Key quotes from Dan Lanning at Oregon media day, with context
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning kicked off fall camp in Eugene Monday with a 20-minute press conference. The Ducks’ second-year head coach addressed a number of key topics, including the state of Oregon’s offense under first-year offensive coordinator Will Stein, expectations for quarterback Bo Nix, and the impact of Colorado leaving the Pac-12.
Here are a few of his more notable quotes from the afternoon, with some added context.
Q: What has been the process the past few months of getting everybody on the same page?
Lanning: “No secret for us, we’re always looking for opportunities to connect with our guys off the field. Yesterday we went and played some paintball, apparently, I was a popular target. I took some good hits and then have some funky bruises all over but that was a lot of fun. We recently did climb Spencer’s Butte, obviously, there are a couple of purposes to that. Spent a lot of time at our coach’s houses this offseason, my house as well, trying to find moments to spend time with each other outside of ball.”
Context: Lanning has gone to great lengths since he arrived at Oregon in December 2021, to ensure that connection is one of the pillars of his program.
Oregon offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson said that has been one of the major drawing points to the Ducks’ program for players and recruits.
“The guys beside me, if I know their, ‘Why?’ I’m going to play harder,” Powers-Johnson said. “I know who they are and how hard they’ve worked to get here. (connectivity) is a giant component.”
Q: Around college football, we hear coaches say they are committed to their program, but oftentimes leave anyways. Why should fans believe that you will stay at Oregon for the long term?
Lanning: “You got $20 million? Look I don’t mind, we talked about when you cook breakfast. The chicken, you pop out an egg, he’s committed. But the pig, he’s all in. That bacon, it takes a little bit more. As coaches so often it is not fair in college football, in my opinion, when a university makes a commitment to a coach but a coach doesn’t make a commitment to that university. I want to be here. Believe or don’t believe whatever you want. I mean there’s no secret; this is what I want. I said before the grass isn’t always greener like I have everything I want here.
“There’s a vision for this to continue to grow. We’re able to get elite players, I think it’s no secret. As long as we can continue to recruit at a high level develop and continue to have world-class facilities, continue to push In the bar in everything that we do, everything’s here that’s necessary for us to be successful. It’s something I want to sign up for, not something I shy away from.”
Context: Last week, Lanning inked a contract extension that increased his annual salary and buyout considerably.
Lanning’s two predecessors at Oregon — Willie Taggart and Mario Cristobal — both left UO for other coaching jobs despite having previously stated that they had no intention to leave the program. So, the alarm bells of many Duck fans were raised last November when Lanning was linked to the Auburn head-coaching job.
However, Lanning shot the rumors down immediately.
“The grass is not always greener, and the grass is damn green in Eugene,” Lanning said. “I want to be in Eugene for as long as Eugene will have me.”
Q: With Traeshon Holden, how do you evaluate what he brings to this team? And looking back at that situation in February in hindsight, how do you feel you guys handled that?
Lanning: “You operate with the information you have at hand. I think we were always going to put the best interest of our players first, but when based on the information you have, you have to utilize that information. And certainly, it’s a learning opportunity for every single one of us, but it doesn’t mean the information would have created a different approach. You just want to make sure that you continue to get accurate information. I’m excited about Traeshon. He’s got great size. He’s a big catch radius. He’s picking up our system well, I think he’s proven he can play at a high level at other places. I’m excited to have him play at a high level here.”
Context: Receiver Traeshon Holden transferred to Oregon in December after spending his first three seasons at Alabama. But he was dismissed from the program in February after he was arrested for menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, and coercion in Eugene.
In the days that followed, the Lane County District Attorney’s office reviewed body cam and surveillance footage from the incident and ruled that “the evidence does not support charging Mr. Holden with any crime.”
Soon after, Lanning re-instated Holden to the team.
While speaking with reporters on Monday, Holden was asked about the situation and what he learned from it.
“It definitely was (tough),” Holden said. “I’ve never been in trouble before. But the truth came out and everything came out correct. I’m here now and I’m just glad to be here.”
Q: What do you anticipate the future of college running backs looking like? Are guys going to want to keep playing running back knowing that might not be the most valuable position in the long term?
Lanning: “Yeah, I think so because they like touching the ball, right? That probably starts in Little League. You want to score touchdowns, so you like to be the running back and you play for the love of the game. There’s a lot of lost sight, but at the end of the day, you want players to play for love the game and guys that love football and love hard work. We’re lucky to have that here. We have a great running back room. This conference has a lot of great running backs as well. But I think you’ll keep seeing guys that want to touch the ball. If you have guys that want to touch the ball they’re gonna want to play running back.”
Context: The perceived value of NFL running backs among front offices has been a hot-button issue lately, to say the least.
The Ducks currently feature one of the top running backs in the country. Bucky Irving is a preseason All-American, and Noah Whittington and Bucky Irving are both starting-caliber running backs as well. Additionally, the Ducks feature two 4-star running backs from the ’23 signing class — Dante Dowdell and Jayden Limar.
Q: What does Jurrion Dickey bring to the receiver room for you guys?
Lanning: “I’ve said it a bunch but if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. So we’re gonna see. We haven’t been out there in pads. … we’ve been out there running routes. Obviously, he’s a talented player, as well as a lot of our young players on our team so excited to see what he can bring. His film was great in high school. We want to see it carry over to what it can look like in college. It’s a different game in college, and he’s got some work to do.”
Context: The top signee in Oregon’s 2023 class is 5-star receiver Jurrion Dickey, who the On3 Industry Ranking tabbed as the No. 28 player and No. 2 receiver in the nation.
Aside from Cameron Colvin in 2004, he is the highest-rated receiver recruit in program history.
Dickey did not enroll early and was not with the Ducks during spring ball. He underwent surgery in October and did not start running routes again until this spring.
There are understandably high expectations surrounding Dickey as he enters his freshman season with the Ducks. But he will have to fight for playing time amidst a receiver room that is stacked with talent.
Q: How is Terrance Ferguson progressing?
Lanning: “He’s done a great job this summer we’ll continue to assess and obviously, the safety of our players is priority number one. You don’t want to rush to get back, but yeah, he’s certainly looked good this summer and is tracking in the right direction.”
Context: Terrance Ferguson, the Ducks’ star tight end, was sidelined for much of spring ball due to injury. It sounds as though Ferguson — and a couple of other Ducks — will be ready to roll for Oregon’s first fall practice on Wednesday.
Q: Can you confirm that JJ Greenfield is no longer with the program?
Lanning: “That’s correct.”
Oregon sophomore safety Jared “JJ” Greenfield was not listed on the Ducks’ updated roster that was distributed on Monday.
It sounds as though his Oregon career has come to a close. This marks the second time that Greenfield, a 2020 signee, has left the program. He did so in August 2021 and spent the ensuing season at San Mateo College.
Greenfield returned to UO the following spring as a walk-on, though, and was given a clean slate under Lanning.
“He’s gone through his own process and he’s going to school here,” Lanning said in April 2022. “He’s a guy that wanted an opportunity to come back and we wanted to give him an opportunity to see what he can do.”
Greenfield was expected to push for playing time at field safety and nickel.
Q: What are your initial thoughts on Colorado leaving the Pac-12?
Lanning: “Not a big reaction. I mean, I’m trying to remember what they won to affect this conference. I don’t remember. Do you remember them winning? I don’t remember.”
Context: None needed.
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