Dante Moore, 5-star QB Recruit From Detroit, Chooses Oregon Over Michigan and Jim Harbaugh

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Michigan and Jim Harbaugh have taken yet another loss.

While Harbaugh has amassed a 61-24 record at Michigan since moving to the Wolverines in 2017, his tenure has been marred by numerous high profile losses, including a 0-5 record against Ohio State entering the 2021 season.

The longtime coach finally conquered his Buckeye demons last fall, but Michigan quickly bowed out of the College Football Playoff shortly afterwards in a blowout loss to eventual National Champion Georgia.

After arguably Harbaugh’s most successful season in 2021, news broke Friday that he and the Wolverines future expectations were dealt a significant blow.

Michigan’s top target in the upcoming 2023 recruiting class had been five-star QB and local Detroit product Dante Moore.

Well the 12th overall ranked Moore announced Friday on live television that he was spurning the Wolverines and committing instead to the Oregon Ducks.

Beyond losing Moore, Michigan also recently saw another in state product and 2024 five-star QB CJ Carr choose Notre Dame over staying home.

Prior to the announcement, the Wolverines had been desperately hoping to add another QB in the 2023 class, after signing only three-star Jayden Denegal during the 2022 recruiting period.

Recruiting had generally been viewed as a strength for Harbaugh in previous years, although top-5, Ohio State level classes have been hard to come by. 247 Sports had Michigan ranked 12th in 2022, after finishing 13th the year before.

Missing out on any five-star level player is hard, especially when it’s a quarterback. But it’s even worse when your top target is just a few miles down the road and instead chooses a team halfway across the country.

It’s one thing to beat Ohio State once, but it’s something entirely different to develop a roster capable of competing with the Buckeyes year in and year out. Now that USC will be joining the already loaded conference in two years, Michigan’s path back to a national title will get even harder.

The first step for Harbaugh to sustain success would be to keep highly regarded locals in Ann Arbor. That goal just took a significant hit with Moore choosing the Ducks.

Written by Ian Miller

Ian Miller is a former award watching high school actor, author, and long suffering Dodgers fan. He spends most of his time golfing, traveling, reading about World War I history, and trying to get the remote back from his dog. Follow him on Twitter @ianmSC

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  1. Michigan alumni and 2 decade season ticket holder. I’m also a varsity coach in Metro Detroit and coached vs Dante Moore in the playoffs in 2020. The kid is a stud, no doubt. Best QB from the state since Devin Gardner and maybe as far back as Drew Henson (says a lot about Michigan HS QB talent when the best 2 QBs are from 1997 and 2010).

    Based on my sources in Detroit PAL the offer Oregon gave was insane. Several million and jobs with Nike for the family. I want Michigan to up their NIL but I don’t want them shelling this out to HS kids. We will be fine with Cade and JJ for the next several years.

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