Notre Dame Offers Elite 2023 QB Dante Moore: ‘It Was Very Shocking’
New Orleans Isidore Newman School’s Arch Manning became Notre Dame’s first quarterback offer of the 2023 class on St. Patrick’s Day morning as a part of Irish’s “Pot of Gold” recruiting day.
A couple hours later, quarterback offer No. 2 went out; Detroit Martin Luther King’s Dante Moore received the good news from the Fighting Irish staff.
“It was very shocking,” Moore told BlueandGold.com about his offer from the Irish. “It’s a prestigious school and great program. They were in the College Football Playoff last season; it’s a winning school. I’m blessed that they offered me today. I thank the Man upstairs every day.
“Brian Kelly is a great coach and it’s a great program. I’m really excited, to be honest. Every Saturday during the fall, I see them on TV and they’re a winning program. That’s a big thing.
“Coach [Tommy] Rees played quarterback at Notre Dame and is a great quarterbacks coach,” Moore said. “He did a great job with Ian Book. If I do go there, him being able to help me out would be great.”
Moore’s quarterback trainer is Devin Gardner, who played for the Michigan Wolverines from 2010-14. Gardner is plenty familiar with Notre Dame as he played against the Fighting Irish three times, and he has good things to say about the university.
“He says that Notre Dame is a great program,” Moore said regarding Gardner. “I’ve heard a lot of great things about Notre Dame.”
Moore’s first scholarship offer came from Michigan on June 18, 2018 before he went into the eighth grade. While he’s been recruited by Division I programs for nearly three years, it’s still early in his recruiting process. Michigan and Notre Dame figure to be top contenders in his recruitment, but Moore insists that he’s completely open.
“No college is higher on my list than any other college,” he stated. “They’re on the same level. Notre Dame was shocking to be honest; it’s a big, prestigious school. But I’m not going to favor them, Michigan or anyone right now.”
Notre Dame joins the likes of Arizona State, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia on Moore’s early offer sheet.
Moore was named to the 2020 Detroit Public School League All-City team and the 2020 Metro Detroit all-region football Division 3 team.
During his sophomore season, Moore threw for 1,710 yards with 30 touchdowns and three interceptions on 119-of-170 attempts.
“First of all, I’m a leader,” Moore said. “With no leader on the field, nothing good happens. That’s a huge thing to me. I’m also blessed to have the skill set that I have, but the main thing for me is my leadership.”
Moore was listed on the 2020 MaxPreps Preseason Michigan All-State second-team offense and the 2020 MaxPreps 2020 Preseason Sophomore second-team offense. For his efforts in 2019, MaxPreps had Moore on its Freshman All-American second-team offense.
The 6-2, 185-pounder has already been invited to the 2023 Under Armour All-America Game and 2023 All-American Bowl.
“His ball placement is second to none,” Gardner recently told Rivals.com about Moore. “I call him surgical. When he’s trying to hit the left shoulder, he does it eight times out of ten. He puts it exactly where he wants. When he misses, it’s four inches off not four feet off. His accuracy and ball placement are his best attributes as a passer.”
Notre Dame got a later start at quarterback in the 2022 class, as the staff didn’t extend its first scholarship offer until August of 2020. Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic’s Steve Angeli received the offer right before the start of his junior season. Angeli committed to Notre Dame on March 4, 2021.
The Irish are getting things started much earlier in the 2023 class, as Manning and Moore are still in the spring of his sophomore year.
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