Dan Lanning emphasizes competition before Oregon's second scrimmage

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The Oregon Ducks football team and the coaching staff will get a better idea of what kind of team they are as the Ducks prepare for a scrimmage inside Autzen Stadium. It’ll be the last scrimmage of the spring before the annual Spring Game on April 25.

There are many new faces on the roster who are expected to play big roles for the 2026 season. In order for the Ducks to accomplish their goals this season, those new faces, along with the veterans, will have to come together as one. These spring practices are just one step towards those goals.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning talked about some of those new faces, both on the roster and on the coaching staff. Oregon will have a new offensive and defensive coordinator for this year. There’s going to be a learning curve on both ends of the ball for the players and coaches. The quicker those bumps are smoothed out, the better.

Although there are new players and some new coaches in new positions, the Oregon system remains the same, and Lanning touched upon that subject as well. You don’t want to see coaches leave for other places, but those coaches getting opportunities just mean the Ducks are a successful program that others want a piece of.

Here is everything Lanning had to say to the media before Saturday’s scrimmage.

Opening Statement

Dan Lanning: All right, some good competitive drills today, really attacking some of the things that we wanted to improve on from the scrimmage had some good tempo periods, some game on the line periods. We incorporated a long drive period where our guys have to stay out on the field for a long time and execute. So all those things showed up, certainly some growth.

Dylan and Dayton Raiola

Question: We saw over the weekend a video of Dayton and Dillon connecting for a touchdown. Just curious what it’s been like to watch those two kind of bond together as teammates. Now, I know Dillon got here a little bit earlier than Dayton, but he’s helped him along, even though they both got here this offseason.

DL: That’s just a great example of family on our team. You know, whether it’s coach, Tuioti coaching son, Tatum, right? Whether it’s those guys getting to be out here together, you know, Brock, his brother, Brody, are both here on the team as well. So that’s been fun for us to be able to see family incorporated into it.

Naz Wyatt

Q: You were talking about showing some of the young guys like Naz Wyatt highlights from last spring and the first scrimmage. I’m curious, what were you seeing at that point that kind of gave you the green light that hecould be somebody.

DL: Well, he’s always had a dynamic pass-rush ability. He’s really hard to block with his speed and athleticism that are unique, you know. So those are things that certainly showed up, but the effort that he plays with … those things ard a separator.

More Raiola

Q: When you guys were looking in the portal to fill out the quarterback position, looking at a guy like Dylan. What did you see that made you believe that he can be part of the future here and be a central piece?

DL: It starts with completing passes right down the field. he had over 70 percent completion percentage in his time there in Nebraska, and we had recruited him in high school; we knew how intelligent he was and how he could make all the throws. So that intelligence is really important in our system, right, and our ability to execute there, but the way he completed passes, and what we thought fit our system.

Recruiting Jeremiah McClellan

Q: Jeremiah McClellan and his high school coach said that one of the reasons he flipped was the relationship that Jeremiah built with you and his high school coach has sensed that too. What did you like about him beyond football? Was there something about him that drew you to him?

DL: he’s just one of those guys? When you see him, you smile, right? And the relationship’s been real. You know, he’s got an unbelievable family with Stacey and Gerald, his brothers, you know, played ball as well. I just thought he was our kind of guy, and to see the growth that he’s made, the steps he’s taken since he’s gotten here, the improvement he’s made, it’s been really refreshing to have on this team. But those relationships matter, and they pay off.

Raiola learning from Dante Moore’s experience of sitting

Q: When you were recruiting Dylan (Raiola), how much did you lean into Dante Moore to help talk about his experience sitting behind Dillon Gabriel and how that was instrumental for him. How much did that factor into that process?

DL: Yeah, I think he was really aware of it. You know, I think they’re good. I say this a lot in recruiting, but the best indicator of the future is the past, and what we’ve been able to do with our guys, the process that they’ve had. I think that was something that was really appealing to Dylan. And obviously, he wanted to be here before he knew if Dante was gonna be back or not just knowing that, that if that was an option, that was gonna be an opportunity for him to be able to grow and accelerate, it’s more about where he was going. Now, “Hey, am I going to be the guy that’s up there first guy going, or am I going to be a guy that’s going to have an opportunity to develop and learn?” I think all those things were really appealing to him and his family.

More Nasir Wyatt

Q: For Nasir to take that next step, you talked about him needing to improve his run defense and be more of an every-down player. Every down player. I know it’s very early, but how have you seen him so far develop that and kind of take on that challenge?

DL: I think the biggest area of growth analysis is learning the system and being able to line up and execute the system. He certainly put on a ton of weight since he’s been here, and there’s still more to gain there, but knowing what you’re doing is a great, you know, a great accelerator on getting you on the field. And Nasir has spent a lot of time and taken a lot of effort to learn what he’s supposed to do and execute on the field, and that’s going to allow him to be able to do more for us.

Running Drew Mehringer’s offense

Q: Dante Moore was saying the other day is that when Coach Mehringer got the full-time job, they met, and he was talking about him with what he likes about the offense, what he doesn’t like about the offense, what he wants to put in, stuff like that. And Coach Mehringer was saying that it’s not just his offense. It’s a collaborative process. So how do you guys sort of do you guys sort of approach that, especially with the players and guys like Dante who really try to shape the offense?

DL: Yeah, I mean, it’s really started from the beginning. Since we’ve been here, we wanted to install the Oregon offense, even going back to when James here, we developed a system, Coach Mehringer has been here for the entire thing, and then we wanted to add wrinkles and adjust and adapt and build but it’s not, you know, the great thing about being in house is it allows us to continue that continuity, like we built a system, right? Our system has a lot of answers. It has a lot of tools.

This offseason, we’re going to add new things that we haven’t done in the past, and build off of that and build to our player skill set. But this is something that will always be growing, always be changing, but always be consistent, right? In their approach, the terminology and what it looks like, which makes it really adaptable for a guy, even if we go through a coordinator change, he understands, okay, so the same play we ran last year, but maybe we’re packaging it with something different.

A’Mauri Washington

Q: A’Mauri Washington’s a guy who has really developed in his years in this program, and I’m curious about the origin of your guys’ relationship with him, and what you saw from him as a high school player, and as he started to develop.

DL: It starts with size and explosive power. You know, I think this guy’s extremely explosive. I think what he had to work on as he got here was his competitive stamina, the ability to go harder for longer, right? And those moments, I think he recognized earlier, okay, it’s gonna be a limiting factor. This is one of my strengths. This is a limiting factor. And then his ability to learn our system and be extremely disruptive, be where he’s supposed to be. You know, all those things have really paid off for a morning. You see a leader showing up. What I admire about A’Mauri is that he’s been a guy that’s had goals since he got here the very first day he’s been here, he’s done a really good job. We talked about it, you know, Max Crosby said, you know, microscope, telescope. He’s got his telescope goals, but he does a really good job of focusing on the microscope. What do I have to improve on the day for me to reach those telescope goals that are down the road?

Michael Bennett adjusting to Oregon

Q: Michael Bennett said one of the reasons he chose to come here was to challenge himself and face higher competition. He said that every day, in practice, every rep, there’s just some dude, whether it’s Tatum (Tuioti) or Nasir or Matayo Uiagalelei, how is he adjusting to this level? And do you see him sliding into this level in the fall pretty seamlessly?

DL: Yeah, he’s done a great job. He’s been a great teammate. I think he really accepts the challenge. I think Michael’s one of those guys who appreciates what reps do every single day in football, and there’s not a day off, and he’s attacked it. That room is a really welcoming room. They do a great job of creating camaraderie in there. I think Michael’s been able to fall into that really quick. And he’s obviously intelligent and cerebral, so he’s paid off.

Jamari Johnson’s growth

Q: Some thoughts on Jamari Johnson and the kind of growth you’ve seen stepping into the No. 1 tight end spot, and how that’s maybe different or not different.

DL: I’d say the biggest thing that I’ve seen with Jamari, and I’ve caught it all the way back into winter workouts, the way this guy is coaching as a player, right? The way he’s influencing and leading others, right? If he sees a route ran the wrong way, he has no problem challenging somebody’s accountability and saying, “Hey, man, you’re not doing that the way it needs to be done.”

But he has relationships that allow you to be a leader, which allows you to go coach. But he’s obviously a dynamic playmaker for us. He’s a really complete player from it, from a standpoint if he’s a matchup issue, if he’s split out, if he’s matched up on the linebacker, that’s something you take advantage of, and he can block in the sea area. All those things are things we’re looking at, and the intelligence factor. So really proud of his growth, but definitely proud of his growth as a leader.

Saturday’s scrimmage

Q: How do you approach Saturday scrimmage? What do you want to see that you carry over from last weekend and prepare for next weekend’s spring game?

DL: You know, every one of our players got the one thing that they have to improve on. So what I’m hoping to see is, when we pull up that tape post-Saturday is “okay, do we see that one thing improve?” Right? If I can put my focus on this one thing, what am I attacking? Where am I improving? So I want to see that show up. We’ll work some different situations, different than we did the last scrimmage. There’ll be some four-minute get-the-ball-back opportunities. There’ll be some other competitive moments throughout practice, but mostly, “Hey, are we making improvements in our positions? And am I improving that? Just one thing that I have to focus on.”

Coordinators going in and out, but same process

Q: You talk about that Oregon offense that kind of allows coordinators to move in and out and players to maintain that continuity. Where did you learn that in your steps coaching? Was there a certain coach, whether it was Kirby Smart or Nick Saban who instilled that in you, that that mindset?

DL: ultimately, getting to watch Nick and Kirby both, there were things that you walked away with. And as a coach, you’re like, Okay, I want this to be a part of what we do. I knew we wanted to be a team that can operate with multiple personnel groups. I knew that there was, you know, we had to start with our ability to run the ball. What runs are the most challenging we got to make sure that we have those involved in our system. You know, we knew that we wanted to be quarterback center, and I think a lot of that grew when we had Bo (Nix) here, and we had a guy that could operate and handle a lot more, and we were able to build tools make sure that we were teaching it the right way.

So again, it’s evolved over time. It started with all of us on offense and Kenny (Dillingham) bringing bringing some pieces that we wanted to have, but there were some non negotiables that we knew we wanted in there and then always in my mind, you know when you’re when you sit here and have success like we’ve had three guys to become head coaches in four years, you want to have a plan for what’s it look like? You know when that continues to change and creates continuity? Because if we continue to win games, guess what? We’ll have more guys to become head coaches on our staff, and that’s a win for us, right? But ultimately, we want to be able to keep and maintain the Oregon offense, the Oregon defense. What does that look like as we develop it and adjust it?

Evan Stewart’s last year

Q: Coach Douglas said that Evan Stewart do is playing with a desperation this spring. That said, that’s kind of a do or die situation for him, he’s just kind of realized that it’s his last opportunity to really make an impact in college, especially you guys chasing a national championship and stuff. Just what have you seen from him in the way he’s attacked this process this spring?

DL: I mean, every guy realizes that they get closer to the end, how fragile that time is, you know, and how special it is. And you wish you could explain that to a guys that come in as a freshman, but Evan’s playing like a guy that knows, hey, this is my last draw. This is my chance to go take advantage of it again, some of the leadership skills, some of the plays he’s making on the field right now this spring have been really impressive catches he’s making, and he’s growing right growing as a player, but you can tell when he steps on the field, he recognizes, okay, I don’t get a lot more opportunities of this. Let me take advantage of this opportunity.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Everything Oregon coach Dan Lanning said before Saturday’s scimmage

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