Dan Lanning, Oregon players condemn hit on Dante Moore: 'Disgusting play' - USA Today
LOS ANGELES — Oregon coach Dan Lanning called the play that injured quarterback Dante Moore “disgusting,” while several Duck players believed it was intentional.
Moore took a scary injury in the second quarter of Oregon’s win over USC on Saturday, Sept. 29. He was scrambling and attempting to slide when Southern California linebacker Desman Stephens II hit Moore’s head with his forearm, causing the Oregon player’s head to hit the grass hard.
He appeared to be immediately knocked out, and spent several minutes on the ground before he was stretchered off and taken to a hospital. Stephens was called for targeting and ejected from the game.
"There's a reason targeting exists in football, and that's as clear as day targeting. It's a shame that happened to a good player when, in my mind, that certainly could have been avoided, so it's disappointing,” Lanning said. "It's a disgusting play. You don't want to see it happen. It's disappointing that it happened.”
While the Oregon coach didn’t say anything about whether the hit was intentional, his players weren’t shy on the matter.
"We felt like he did it on purpose, taking a shot and stuff like that,” said receiver Dakorien Moore.
“We know it was very dirty. Unfortunately, (Moore) couldn't protect himself,” added running back Dierre Hill Jr.
That feeling is likely what triggered the immediate response from the Ducks, who confronted Stephens as a scuffle broke out, resulting in offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on both sides.
Lanning admitted when the play happened, he and his team wanted to react because of how emotional the moment was. But he commended his team for staying composed and not retaliating. Linebacker Teitum Tuioti added there was no thought of trying to purposely injure USC quarterback Jayden Maiava.
“It's bigger than that. We can't do anything crazy now that that happened. It happened, it's unfortunate, but we still got to play our brand of football."
In addition to the play, Stephens was heavily criticized on social media and the NBC broadcast for his celebration after the play. Lanning said he didn’t see any of that happening, and USC coach Lincoln Riley said the same thing. The Trojan coach met with Lanning after the game to check in on Moore.
However, Lanning added if there was celebration, “it's really disappointing.”
"I'm praying that (Stephens) can learn from that situation because that's not a moment you want to be a part of,” he added.
While nothing happened in the game afterward, Oregon and USC players were seen yelling at each other in the tunnel postgame.
Moore was taken to a nearby hospital, and his coach said he’s recovering and “he has the ability to move,” but doesn’t want to speculate on the severity of his player’s injury.
