(Jesus Ramirez / UCLA Athletics)
As in, wow, this kid has a really quick release.
And also as in, wow, this kid is really young.
While Dante Moore’s classmates at Detroit King High were enjoying prom and the waning days of their senior year, the most highly rated quarterback recruit in UCLA history was in Westwood grasping the playbook, commanding the huddle, and competing for the starting job, all before his 18th birthday.
“I might be the youngest on the team,” Moore said. “Having a person like Duke Clemens, my center, him telling me to calm down and breathe, and me being in the huddle just conversing about anything I have questions about is great.”
Clemens, a senior and returning starter, enjoys mentoring Moore.
“Him wanting to get better and being all in already as such a young guy, I’m impressed with him,” he said. “He’s just very outgoing. Easy to talk to. I think that’s important for a quarterback, to get to know the guys.”
Perhaps the most intriguing decision Kelly must make in the fall is whether to immediately entrust the offense to Moore or take a safer route and start Ethan Garbers, who spent the last two years as backup to Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Moore has unlimited upside while Garbers likely would minimize mistakes. Kelly insisted the pecking order of his quarterbacks is furthest from his mind, adding that transfer Collin Schlee and returners Justyn Martin and Chase Griffin are also in the mix.
“There is a progression going on that we are excited about,” Kelly said. “But we have a lot of time before we play our first game. We haven’t had one discussion depth-wise at the quarterback position.”
For his part, Garbers isn’t conceding anything.
“Even last year I was treating it like my team, like I was going to be the starter,” he said. “For any quarterback, that’s how you are going to treat every single day. It’s important to have that mindset because you are one play away, one snap away.”
Moore, who surprisingly pulled his commitment to Oregon when starting quarterback Bo Nix decided to return in 2023, has a fan in tight end Maliki Matavao, who transferred from Oregon.
“He’s unreal,” Matavao said. “I’ve had a lot of quarterbacks throw to me and he’s going to be the next big thing coming out of college. Guarantee it.”