Oregon Quarterback Dante Moore Not Expected to Return This Season Weeks After He Suffered a Brutal Hit to the Head

University of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore isn't expected back for the rest of the season after suffering a concussion in a game last month

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning said in a press conference that the 21-year-old's return is not his decision despite his desire to play, following a hit on the head in a game against the University of Southern California Trojans in Los Angeles on Sept. 26

Moore has been able to resume practicing, but Lanning explained that featuring him in a game would be riskier because they can't "control the setting" to the same extent

University of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a hit to the head in a game last month.

Moore, a highly-rated 2027 NFL Draft prospect, suffered a concussion during the Oregon Ducks' game against the University of Southern California Trojans in Los Angeles on Sept. 26.

Moore, 21, resumed practice earlier this month, but Ducks coach Dan Lanning said he doesn't expect him to return to games this season.

"I'm not anticipating him being back, no," Lanning said during his weekly press conference in Eugene, Ore., on Monday, Oct. 26.

"I think if it was up to Dante, he would want to be out there playing for the guys," he explained. "But unfortunately it's not really up to Dante. It's not really up to me. We can control the setting at practice where he's able to do things for us. That's not always the case in the game."

Moore was injured after sliding during a play in the second quarter of the Sept. 26 game.

Trojans linebacker Desman Stephen II hit him, driving his head into the ground before staff rushed onto the field to treat him. He was placed on a stretcher and then taken into an ambulance.

A fight nearly broke out as Oregon players confronted USC defenders, and officials and coaches tried to break it up. Stephen received a targeting penalty and was disqualified.

Lanning avoided speculation about whether Moore, who transferred to Oregon from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2024, would return next season.

"We'd love to have Dante out there," he said. "He's still going to be a big part of this team and helping us move forward, finding opportunities for us to be better. I can tell you, we're getting one of the best scout-team quarterback looks every single week in practice, and he looks good out there," Lanning said.

Moore was named the top college football recruit by Sports Illustrated in 2022, joining the UCLA Bruins from Martin Luther King High School in Detroit the following January as an early enrollee, ESPN reported at the time.

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He appeared in nine games for the team before transferring to Oregon, per ESPN . He spent 2024 as backup for Dillon Gabriel, now with the Cleveland Browns, before taking a redshirt.

Last year, he earned third-team All-Big Ten honors, CBS News reported. He could have entered the 2026 NFL Draft, but decided to return to college.

In four games this season, Moore threw for 926 yards and nine touchdowns with no interceptions, per ESPN .