We don’t necessarily disagree with this.
The Michigan Wolverines are hard at work preparing for their date at the Rose Bowl against Alabama on New Year’s Day in the College Football Playoff, but they’re also doing work in the transfer portal to help enhance their roster for next season.
One of the players speculated to potentially go to Michigan is former UCLA quarterback Dante Moore, who was heavily recruited by the Wolverines as a five-star high schooler out of Detroit. Oregon, Florida State and other blue bloods are also in the mix, but the Wolverines present him an opportunity to play for his hometown team.
The opportunity is so great that on Tuesday, ESPN’s Tom Luginbill named Michigan as the best landing spot for Moore. Here is what he had to say:
“Moore is likely at the top of a lot of people’s boards because of his upside, eligibility and flashes he showed this fall at UCLA. Going to Michigan makes sense for Moore, a Detroit native, who would get to go back home and compete for a championship every year during his remaining eligibility. He’s not quite the same runner, but as a passer, he has a lot of the same traits Jayden Daniels possesses.”
That’s some high praise at the end of that analysis — saying he possesses the same arm talent as the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner. That alone should have Michigan fans salivating over the possibility of having Moore transfer to Ann Arbor.
But to Luginbill’s point, that’s kind of what scouts and evaluators saw out of Moore coming out of MLK High School in Detroit as a prep player. He was ranked as the No. 5 overall player and the No. 3 quarterback in the class, and was compared to Dak Prescott by 247Sports’ Allen Trieu , saying in part that Moore is, “Mature, polished, does not appear to rattle easily,” and he, “Works extremely hard, and that total package projects him to be a multi-year college starter and someone who can be an early draft choice.”
The Wolverines may have an open quarterback competition in the offseason should J.J. McCarthy forgo his remaining college eligibility and declare for the NFL Draft . If that were to happen, Michigan’s current quarterback room would consist of Alex Orji, Jayden Denegal, Davis Warren, and incoming true freshman Jadyn Davis. There’s talent there, but there isn’t anything proven among those guys.
But even if McCarthy were to stay, there are reports out there that Moore doesn’t mind sitting behind a veteran quarterback for a year to learn and develop. McCarthy would certainly be able to accommodate that and wouldn’t turn his back on helping Moore, unlike another certain quarterback did to him a couple years back.
Will this transfer end up happening? No one knows at this point, but Moore to Michigan just makes sense.