Coach Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks team is gearing up for their first scrimmage of fall camp at the conclusion of week 2. But even with the big scrimmage ahead, Lanning detailed a day-by-day mindset from the team.
Lanning spoke to the media on Tuesday about the early progress he’s seen from players like receiver Dakorien Moore and defensive back Na’eem Offord entering their sophomore seasons, and also provided a key injury update.
Everything Dan Lanning Said
Defensive Back Na’eem Offord’s Progress:
“Night and day. As far as – and he’s a great example of knowledge of the game. You asked about knowledge of the game. This guy understands the coverages to play, and there’s still plenty to clean up. But he’s proving to be a guy that can play for significant snaps, right?”
“As long as he continues to improve because his skill set’s so unique. He’s long. He has great speed. Challenges with the ball, he’s physical, right? All those things are really showing up for him so far in fall camp.”
Receiver Dakorien Moore’s Growth:
“Just mastery of the offense, right? Just as far as knowing what route I’m running, how I’m running it, what that looks like. I think his push is a little bit higher, like the level of intensity he’s able to bring drill to drill, I think he’s been able to step up.”
“And continue to see what things he’s able to do in the future. Obviously, he’s a dynamic player. We knew that last year, but consistent play, right, comes with knowing the ins and outs of the offense, being able to make checks to the line, and that stuff’s showing up for him.”
Where Linebacker Brayden Platt is in Terms of Being Able to See the Field:
“He’s going to be limited for a while with the injury that he felt in the spring. I don’t want to put a timeline on it, but he’s going to be out for some time until we see where he’s at and continue to progress and challenge himself.”
Linebacker Devon Jackson’s Speed:
“I saw that number, and I don’t want to discredit Devon, but that’s a pretty high number. I don’t know. I don’t know Devon’s fast, extremely fast. But maybe it’s in the 23’s. I don’t know. But anything over 20 is impressive, especially at that position.”
“He’s consistently one of the fastest players on our team. So again, don’t want to discredit him, but that seemed a little inflated, maybe. That being said, there’s not a faster linebacker, I think, in college football probably than Devon Jackson.”
What Safety Koi Perich Has Shown:
“I’ve said it before. The guy’s obsessed with football. You noticed on the other side, whenever you’re playing against him, that he’s a guy you had to plan for, right? He was a dynamic player. Obviously, he’s used in a lot of different ways in his previous stop.”
“I think he’s had a little bit more of a narrowed focus here, which has allowed him to perform at a really high level and continue to push every single day he steps on the field.”
Defensive Lineman Matthew Johnson Growth Since Committing:
“We talk on our team about being obsessed. Matt’s a guy that’s been obsessed with getting better, right? And he’s worked himself into a role where he’s going to play a lot of significant snaps for us because of what he’s done.”
“The work that he’s put in, the strength that he’s gained, the weight that he’s put on, his intentionality with the way he does the drill work, and he’s disruptive. He’s hard to block. He’s powerful, so he’s a guy that’s given everything that he needed to right to put himself in position to play. And if he continues to push, he can be a really dynamic player for this defense.”
Matthew Johnson’s Physicality:
“Well, I mean, in the run game, you got to be able to anchor, and you got to be able to handle 320-pound offensive linemen pushing on you. And sometimes that’s a double team. The guy that can stay in that gap and control it, and then be able to split that gap and make a play, or is a guy that can make an impact for us, and Matt’s proven that he can do that.”
Cornerback Davon Benjamin’s Versatility:
“He’s played primarily STAR for us in fall, but he’s learned some other positions as well. He’s able to move around. I’ll say this: the guy’s really hungry to learn. He spends every minute extra meetings, extra time.”
“He’s, again, he’s one of those guys that’s obsessed with football and has a great skill set, and he’s definitely going to be able to help us. And as he continues to learn more and more, the more he grows, the more he’ll be able to help his team.”
Strength and Performance Coaches Wilson Love and Kyle Bolton’s Impact on the Program:
“I don’t think it’s any secret when you combine special players right with an unbelievable strength staff and the job that coach Love’s done and all those guys in that room, you see guys that make you know tremendous gains and are able to make an impact. And it starts with having great players. When you get those great players to perform like we have in the weight room, you have a chance to have a leg up on the competition.”
Defense Being Able to Accomplish More Compared to This Time Last Season:
“I think they have great knowledge of what we’re trying to accomplish. I think our defense has done a good job of taking complicated and making it simple.”
“We have a lot of guys that last year were young guys, and we still have plenty of young guys on our team, but some guys that have really absorbed it and put in the work to learn what they have to do.”
What He’s Learned About How Dylan Raiola Handles the Pressure:
“Yeah, he handles it really well. I’m super impressed. I think he’s over-scrutinized, probably overpraised. He’s been on both ends of that, and the last few days in practice, the guy’s thrown some dimes. He’s been an unbelievable teammate. He’s been a great teammate for Dante, a great guy to have in the room.”
“So I’m really excited to see what he can do and let the play speak for itself, and the teammate himself speak for itself. But he’s getting better every day. I’m really proud of his progress.”
Being on the New Turf:
“Yeah, it’s been great to have the field space. I think it’s allowed us to do some more big field drills where you’re a little more limited when you have just one field that you’re operating on with 100 yards, but that piece has been really nice. Turf’s in great shape.”
Favorite Part of This Point in Fall Camp (And If Talking to Media is His Least Favorite):
“Yeah, I mean that might be near the top of the other end, right? I love being on the grass, man. I love seeing guys that make a mistake one day and they come out and fix a mistake the next day. It’s the guy that pushes a little bit harder and fights his way through practice because it’s taxing.”
“You know the growth moments. I love watching our coaches. You know, this part of the season I get to get into a lot of different meeting rooms and see our coaches coach. We have some really good teachers. That’s great to show up and just to see. Least favorite part, you probably nailed it on the head, is sitting here.”
Process of Finding Leaders:
“Yeah, so it’s an everyday process. Doesn’t stop, right? Got to keep pushing. But like I said, there were some high moments in practice and some lows. I think we got to keep pushing through those moments and figuring out who those guys are going to be.”
Expectations for Saturday’s First Scrimmage:
“Yeah, you know, we’re not there yet. We’re not Saturday, so I’m really worried about tomorrow’s practice first, but when we get to that point, it’ll be fun to see our guys go out there and compete, tackle, right?”
“See if some of these thud drills you get a false sense of, we’re a good tackling team, right? When you actually take some guys to the ground and challenge yourself from that aspect, I think it puts us in position to be a lot better and really evaluate. Are we a team that can break tackles? Are we a team that can make tackles?”
Opening Statement:
“Good day of practice today. Guys pushing, second day in a row, practice six, starting to feel a little bit of fatigued set in a little bit, but overall proud of the finish at the end of practice. Some really good compete on both sides of the ball.”
If He Lost His Voice From Practice:
“Yeah, just encouraging. This is that time of year.”
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
