arizona State in November 2022.
“As a quarterback, your OC needs to be your best friend,” said Moore, who added that he and Will Stein — Dillingham’s replacement at Oregon — did hastily attempt to build a relationship but ultimately he chose to sign with UCLA and play for coach Chip Kelly.
Dante Moore plays through mistakes at UCLA
Moore, who the Bruins listed as 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, played in nine games and made five starts for UCLA last season. He completed 114-of-213 passes (53.5%) for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
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He started his career by throwing for 615 yards, seven TDs and one interception in his first three games as the Bruins opened 3-0.
Then came a brutal stretch for the freshman. In consecutive games against then-No. 11 Utah, then-No. 13 Washington State and then-15 Oregon State, he threw for 689 yards, three TDs, six interceptions and was sacked 16 times.
He also had an interception returned for a touchdown in each of those games.
“It was kind of like my freshman year of high school,” Moore said. “I remember my freshman year of high school I threw 12 picks and I was like ‘Damn, what are you doing?’ But at the end of senior year I threw two picks. And the end of the day, it’s about development. College football is hard.”
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Once the season ended, Moore said there was a sense around the program that changes were coming and sure enough, in early February, Kelly departed Westwood for Ohio State to the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator.
Moore was long gone by then, having transferred to Oregon in mid-December.
“When I hit the portal … I kind of knew where I was going already,” Moore said. “(Lanning) just checked up on me, laughed, joked around, got a visit out here and I knew it was time to get back out.”
Dante Moore learning from Dillon Gabriel
Before Moore transferred, the Ducks had already signed Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel, a sixth-year senior and veteran of 49 career starts who enters 2024 tied for fourth in NCAA history in career total touchdowns (152), seventh in total yards (15,925), eighth in passing yards (14,865) and eighth in passing touchdowns (125).
Gabriel is the presumptive one-year replacement for Bo Nix, the 2023 Heisman Trophy finalist who led the Ducks to 12-2 record and Fiesta Bowl victory.
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“You know, DG, he’s been in college football for quite some time now,” Moore said. “Really, when I first got here, no cold shoulder, no bad blood at all, I’m just thankful to be around him. He’s taught me many things and I ask him many questions.”
Moore said he is competing with Gabriel every day and thrilled to be in the Oregon locker room, even if it took an extra year to get there.
Still, he said he has no regrets about his journey to Eugene.
“I was just blessed to even play college football at 18 years old as a true freshman,” Moore said. “Learned a lot, made a lot of mistakes, but at the end of the day, all I can do is just learn.”
Follow Chris Hansen on X @chansen_RG or email at chansen@registerguard.com.
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Starting in 2026, a new law in Oregon requires all non-motorized boats, regardless of size, to buy and carry a waterway access permit. That includes paddleboards and kayaks.
But there has been some push back from one organization.
Ben Roche is part of Let Us Paddle. The organization aims to repeal the updates to the waterway access permit.
“It’s Oregonians constitutional right to free access to our waterways. And human powered watercrafts are the best way to do that, and the least environmentally impactful,” said Roche.
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According to the Oregon State Marine Board, permit fees range from $6 to $35.
If you’re caught without a permit, there’s a $115 fine.
The state agency says the funding goes directly to two programs.
One supports aquatic invasive species watercraft inspection stations and the other improves access points to the water that specifically serve paddlers.
“There is a need for inspection and we support that. What we don’t support is charging recreational paddleboarders for cleaning of motorboats that enter our state,” said Roche.
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Roche adds, the state is only funding a few dozen access points.
Let Us Paddle has collected at least 20,000 signatures, and they want about 130,000 more by July 2.
They need at least 120,000 verified signatures to put the repeal before voters on the November ballot.
But even if they don’t meet the requirement, Roche says he’ll keep pushing for change.
“I think it’s really a poorly crafted bill that collects a small drop in the bucket of revenue but impacts thousands of recreational kayakers across the state,” said Roche.
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FOX 12 reached out to the Oregon State Marine Board to ask more questions, but have not yet to heard back.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused dispersing new undercover vehicle license plates starting April 15.
FILE – The U.S. Department of Justice seal is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP
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The Justice Department is suing four states after they refused to issue confidential license plates to federal law enforcement agencies, despite having done so in the past.
The lawsuits, filed Wednesday in Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts and Maine, seek to force states to resume what the federal government describes as long-standing, routine policies.
The scope of the combined litigation raises questions about ways the federal government has aggressively carried out immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump’s reelection, and whether the Constitution grants states the power to deny federal law enforcement agencies license plates that effectively conceal officers’ identities.
“Oregon’s DMV policy illegally discriminates against the United States, violates the Supremacy clause, and is unconstitutional,” attorneys for the federal government argued in court filings.
Oregon DMV temporarily paused disbursing new undercover license plates to all federal agencies starting April 15.
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“The DMV is currently evaluating the undercover vehicle registration program to ensure the program complies with Oregon law,” Oregon DMV Administrator Amy Joyce explained in a May 22 letter to Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
A recent lawsuit filed against Oregon State Police alleges the state is providing personal information to federal immigration authorities through databases, including Oregon’s DMV.
“If the DMV process for issuing undercover plates could be questioned under Oregon law, the State is at risk for additional litigation,” Joyce explained in the letter to Shumate.
The state’s review of the undercover license plate program doesn’t prevent federal vehicles from legally driving on Oregon roads.
“State and local law enforcement are unaffected by this pause and the federal agencies that participate in the program are able to continue to use their existing unexpired plates,” Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek wrote in a statement.
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Immigration officers have relied on these license plates for enforcement, including during Operation Black Rose in Oregon. According to U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, officers arrested more than 1,498 people between September and March, which led to 1,057 removals.
The lawsuits filed Wednesday argue the states’ DMV policies undermine ongoing federal investigations.
“Federal law enforcement agencies should not be subject to the challenged DMV policy, which is unconstitutional and recklessly disregards officer safety, public safety, and federal operational needs‚” the Justice Department’s lawsuit states.
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Thursday is shaping up to be another active weather day across the region, with the potential for strong to severe thunderstorms developing this afternoon and evening. The greatest severe weather threat is expected across southeast Oregon, where the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Slight Risk for severe storms. Portions of southwest Idaho remain under a Marginal Risk, meaning isolated severe storms are possible. Boise and much of the Treasure Valley are mainly under a general thunderstorm threat, but storms could still bring gusty winds, blowing dust, lightning, and brief heavy rain later today.
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Storms are expected to first develop across southeast Oregon and near the Nevada border this afternoon before tracking north and northwest through the evening hours. The strongest storms will likely stay west of Boise, especially across areas of Malheur County, western Owyhee County, and parts of the west-central Idaho mountains.
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Impacts
The biggest impact today will likely be strong outflow winds. Some storms could produce wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph, with isolated gusts near 70 mph possible in the strongest storms across eastern Oregon. Winds of that strength can blow around patio furniture, trampolines, garbage cans, and other loose outdoor objects, bring down tree limbs, and cause isolated power outages.
Blowing dust may also become a major issue in open desert and agricultural areas, especially across eastern Oregon and southwest Idaho. Visibility could quickly drop on roads and highways, creating dangerous travel conditions for drivers.
Some storms may also produce hail capable of damaging vehicles and outdoor property, while brief heavy downpours could lead to ponding on roads and reduced visibility. Frequent lightning will also make outdoor activities dangerous through the afternoon and evening.
Even though Boise is not currently in the higher severe weather categories, residents should still stay weather aware because any thunderstorm that moves through the Treasure Valley could produce sudden gusty winds and localized blowing dust.
Looking ahead
Storm chances continue Friday with additional showers and weaker thunderstorms before conditions gradually dry out heading into the weekend. Temperatures will cool closer to normal on Saturday before another warming trend develops next week.
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