Todd McShay believes 3,500-yard college football QB is not ready for NFL

A prominent college quarterback faced a difficult reality check during a lopsided College Football Playoff semifinal defeat on Friday night.

The signal-caller struggled with turnovers and the pace of play throughout the contest while his team fell well short of reaching the national championship stage. The performance raised immediate questions about whether the young passer is truly prepared to make the jump to the professional ranks.

The Ringer’s Todd McShay offered a blunt assessment of the prospect’s readiness following the game. The analyst argued that the quarterback lacks the requisite experience to succeed immediately in the NFL and pointed to the low number of career starts as a major red flag. McShay emphasized that rushing the development process often leads to failure for talented but raw players.

McShay suggested that history provides a clear warning for quarterbacks who enter the draft without enough collegiate repetitions. He believes the player would benefit significantly from returning to school to accumulate more game action. The analyst relied on data and trends to support his claim that the passer is not yet equipped to handle the complexities of the next level.

Historical trends suggest Dante Moore needs more time at Oregon

Todd McShay specifically identified Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore as the player who needs to return to school during his The McShay Report podcast. McShay used a long list of successful quarterbacks to illustrate the value of collegiate experience. He noted that players like Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels benefited immensely from staying in school longer.

"Bo Nix: 60+ starts. 50+starts are: Cam Ward, Jayden Daniels. 40+: Baker, Purdy, Penix, Herbert, Hurts, Dart," McShay stated. "30+: Cousins, Geno, Goff, Daniel Jones, Trevor, Stafford, Lamar, Dak, Caleb, Love."

McShay contrasted this list with Moore, who has made only 20 starts. He argued that the few quarterbacks who succeeded with fewer starts are rare outliers.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore — The Ringer's Todd McShay believes quarterback Dante Moore would be best served returning to the Oregon Ducks next season to build up more playing experience. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"The two guys that are sub-30 but still had 25 or 29, in Mahomes and Josh Allen respectively, are superhuman," McShay explained. "And Mahomes sat a year with Alex Smith, teaching him in the quarterback room, and Andy Reid, one of the great developers. Everyone seems to forget Josh Allen really struggled as a rookie."

The analyst pointed to specific struggles Moore had during the 56-22 loss to Indiana. He highlighted how the speed of the game seemed to affect the sophomore's processing.

"I'm looking at Dante Moore in his 20th start, and he looks like a guy, and yeah, the running back on the RPO shouldn't have hit his elbow to throw," McShay observed. "But the strip sack and several other plays. I'm watching the quarterback. Yes, there were, your receivers are covered up, but we got to speed up that clock, man. I don't think Dante Moore's ready."

McShay warned that ignoring historical trends often results in drafting busts. He listed several quarterbacks who struggled after entering the league with questions about their readiness.

"Knowing the history, and knowing all the problems, and knowing the Trubiskys and the Haskins and the Mark Sanchezes and the Anthony Richardsons," McShay said. "Hearing that list I just gave you, and watching him then tonight, are you comfortable taking him at one overall?"

The analyst concluded that one more season would put Moore in a much safer category for NFL evaluators.

"He can come back next year, play 12, 13, 15 more games. And now he's in the range we're talking about with Stafford, Lamar, Dak, Caleb, Love," McShay said. "I feel a lot more comfortable then."

Historical trends suggest Dante Moore needs more time at Oregon

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