Mario Cristobal has been dishing out offers to elite talents across the Class of 2023 since arriving in Coral Gables.
On Saturday, Cristobal offered his first quarterbacks since arriving in South Florida, and they’re both amongst the elite. The first was Detroit (Mich.) Martin Luther King five-star quarterback Dante Moore. The second was Downey (Cali.) Warren five-star Nicholaus Iamaleava.
Moore, who the industry-generated 247Sports Composite ranks as the No. 8 overall player and No. 3 quarterback, is already fielding high-level interest from Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Penn State. Cristobal had Moore high on his board while he was the head man at Oregon as well.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder came onto the scene as a freshman in 2019 after leading King to a 11-3 record and playing for a Division II state title.
After adding 2731 yards and 33 touchdowns through the air as a sophomore, Moore followed it up with 3,044 yards and 40 touchdowns while completing 70 percent of his passes and a state title victory.
Moore has been to South Florida before, but that was in early 2021 when in-person recruiting was still shut down due to the global pandemic. He competed in the Battle Miami 7-on-7 tournament alongside multiple other Power 5 talents.
247Sports Midwest analyst Allen Trieu puts a first-round grade on Moore.
“Varsity starter since his freshman season. Has played well against top competition and in clutch situations in big games. Mature, polished, does not appear to rattle easily. Stands in against the rush and will deliver throws while taking hits. Does a nice job of reading coverages and does well throwing into windows against zone coverages. Throws with good touch down the field. Can fire it in there when he needs to. Has good arm strength but maybe not a big big cannon. Solid athlete who has added more mobility to his game as the years have gone on, but is not likely to be a big threat as a designed runner, but can do a little bit of that if needed. Physical traits are solid to good, but it is his intangible traits that are elite. Works extremely hard and that total package projects him to be a multi-year college starter and someone who can be an early draft choice.”
247Sports is very high on Iamaleava, who ranks as the No. 5 overall player and the No. 3 quarterback in the class. Alabama, Oregon, USC, and UCLA are the programs who have made some headway with the 6-foot-5, 195-pounder, who is also a top volleyball recruit.
Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Georgia, Clemson, and Ohio State are amongst the programs who got the Golden State native on campus since the summer.
As a junior, Iamaleava tossed for 2244 yards with 33 touchdowns to just one interception.
