Oregon football boasts the nation's fast-rising Heisman Trophy contender in Dante Moore. The quarterback lit up Penn State with three touchdowns in the overtime thriller, sparking the buzz. His head coach Dan Lanning, however, downplayed the growing praise.
Lanning shut down the growing Heisman chatter on his appearance with the Triple Option Podcast Wednesday. He chose not to add further hype to the growing Moore love.
“We’re not going to talk about that,” Lanning told Rob Stone when asked where he believes Moore stands in the Heisman race.
Lanning meant that more as a compliment, though.
Dan Lanning dishes big Dante Moore take amid Oregon start
The leader of the nation's No. 2 team sent this message to fans not taking his QB seriously.
“But if you can’t recognize that this dude is a baller shame on you,” Lanning bluntly said. “Like this guy is special and all that stuff takes care of itself.”
Lanning added: “He belongs in any conversation there is, but we ain’t at the end of the season yet either, and all of it adds up, all of it matters. And Dante knows that but that dude played his a– off in that game. Really impressive effort by him.”
The reigning Big Ten Conference winning head coach Lanning even had to convince Moore to stay the course. Moreso during a time he sat behind Dillon Gabriel. Lanning even mentioned some first round talents who needed extra collegiate years to become league ready.
“Most of them were like Jayden Daniels, playing in his fifth year, and Bo Nix, playing in his sixth year. Like these guys, Michael Penix had been maximizing their career; the key was how they played when they left. So, I think he realized it’s not about how fast it says but how I play when I get it on the field,” Lanning told the Bussin' With the Boys Podcast.
Moore is now a +750 favorite to claim the coveted CFB award by DraftKings. He's compiled 1,210 yards with 14 touchdowns and just one interception. He can further boost the Heisman chatter by exploding against No. 8 Indiana at Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
