Oregon freshman wide receiver Dakorien Moore announced himself to the college football universe on Saturday with an impressive showing in just his second game. The No. 1 receiver in the 2025 recruiting class showcased his versatility and pure talent during the No. 6 Ducks’ 69-3 blowout win over Oklahoma State.
Moore finished the day with two catches for 69 yards and also scored on a 25-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter to blow the game open. Moore scored the first receiving touchdown of his career on Oregon’s second offensive possession when quarterback Dante Moore found him wide open down the sideline.
Moore caught the ball, made two defenders miss, and used his speed to get in the end zone for the first time.
After finishing with just three catches for 26 yards last weekend in his debut against Montana State, Oregon made it a clear part of its game plan to get Moore involved early. While on the surface that might not seem like a huge deal, one of Oregon’s biggest question marks coming into the season was its wide receiver room.
That problem could’ve been tenfold had Moore stuck with his original commitment to LSU or committed to Texas — a school that was considered the favorite to land the No. 9 overall player in the recruiting cycle. With his commitment, Moore marked the highest-ranked skill position player Oregon landed since signing running back De’Anthony Thomas way back in 2011.
Moore joined an inexperienced wide receiver room alongside transfer Malik Benson, and returners Justius Lowe and Gary Bryant Jr. The depth of the room took a hit earlier this spring when Evan Stewart, who was Oregon’s top returning wide receiver, suffered a knee injury that puts his availability for the 2025 season in question. On top of that, former five-star recruit Jurrion Dickey was suspended indefinitely from the program last month.
The outlook for Oregon’s offense looks a lot brighter than it did just a few weeks ago because Moore — and the rest of the receiving corps — might be able to alleviate some of those concerns with their play.
Moore has the upside and pedigree to become the go-to wide receiver for Dante Moore — a former blue-chip recruit himself — who transferred into the program last offseason from UCLA. When the Ducks lost their top two wide receivers in Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden to the NFL, the door was naturally going to be wide open for someone to step up, which is something that Moore appears ready to do.
The impact of the freshman wide receiver in the modern era can’t be understated. After all, college football fans just saw Jeremiah Smith take the sport by storm after posting one of the best seasons ever by a wide receiver in his first year, en route to the Buckeyes winning a national title.
If the early returners are any indication of future success, it’s that Moore appears to be on track to become the next great wide receiver in college football.
Read the full article here
