Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Do the Irish really need 5-Star QB Dante Moore?

Before anyone can flip out about the title... I absolutely want 5-Star QB Dante Moore to be part of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish recruiting class. Also, to be fair, if Moore was committed to Notre Dame right now these thoughts would likely be nonexistent.

But that’s not the case.

On the OFD Podcast, I mentioned that I started to come around to the idea that Dante Moore may not be as important to the future of Notre Dame football as some fans and some media members are making him out to be. I was surprised at the lack of pushback from that episode, and then on the Irish Illustrated podcast, Tim O’Malley kind of echoed some of those thoughts.

We WANT Moore — but does Notre Dame really NEED Moore?

The answer mostly revolves around current Irish quarterback, Tyler Buchner. In my opinion, if Buchner is the real thing (and the jury is very much still out on that one) the actual need of a great QB in the 2023 class goes down a bit. If Buchner is the real deal and exhausts his eligibility after the 2024 season, that need goes much further down.

Let’s just say, for example, Notre Dame is in the playoffs in 2023 and make some noise with Buchner as a two year starter. Maybe he comes back for his senior year at a shot for a title and a Heisman in 2024. This could mean that any 2023 QB (Moore or otherwise) would be on the bench for the first two years. In this day and age, it’s not surprising at all to see a former 5-Star transfer to another school after his freshman year if the job isn’t open in his sophomore year.

So... there’s a very possible scenario that looks like this:

• Tyler Buchner is awesome and comes back for 2024.
• Dante Moore commits to the 2023 class.
• Notre Dame is unable to lockdown an elite QB for the 2024 class.
• Dante Moore transfers.
• Steve Angeli and Ron Powlus duke it out for the job in 2025.

There’s also a possible scenario that looks like this:

• Tyler Buchner is awesome and comes back for 2024.
• Dante Moore commits to the Texas A&M Aggies.
• Notre Dame signs 5-Star QB C.J. Carr to the 2024 class.
• Carr and Angeli duke it out for the job in 2025.

OBVIOUSLY there are many other scenarios, and the ones mentioned could be far flung in just a few months, but I think those two represent a lot of how the quarterback situation goes down nationally.

What I’m really trying to say is... I’m not 100% sold that we NEED Dante Moore even though I 101% WANT Dante Moore. Some Irish fans are pretty fatigued with Moore’s recruitment at the moment. While it’s certainly understandable from a fan’s point of view, it’s also completely understandable that Moore is doing what he thinks is best for him. We may not like the timeline, but if you step back a bit and look at it from a few different angles, this isn’t the “do or die” type of recruitment that many of us made it out to be just a month ago.

Certainly a Moore commitment would help strengthen Notre Dame’s position for a chance at a #1 ranked class in 2023, but as far as 2025 might be concerned — it’s possible that it may not be the end of the Notre Dame football program.

In the end... I guess this all depends on Tyler Buchner. Just a little more pressure for him before he’s even named as the starter for the 2022 season.

But still... #WeWantDante

Twitter @verypiratey