Notre Dame Must Go All-In For Dante Moore, And Win

A case could be made that the next year is the most important one in decades for the Notre Dame quarterback position, and bigger picture for the Fighting Irish football program. If Notre Dame is going to get over the hump as a program it needs to develop current freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner into the star he's capable of being, and it must land an elite quarterback in the 2023 class.

Notre Dame has struggled to consistently recruit top quarterbacks, and its inability to develop the top quarterbacks they have landed is arguably the biggest factor holding the program back from getting over the hump and winning a championship.

Developing Buchner in 2022 is crucial, but we'll talk plenty about that in the weeks leading up to the spring and months leading up to the season.

When it comes to landing an elite quarterback, Notre Dame has employed a curious strategy on the 2023 trail, which comes on the heels of a strange handling of the 2022 quarterback class.

It's only January, but the way recruiting has sped up we are getting closer and closer to the top quarterbacks all choosing their schools. Notre Dame needs to quickly figure out a strategy that is going to result in it landing an elite quarterback.

That player needs to be Detroit (Mich.) King standout Dante Moore.

Look, there are other talented quarterbacks on the board, and that includes Denton (Texas) Guyer signal caller Jackson Arnold, who sources tell Irish Breakdown still plans to visit Notre Dame despite his recent commitment to Oklahoma. Notre Dame could also continue to push for talented passer Christopher Vizzina of Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian.

Both would be very good pickups, but neither are Moore.

Notre Dame has not had the quarterback play needed to be a champion. It hasn't had a Deshaun Watson (Clemson), Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) or Joe Burrow (LSU) type of player. Arnold and Vizzina are very good players, but they don't project to be that kind of player.

Moore is that kind of player. It's not about his ranking either, it's about him having elite talent, it's about him having an elite feel for the game, it's about him being a great fit at Notre Dame, it's about the fact quarterbacks with his tools don't often attend school just three hours from the South Bend campus.

Dante Moore is a special player, and he's exactly the kind of quarterback recruit Notre Dame needs to take the program to the next level. We saw his elite skills during the 2021 season, one which he passed for 3,047 yards and 40 touchdowns with a 70.0% completion rate while leading King to a state championship.

Moore had an absurd 12.5 yards per attempt.

I'll have a film breakdown coming up soon on our Irish Breakdown YouTube channel, but it doesn't take much film watching to know Moore is special.

Landing Moore is not going to be easy. Moore has developed a strong connection with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, and head coach Marcus Freeman was on the King campus this week, but those are just starting points. I fully expect Notre Dame to be in this recruitment until the end, but being a finalist and landing Moore are obviously two very different things.

That's why I believe Notre Dame needs to employ an all-in strategy with Moore. If it was up to me I would publicly back off the other quarterbacks, inform Moore of your all-in strategy and then begin implementation of it.

This would mean getting out to see Moore as often as the rules allow, and that should include the entire staff. It would mean Freeman and Rees putting the full court press on the talented quarterback, and not only building a strong bond with him, but also building a strong bond with everyone who will have influence on his decision.

It would mean making sure Moore knows the influence that comes with being the quarterback at Notre Dame. Not only from what it would mean for him within the program and competing for championships, but also what it would mean for him from a NIL/financial standpoint. I would contend that there isn't a single position in the game that is more recognized than the quarterback at Notre Dame, and this is especially true when that quarterback is actually good.

When that quarterback has the talent, personality and potential that Moore possesses it immediately thrusts him into the college football spotlight.

Showing Moore how being on campus at Notre Dame, being surrounded by the kind of future business leaders that will be on campus with him during his tenure, and how his own education at Notre Dame adds even more value to his earning potential could be quite impactful, if we're to assume Moore actually cares about that.

If it's just about football with Moore that argument is just as strong. Notre Dame is banging on the door of the elite teams in college football. The hiring of Harry Hiestand - one of the game's elite line coaches - makes playing quarterback in South Bend even more attractive.

Notre Dame can also promise to surround him with a very talented roster, one that only gets better if Moore commits. He is the type of elite recruit that becomes a bit of a pied piper to the school he chooses. This would be especially true at Notre Dame, and players like Carnell Tate and Jalen Brown become even more attracted to the program if Moore signs up.

Rees can also show Moore what kind of potential his offense has. When Rees was given more control of the offense during the second half of the 2021 season the numbers were very, very impressive.

Notre Dame averaged 40.2 points per game, 306 passing yards per game, 8.8 yards per pass attempt and saw its quarterbacks complete over 68% of their throws in the final six games of the season. They did that with a solid quarterback in Jack Coan, but not one that has anywhere close to Moore's talent and potential.

It's a risky strategy, and normally I'm against the whole "putting all your eggs in one basket" strategy, but this is different. Notre Dame has a legitimate chance to land a quarterback that can be a program changer. He's not a gap closer, Moore is a gap eraser.

To land him the staff needs to apply a bold strategy to his recruitment.

Trying to keep several top targets happy and feeling prioritized is just as risky, if not more, than an all-in strategy on Moore. If Rees and Freeman are serious about winning a championship, they need to be willing to take this kind of risk, go all in on Moore and do whatever it takes to get this one done.

Do that and landing Moore is a real possibility. Land Moore and develop Buchner and the Irish program all of a sudden goes from a really good team that can make a playoff run to a great team with a chance to compete for titles in the present and future.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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