Rivals Rankings Week: Will Dante Moore remain a top-three QB in 2023?

Five-star quarterbacks Arch Manning and Malachi Nelson sit atop the 2023 rankings after the first full release of the Rivals250 for that class. Detroit Martin Luther King’s Dante Moore is the third-ranked quarterback in the class, landing at No. 35.

Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Penn State all hosted Moore this summer and are putting up strong fights in his recruitment. The four-star also holds national offers from Arizona State, Florida State, Tennessee and Oregon.

After a summer that included a performance at Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta, Rivals National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney and National Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt debate whether Moore is a lock to remain in the top three quarterbacks in this class.

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“Moore may finish higher than the No. 3 quarterback in this class. The top two spots in the current Rivals250 belong to quarterbacks, but Moore does not sit too far behind at No. 35. He led Martin Luther King to a state title as a freshman and has few weaknesses in his game. He is a good-sized quarterback who throws with both power and accuracy and has very clean mechanics.

"Moore will sit in the pocket and wing the football around the field, but does have enough athleticism to make plays with his feet if something breaks down. I have not seen Manning in person yet, but I have seen the other five-star quarterback in this class, Nelson, and am not convinced that he is a better prospect than Moore.”

The real debate when it comes to 2023 quarterbacks is whether Manning or Nelson is the better player and which one projects to college stardom. That is unknown right now but if someone wants to take the side of Nelson I would be all ears. The Oklahoma commit is a phenomenal talent, has unique abilities that translate to today’s college and NFL game, and picked the perfect offense for his skill set.

That is not to say I dislike Moore at all because he’s incredibly talented as well and that’s why he’s right on the cusp of potential five-star status as that group gets built out in the 2023 class. But Manning and Nelson are in my view the clear-cut two best quarterbacks and then Moore is right there with Downey (Calif.) Warren’s Nico Iamaleava and Texas A&M commit Eli Holstein.

Iamaleava is an athletic specimen who continues to develop quickly at the position and his coaches rave about his upside. He is already a national recruit. And in this conversation, let’s not forget Holstein is a super quarterback as well that was a big target for coach Jimbo Fisher. There is a good chance Moore stays in the top three at the quarterback spot but I also wouldn’t be shocked if Iamaleava or Holstein move ahead of him over time, either.

TODAY'S RANKINGS RELEASES: Offensive tackles | Offensive guards | Centers | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Running backs | All-purpose backs | Pro-style quarterback | Dual-threat quarterback

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Monday: Five-star countdown | Arch Manning is new No. 1

Tuesday: Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney's thoughts | Meet the new five-stars | Top player at each position | Could there be five five-stars from Alabama?

Wednesday: Teams with the most R250 commits | QB rankings released | RB rankings released | WR/TE rankings released | OL rankings released

Thursday: Defensive position rankings released

Friday: State rankings

Saturday: Rivals Roundtable

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