Dante Moore’s Return to Oregon Gives Dylan Raiola the Best Possible Scenario

Dan Lanning has been one of the best coaches in the country since arriving in Eugene.

With the help of Oregon’s abundant NIL fund, he’s raised the Ducks’ floor to that of a yearly title contender.

Over this stretch, Lanning has found great success in plug-and-play options at quarterback. He has an impressive 48–8 record since taking over as head coach in 2022 and has succeeded with three transfer quarterbacks.

Bo Nix struggled during his time at Auburn before posting a 22–5 record at Oregon. Dillon Gabriel bounced around the country but had his most success at Oregon, leading them to a Big Ten Championship and an undefeated regular season. Now, most recently, Dante Moore left UCLA and led the Ducks to two playoff wins this past season.

Despite many mock drafts having Dante Moore as high as the No. 2 selection, Moore has decided to return to college to continue polishing his game.

I am wildly shocked by this decision, because Moore is foregoing $50 million in guaranteed money if he were picked second in the draft. I guess the idea of playing for the Jets was enough to keep him enrolled at Oregon.

That leaves transfer quarterback Dylan Raiola in a tricky situation.

The former five-star and two-year starter at Nebraska was expected to lead the Ducks in 2026, with Moore expected to leave for the NFL. However, this might be the best-case scenario for all parties.

During his time in Lincoln, Raiola never lived up to his five-star billing. He was a middle-of-the-road quarterback in the Big Ten and wasn’t the game-changer Nebraska was hoping for.

Nebraska didn’t do the best job acquiring talent to help Raiola. The Cornhuskers had a weak offensive line, a receiver room among the worst in the country, and a run game that wasn’t much better.

No matter what happens with Raiola at Oregon, he will be surrounded with far more talent than he would ever see at Nebraska.

However, despite the team surrounding Raiola, he had many of his own problems.

Despite having the ability to make any throw imaginable, he struggles to stay on schedule and run a fluid offense. He also likes to create outside of the pocket but doesn’t have the athleticism to succeed at that.

Raiola also tended to leave clean pockets when facing blitzes and could not create in those situations.

Most importantly, Raiola suffered a broken fibula this season, an injury that could take a decent time to recover from and further limit his peak athleticism.

That’s why it might be phenomenal for his career if he can sit behind Dante Moore for a season.

Moore was also a five-star at UCLA before he transferred. He had all the ability in the world but needed to fix some mechanical issues. A lot of those issues were fixed during his redshirt season in 2024, and he could’ve been a first-round pick if he declared this year.

Raiola will be a junior next season if he finds playing time, but a redshirt season might be perfect for him.

Getting to work with Lanning and Moore to help refine him as a pocket passer could turn him into a first-round talent.

Outside of a few players that could thrive anywhere, the situation for a quarterback is the most critical factor in determining success.

Raiola should stay with Oregon in 2026 and develop his game into one that works on Sundays.