Key quotes from Dan Lanning following Oregon’s first fall practice, with context

Oregon made its long-awaited return to the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex outdoor fields on Wednesday for its first day of fall camp.

The practice was closed to reporters, but head coach Dan Lanning held an interview afterward and fielded questions for approximately eight minutes.

Here are a few key quotes from Lanning, with a bit of added context.

Q: Was Dante Dowdell able to practice today?

Lanning: “Yeah, Donte was able to go today. Jerry Mixon was the other person. Thank God they’re both healthy. They were both in an incident there. Jerry had a little bit of a laceration that they were able to stitch up. Both those guys are going to be good.”

Context: On Monday, Oregon freshman running back Dante Dowdell and freshman linebacker Jerry Mixon were involved in a car accident in Eugene.

According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Dowdell was transported to the hospital with minor injuries after the incident. When Lanning was asked a follow-up question about Dowdell’s laceration, he simply said Dowdell and Mixon are “both good.”

Q: You guys have a new toy — the Monarc Seeker. How does that help guys in practice?

Lanning: “You want to create game reps. We haven’t had it long enough to be able to tell you a ton. But at the end of the day, we want to create game reps to get as many reps as possible. That something that allows us to have quick, positive reps where you know the ball is going to be in the same location, you can execute at a high level.”

Context: Described by the company that built it as “the world’s first robotic quarterback,” the Monarc Seeker is a modern twist on the traditional Jugs machine. According to Monarc, the machine can “can emulate any type of game-like ball.”

It has a maximum range of 100 yards and a top speed of 75 miles per hour.

Lanning was asked if UO has used the machine to simulate opposing quarterbacks and said the Ducks “are not at that point yet.”

Q: You said there were limited execution errors, were there any from the center position?

Lanning: “No, no, it was actually pretty clean. (Bryce Boulton) had a couple of errant snaps today. But overall, from what I was able to see, our execution there was good. We’ve certainly put an emphasis on it.”

Context: Lanning noted during his opening statement on Wednesday that the Ducks did not have many execution errors during their first practice, but that they are going to need to get “in football shape.”

Bryce Boulton, a 3-star interior offensive line prospect from the ’23 signing class, could potentially be competing with walk-on Kanen Rossi this fall for reps at the center position. Jackson Powers-Johnson and Marcus Harper are competing for the starting job, and whoever doesn’t win the job will likely see playing time at one of the guard spots.

Q: What makes Bryce Boettcher a good candidate to shift from safety to linebacker?

Lanning: “He likes to hit. He’s a good tackler, right? I think his best attributes are those attributes that you’d like to see in a linebacker. So it’s gonna be a transition process for him. But he has good speed. He gets to the ball and plays with a certain level of toughness. So, having him down there, I think helps us.”

Context: Walk-on junior Bryce Boettcher has become a bit of a fan-favorite over the past 12 months.

A former multi-sport star at nearby South Eugene High School, Boettcher also plays for the Oregon baseball team, where he played center field and hit out of the No. 2 spot in the batting order during the Ducks’ postseason run in June.

Boettcher, who was listed at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds on the UO baseball roster this spring, is listed at linebacker on the Ducks’ updated football roster after playing safety last year. He’s a special teams ace who delivered a few massive hits on kickoff coverage last year. Boettcher also had an exceptional spring game.

Q: We’ve seen a couple of guys move from safety to linebacker. Why does that make sense for those players?

Lanning: “You put your guys in a position where you think they can play a high level for you. Ultimately, you can’t play linebacker the way you used to in college football. A Mike linebacker that goes A-gap to A-gap doesn’t exist anymore. You’ve got to go cover tight ends. You’ve got to go cover backs. You’ve got to go run sideline to sideline. So that’s a big piece of it.”

Context: Oregon linebackers Jamal Hill and Jeffrey Bassa — both of whom played safety for the Ducks earlier in their career — looked noticeably bigger during Oregon’s media day on Monday than they were at this time last year, or even during spring ball. During interviews in April, both players said they have gained substantial weight.

Bassa said during media day that he feels “100% more comfortable” playing at linebacker this season as he is now better suited to the physicality of the position.

Redshirt freshman Devon Jackson is another player who fits that mold. At Monday’s media day, a couple of players said that Jackson, who also bulked up during the offseason, is among the fastest players on the team.

Q: What are your thoughts on the expansion news?

Lanning: “Yeah, I’ve been worried about practice. I do not have time to read the nightly news. Maybe I’ll catch up on it at midnight tonight.”

Context: Lanning will certainly have plenty to catch up on.

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