Oregon football star Dakorien Moore makes track debut

With nearly two dozen of his football teammates and coaches loudly cheering him on, Dakorien Moore made his long-awaited return to his second-favorite sport. The Oregon wide receiver made his Ducks track and field debut April 17 with a sixth-place finish in the long jump during the opening night of the Oregon Team Invitational inside Hayward Field. Moore, a former five-star football recruit who is his freshman year at Oregon, jumped 24 feet, 6½ inches on his third attempt.

He jumped one more time before passing on his final two attempts. Oregon teammate Titouan Bizet was fifth at 24-11¼, and the Kansas State trio of Tafadzwa Chikomba (27-¾), Uroy Ryan (25-8¾) and Croix DaCunha (25-0) had a 1-2-3 finish, respectively. “I wasn’t nervous, I was just more anxious to get back on the runway,” Moore said.

“Like I said, it’s been a minute. So just getting on the runway, feeling the sand again, got the jitters out. ” It was Moore’s first track meet since his junior year of high school in Duncanville, Texas, and his best mark since setting his personal best of 24-7 as a sophomore in 2023.

“It was amazing, actually,” Moore said of his return. “I’ve been talking about it all week with my teammates. Just being back out here, starting to train again, just being on the track in general, you know, made me feel good.