Birmingham, Alabama product Kason Boston has a lot to be proud of these days. Once his senior season at Jackson-Olin High School is...
To read this article and more, subscribe now —
SALE: 50% off first year
Get access to this article and all of the in-depth coverage from the 247Sports Network with this special offer.
50% OFF ANNUAL VIP
Already a subscriber? Login
">247Sports
50% off Annual VIP Pass
50% OFF ANNUAL VIP
Boston debates college options in advance of fall decision
VIP
Dante Moore combines talent, work ethic, lofty goals
Proposal: NCAA won't dock year of eligibility for fall sports
QB royalty Arch Manning debuts at No. 5 in 2023 rankings
Jadeveon Clowney reportedly has a set asking price or won't play
Dante Moore combines talent, work ethic, lofty goals
By ALLEN TRIEUWed Aug 19 2020
0
A Power Five assistant coach was at Detroit King in the winter recruiting their talent-heavy roster in the 2021 and 2022 classes.
Crusaders head coach Tyrone Spencer figured, while he was there, he might as well also watch the tape of their freshman quarterback Dante Moore. Five plays in, that coach excitedly called back to his head coach and told him they needed to start recruiting Moore and although quarterback is not his position, he was recommending an offer.
The tape only speaks to part of what makes Moore special and had him land at No. 12 in the initial 247Sports Top 100 for that class.
He threw 33 touchdowns as a freshman and led King to the state title game. That came after an 0-2 start. His first start came at Wayne State in the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic in front of a big audience against perennial power Detroit Catholic Central. King got off to as bad of a start as they could have in that game with turnovers and spotting C.C. an early lead. Other freshmen may have mentally tanked at that point, but Moore hung in there and fired passes in including one he dropped in over the shoulder for a touchdown that led a comeback effort which ultimately fell short, but propelled his confidence and the team's confidence in him.
"That first game, we knew he was special," Spencer said. "We were down big on some turnovers that weren't his fault and when he led the comeback charge, we knew he was going to be pretty good. That helped the older guys see his talent and gave them trust in min, but what also helped him is he understands relationships and he's a selfless, team player."
"I think that game helped shape him because he displayed leadership and toughness," offensive coordinator Terel Patrick said, "and showing those characteristics, everybody followed. We were optimistic, but we didn't know all the way what we had. Once his teammates saw how tough he was and he took shots from people on the cusp of being grown men -- you roll out there with a 14-year old -- and he popped up after those first two games against perennial powers in the state, it helped everybody around him believe in him. We gained more from those two losses than in a lot of our wins, and we've had a lot of wins."
Moore has worked in the off-seasons with Devin Gardner, who played at Michigan before stints in the NFL and CFL and now operates Young Go Getters, a training program in Michigan. The two have worked together since Moore was 11.
I think the one thing when he was that age, playing for the Spartans in little league, private school kid, he was probably a little under-confident," Gardner says. "But I worked with him one time and I was like okay, a lot of things can be fixed, you can work on the confidence, but there's something to this -- something to him, not only as a quarterback but something to him as a person. He was diligent even back then as in working on his game and asking questions, a ton of questions, way too many questions sometimes. I thought there was something there from the start."
Last off-season, the sessions ramped up as Moore was looking to earn the starting job at King as a freshman. He trained alongside the player he was replacing, Dequan Finn, a Toledo signee who had won a state title. Moore had a chance to see the big shoes he was filling and also got to see how Finn and other seniors, like Army-bound Ahlon Mitchell approached training.
Gardner's coaching style is demanding, and Moore is one of the many who embrace it and even demands more from his coach.
"We have a couple kids that respond in a special way where they make themselves try to be so perfect," Gardner said. "He's one of the best kids at taking coaching and the thing about him, a lot of the time you don't have to coach him because he will know if something is wrong and he'll ask the question before you can even think and know how to fix himself. So he will essentially go out and see why a ball was a bad ball and go through the process of fixing it on his own because he's been so diligent and ask so many questions that it puts a lot of pressure on me."
Last off-season, which Moore being young and ready to go against bigger, stronger varsity players, Gardner worked extensively with him on hanging on the pocket and being able to take the hits while making the proper throws. That worked, as evidenced by what he did when facing pressure. This year, the emphasis was on adding a running element to his game.
"We went overkill on taking shots and he was comfortable doing that, now we expand on it," Gardner said. "He threw 33 touchdowns, which is amazing, I never threw 33 touchdowns in a season in my life, but he rushed for like six yards, so now we add the dual-threat part of it and he had the athletic ability. He committed full on to it of getting stronger and faster and I'm upset the season isn't happening because of what he was poised to do."