Dakorien Moore Says he's more Mature and Feeling 100-Percent

Last year five-star wide receiver Dakorien Moore came in with some lofty expectations. He stood out in the Spring and made an immediate impression to start the regular season.

Unfortunately he finished the season injured and although he returned to the field, he never seemed all the way back.

Now he enters the Spring knowing what to expect in this offseason and building on lessons learned as a freshman. Here is what Moore had to say after Thursday’s practice.

On Offseason Improvements:

“Yeah, I’d say I’ve improved a lot, mainly on my maturity. You know, coming in last year, it was a lot of me just, like, thinking I’m kind of being picked on a lot. Coming from Texas, you know, like, of course, like, I’ve been in a lot of situations, but it was a lot of situations that I’ve, like, never been put in. So being that I was put in them situations last year, I’m kind of more prepared for them. And being that I’m around like J-Mac, E-Stew, you know, like some of the older guys who was here last year, just like us connecting well, having a good connection, like pushing me through.”

On Injury and Condition:

“Yep. I would say I’m to 100% or at least I feel like I’m 100%. But yeah, just mainly like stay in the treatment room. Last year, being that I came from high school, like I wasn’t really in the training room a lot. You know, growing up, you hear a lot of get in the training room, go do this, that, and the third. But, you know, you young. You know, you don’t really feel like you got to get in there. You go back the next day, you feel good. But coming up here, being that we work every single day, you know, it’s definitely a toll on your body. So being that I got injured last year, definitely like humbled my experience to actually stay in the training room.”

On Competing in Track:

“Yeah, if I’m being honest, I started football and track at the same time. I was about five years old, started football and track. So I actually have a lot of love for it. You know, it’s like my second secondary sport, like literally. So being that I grew up, you know, running it, came fresh out of high school straight from it, you know, to here. I was supposed to do it, you know, when I first got here.
But I felt that football workout and I was not going to be able to do it, you know, when I first got here. But being that I feel like, you know, I’m more mature now, I’m able to go out there and, you know, fight for what I love.”

On Long Jump:

“Long jump is, like, something that I have, like, most of my love for. You know, it’s, like, something that I feel like is, like, my isolation piece, something I can step away and just like work on my craft individually.”

On Being ‘Picked On:’

“Mostly, you know, you come in, you hear a lot of guys say that five-star stuff don’t matter. You know, you ain’t nothing that you did in high school. You got to re-establish yourself. So, they was kind of proving that to me a lot. You know, we got here, being that, you know, this is Oregon. You know, we have talent everywhere, big guys, you know, working hard everywhere. So, they was kind of, like, feeding that into me.”

On Dante Moore:

“Yeah, so last year when I first got here, Dante was one of the first ones to talk to me.
You know, we have the same last name. So he reached out to me and stuff like that. He’d been pushing me ever since. He was the first one, you know, getting me with, you know, all the older guys and stuff like that, you know, with throwing outside of practice. So he’s kind of like getting me like more targets, you know, working me back in. Being that I couldn’t really like finish the season off strong that I wanted to last year.”

On Koi Perich:

“He’s been tremendous. I feel like Dillon Thieneman set a standard. You know, when he first came in here, just seeing the way he worked, first one in, last one out, you know, he was really like the standard for that.
You know, but Koi Perich came straight in and was on that same type of timing. He came in, was ready to work. He’s been a leader. Being that he came from another school, it didn’t matter to him. He came in kind of pushing another standard, you know, cause they aren’t the same player, but I think he’s coming in and giving everything he got.”