Dante Moore Reveals New Mascot for the Oregon Ducks Quarterback Room

The Oregon Ducks are in the middle of spring practices, and quarterback Dante Moore recently revealed his addition to the quarterback room in a newly release episode of "Meet the Flock" from Oregon's media team.

Dante Moore Buys Oregon Quarterback Room a New Pet

Moore revealed that he bought a pet tortoise as a mascot to live in the Ducks' quarterback rooom, a decision he made after forgoing the 2026 NFL Draft and returning to Eugene, Oregon, for another season.

oregon ducks dante moore pet tortoise quarterback room koa ka'ai ryder hayes dylan raiola akili smith jr dan lanning — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore walks the field after the Ducks’ loss as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Oregon fans, Oregon players, Oregon staff. We have a new mascot for the quarterback room, it's our tortoise. I got him for the quarterback room when I announced I was coming back. I felt like we needed some life in the room. Some great smiles, some great joy. An animal that doesn't make much noise or doesn't move much, but I got a tortoise," said Moore.

In the video posted by the Ducks, Moore also revealed that Oregon quarterback Ryder Hayes came up with the name Rex for the new quarterback mascot. Hayes, entering his redshirt junior season with the Ducks, explained how Rex came to be part of Oregon's quarterback room.

"Dante texted me on a random Monday. He was like 'Yo come to the facility real quick,' and I opened the back of his car and there's a terrarium in it, so I had no clue what I was getting myself into. But he's at the stage, his like yearly cycle, where he's like dormant, so he's basically hibernating but for tortoises," said Hayes.

Meet the Flock

Episode 1 - Quarterbacks#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/1rINp59lFK
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) March 21, 2026

While the Oregon football team is far from dormant as spring practices start up, Hayes pointed out one similarity between Rex and the Ducks quarterbacks.

"He loves to soak in the hot water. He's a big hot tub guy, much like the QB's in the room. Big hot tub guys," said Hayes.

The addition of a pet tortoise was one of many elements included in the episode of "Meet the Flock." The quarterbacks edition was the first episode, and the Ducks appear to be introducing the 2026 roster with a series of videos. The short show gives fans a chance to meet new Ducks like quarterback Dylan Raiola as well as younger players like Akili Smith Jr.

With the behind-the-scenes content, those outside of the Oregon football program are able to see some of the more laid back moments that go on, like buying a pet tortoise or teaching each other how to play Wordle.

Oregon Quarterbacks Coach Koa Ka'ai Introduced

The episode also shows some of the position meetings during spring practice, introducing Oregon's new quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai after the departure of offensive coordinator Will Stein to the Kentucky Wildcats.

"What do you want your performance to be this spring? What does that look like in your mind? Number two, what do you want your impact on the organization to be this spring ball?" said Ka'ai in a meeting with the Ducks quarterbacks.

Ka'ai is an Oregon alum who has spent years as an assistant coach with the Ducks, working with running backs and tight ends before settling in with the quarterback room. Before becoming Oregon's quarterbacks coach, he was the assistant quarterbacks coach for the 2025 season.

Will the coaching reshuffle have any impact on Moore's season at Oregon? The Ducks quarterback enters the season with high expectations after forgoing the NFL Draft, but if the episode of "Meet the Flock" reveals anything, it's that Moore is still as even keeled as ever.