Dante Moore's Top Transfer Portal Landing Spots After Former 5-Star QB Exits UCLA

With transfer portal season in full effect, another major domino has fallen as UCLA quarterback Dante Moore is entering the transfer portal following just one season with the Bruins.

The former five-star quarterback committed to Chip Kelly and Co. after originally planning to head to another PAC 12 power in Oregon. He had a roller coaster freshman year, getting the start for the majority of the campaign.

Moore began to struggle as UCLA got into conference play, even getting benched in favor of Ethan Garbers for several games—including the program's huge win over USC in the penultimate game of the season.

Garbers got hurt in the regular season finale, leaving Moore to take the majority of the snaps in an ugly 33-7 loss against Cal.

In nine appearances, Moore threw for 1,610 yards to go along with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He didn't add much in the ground game either.

At one point Moore—who was ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting cycle, according to 247 Sports composite—looked like the future of the program. Now, he potentially leaves Kelly and the program in a state of disarray following an underwhelming first season.

Here are some potential landing spots for Moore.

Before Moore was out in Pasadena playing at the Rose Bowl, he was known as the King of Detroit.

Spending some of his formative years in Michigan, he dominated during his career at Martin Luther King High School in the Motor City, where he helped lead the Crusaders to back-to-back state titles as a junior and senior.

Moore finished his high school career with 9,880 passing yards and 135 touchdown passes.

And during that illustrious career, he was obviously recruited very hard by the surrounding programs, especially the Wolverines, who may be in need of a quarterback fairly soon.

Following an excellent junior season, it could be likely that Michigan signal caller J.J. McCarthy is headed to the NFL draft, leaving a gaping hole that Moore could slide into and help continue the Wolverines' dominant run from the past couple of seasons.

Sticking with the concept of returning home, Moore could also value the opportunity of rebuilding a once great program in Michigan State.

The Spartans were at one point a power of the Big 10 but have certainly fallen off over the past several seasons since the retirement of Mark Dantonio, who was with the program from 2006-2019.

And if Moore is going to thrive under anyone, it may be new head man Jonathan Smith.

Smith, who was hired away following an excellent past couple of seasons at Oregon State, has recent experience of helping turn around the careers of former star quarterbacks, having done so with D.J. Uiagalelei in 2023 thanks to a quarterback friendly offense.

Michigan State fans are certainly a fan of the idea Smith and Moore linking up.

Smith and Moore have the potential of building something special together with the Spartans over the next few seasons should the latter decide to make the move to East Lansing.

It's not even a secret anymore.

The Auburn Tigers are in desperate need of a new quarterback. Hugh Freeze and his staff managed to get as much as they could out of junior Payton Thorne, but he may not be able to cut it in what's about to be a new look SEC.

Thorne threw for 1,671 yards to go along with 15 touchdowns and nine interception. He also rushed for 520 yards and three more scores.

While Moore is still unproven, there is still plenty of upside that Freeze—who has been known for getting the most out of his quarterbacks—could work with.

Freeze got good to great production out of relatively unknown guys like Chad Kelly, Malik Willis, and Stephen Calvert, among others.

And as he enters his second season at Auburn, Freeze has managed to get a top-20 recruiting class in the nation that includes five-star wideout Perry Thompson, potentially giving someone like Moore an elite weapon on the outside.

If Moore wants to head to the most competitive conference in the country and show what he's made of, Auburn may be the best place to do it and Freeze may be the best coach to get it out of him.

While Washington is in the midst of one of the best seasons in program history, the Huskies need to keep one eye on the future.

A future that includes a move to the Big 10 without superstar quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Penix Jr, who transferred to the Huskies from Indiana ahead of the 2022 campaign, is in his final season of eligibility—saving the best season of his collegiate career for last. He has led the No. 3 Huskies to a perfect 12-0 record while passing for 3,899 yards to go along with 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He's also rushed for three more scores.

Unfortunately, coach Kalen DeBoer will need to begin looking for Penix's successor and Moore could be the right man for the job.

While the Huskies and Bruins didn't meet up this season, DeBoer will certainly have a familiarity with Moore thanks to his PAC 12 ties. And given Moore's Michigan connections, he could be the optimal choice signal caller to help lead Washington into its Big 10 era.