Oregon doesn't expect quarterback Dante Moore to return from his concussion this season, coach Dan Lanning announced on Monday. Moore hasn't played since Sept. 26, when he suffered a head injury after taking a late hit to the head from USC linebacker Desman Stephens II. "We really got clarity for us this last week," Lanning said.
"If it was up to Dante in any shape or way, he would want to be out there playing for the guys. Unfortunately, it's not really up to Dante. It's not really up to me.
We can control the setting in practice where he's able to do things for us, but that's not always the case in the game. "We said before that this is a serious deal that he'll 100 percent be able to make a full recovery from. For him to be out there on the field for us right now, that's not going to happen." Lanning added that he anticipates Moore playing a role for the Ducks, even though he won't be able to play in game action, including helping the defense improve in practice.
"We're getting one of the best scout team looks every single week in practice, and he looks good out there," Lanning said. Prior to his injury, Moore completed 69.7% of his passes for 926 yards, nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. Last season, when Moore earned third-team All-Big Ten honors, he connected on 71.8% of his passing attempts for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
With Moore out of the lineup, the Oregon offense has been among the worst in Big Ten play as the team has oscillated between backups Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas. Those shortcomings resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer on Sunday. Asked what he needs to see out of Raiola and Thomas moving forward, Lanning emphasized "consistency," especially when it comes to starting games well.
"We've been a really good quarterback room off the bench," Lanning said. "We haven't been a very good quarterback room consistently at the start of games." Oregon (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) returns to action Saturday against No. 20 Northwestern. Even after last season, Moore was projected to be a first-round NFL Draft pick, but he chose to return to college in hopes of winning a national championship.
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