Notable quotes in Dan Lanning's post Signing Day press conference

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The wait feels almost unbearable at times, but the College Football Playoff is almost here. The Oregon Ducks punched their ticket to the dance last weekend after they wrapped up the regular season with a solid win over the Washington Huskies.

They don’t know who they will play just yet, but they know they will get a home playoff game and are certainly preparing for anything the selection committee may throw at them. These final few games will be even more emotional for the Ducks now that it is guaranteed that they will be the last ones with their offensive and defensive coordinators, Will Stein and Tosh Lupoi.

They will both be head coaches at the start of next season, which only adds another potential distraction for an Oregon team that has plenty of them to choose from. Dan Lanning already spoke about keeping emotions in check and staying focused after the win over Washington, so he is likely preaching the same thing to his team now.

Let’s check out whet he had to say about the win over the Huskies and the mystery playoff matchup.

Opening Statement

Lanning: Awesome day here for the Ducks. Obviously, it's always an exciting day, because this speaks to a lot to the future of the program. Really excited about the group of young men that we get to add to this team. Always feel like an important piece of what we do here is not just the guys we get to add and grow here, but the guys that we've been developing within our roster, and the guys were able to retain. Really big piece of focus for us, going into this group, was really looking for quality players we thought could impact here early, make an impact, be able to contribute. So it was much more about quality over quantity, it wasn't about signing as many guys as we could possibly sign. It was more about signing guys we thought would really make an impact on this team. We've got a lot of great players that represent a lot of different places. You know, several guys recognized as the best player in their state. I think we have 11 different states represented. You know, guys from from all over the footprint, which is always fun about Oregon is going anywhere in the nation and find great players, several multi-sport athletes, I think 14 guys that play multiple sports. That's always a big positive. And, you know, rankings can be overrated, but we signed some guys that are obviously really highly ranked and really, really good players, but more than that, quality people.

Top-Tier Program

Q: What does it say about the program that you guys didn’t have any prospects flip on you?

Lanning: Yeah, I just think players come here for a reason, and there's a lot of reasons that go into that, but I think we have a really complete program, you know, in a lot of ways, everything that you're looking for from development on the football field and the opportunity to compete at the highest level, on the football field, as well as what Oregon provides academically, and the support that exists here on our staff, the relationships, I think, are real key here. You know, every player that we were able to sign is truly a complete staff effort. I think that speaks to, this is a place that's unique, where it's going to be more than just a relationship with one position coach or one person on staff, this is a place where we team recruit and develop those relationships, and those have paid off.

Age is Just a Number

Q: Do you think you proved anything with this year’s young class?

Lanning: Yeah, I think it's just proving what we've always said, if you're good enough, you're old enough, and I think this year was a great indication of that, if you've got the ability to make an impact here early, you can. That’s really about you and how you progress as you get here. And then again, everybody's process is going to be a little bit different. But I think, you know, certainly some people say that, some people show that. And I think we were a team that could show that this year.

Late Additions

Q: What did you like about all the late additions you guys made today?

Lanning: They're all guys that we identified earlier. There's guys that we rather pull the trigger on later, knowing that we want to make sure we had a great opportunity. It's not like you want to alert the rest of the world what your intentions are necessarily with some guys you're looking at. And then it's always the constant evaluation of, okay, what's our roster gonna look like in the future here as well? Where do we need to grow? What attrition might exist? You know, there's always attrition every year, so I think you pay attention all those details, making sure you don't oversign, where you don't have enough opportunities for the people that you bring on the team.

Keeping it Real

Q: How did the conversation change with players knowing your coordinators might not be here long?

Lanning: The conversation has never changed here. I mean, every player that signed here, they always sit down in my office, and I always share the truth about my vision for their future and the truth of what does it look like for me here in the future and the future of our coaches here? Never been shy about the fact, in fact, I've been very adamant about the fact that my goal is to help people reach their dreams and goals. You know, Will obviously grew up, you know, spending time in that stadium. His parents both went to school there. So I think when you're honest from the beginning to the end, this is what it looks like right now, we've got an unbelievable staff. We've had to transition here in the past, we've shown exactly what that looks like when transition happens. But when you're really honest about that, you don't tell them, hey, this guy's here for life, you know. And then the next thing you know, the rug gets ripped out from underneath you, and you prepare him for those moments. I think that speaks volumes. And, you know, ultimately, people are signing up for more than just one person being here, but that's part of the goal is for people to come and, you know, get the opportunity to share in their dreams and their futures. And part of that is coaches get to celebrate their futures as well. So when you're honest about it, I don't think it has to be a big conversation. I think when people are deceptive about it, when it looks different and other places, I think that's when it's a big shock. And a lot of things can a lot of things can change.

Blue-Chip Prospects

Q: What do you credit your national recruiting success to?

Lanning: I think it's about finding the right players that are willing to say, okay, I'm looking for the best, not the most convenient. It starts there, and then you have to have a staff that's relentless and willing to take long hours. I remember spending time, myself and several other coaches on our staff during bye week, and everybody else on a Saturday might be sitting somewhere in a you know, back home, watching Game Day, and we're on the road recruiting, and that's not necessarily the thing that you want to do on your bye week, but when you have an opportunity to go get great players, that's exactly what you need to do. So there's a relentless approach by everybody on this staff, and then it's about finding players that aren't afraid to travel to go chase their dreams, and we've been able to find the right combination of that.

Down to Earth

Q: Do you come in expecting to have to train guys mentally?

Lanning: I think mindset training is something that is going to happen, you know, all throughout your career, and you hope you're going to a place where they take a lot of pride in that and spend the time, you know, this is certainly a place we do that. But nobody's a finished product when they get to college. You're still developing. You're still growing as a person, but you want to find people that are about growth mindset. You can identify if somebody's going to have the strong characteristics to be able to handle tough when it gets tough, you're never going to be 100% when you're evaluating those things. But what you can do is be open and honest and communicate what that looks like. And you know, I think we've done a really good job of that here in the past, and certainly developed some great guys on our roster currently. 

Keep it Simple

Q: Did the success of this year’s class change your recruiting strategy at all?

Lanning: I think you're always looking for the best players. I think what's changed is Oregon is a really good program, so we can go get the best players, and then we've had proven results. You're always looking for guys that can go make an impact, but that by no means, means 100% of the players that come here are going to go make an immediate impact. I think it's really hard to do, especially we're talking about a good program. But when you go sign players and you develop players, and you grow them into really talented guys that are really important parts of your team, the goal next year is to go find players that are better than them and make the competition on the team even better and even stronger. And that's something we've been been able to elevate. You know, every single year here we find guys that can make an impact, and guys that can get better, they're going to push your roster to grow and improve. When you do that, you can have a lot of success.

Beavers and Ducks?

Q: What did you guys like about Bryson Beaver?

Lanning: You know, quarterback is always unique position, getting to see him, throw in person, I think is always a big piece of that, trusting your evaluation skills. And this is a guy that obviously got really hot towards the end, and had a lot of opportunities in places that he can go. But you fall in love with the family, you know, Bryson's got an unbelievable group around him. And then you really get to recognize the arm talent, the things that exist there. They're going to be beneficial in a piece that you want your program. And then the ability to mentally handle the load that we ask for our quarterbacks to handle. There's a lot that goes into that, and he's a guy to check those boxes.

Shuffling Pieces

Q: What was it like recruiting when you had to change your entire secondary?

Lanning: Yeah. I mean, ultimately, you know, ball production is really important secondary. I think you have to find guys that can attack the ball. A lot of these guys that we signed this year have a lot of positions for flexibility and versatility. I think that's really big, making an impact in special teams play. We continue to look for length, but we also look for dynamic players, right? And all those things really show up in the guys that we signed this year.

Multi-Tasking

Q: How important is versatility in the players you recruit?

Lanning: You're always trying to add great players. And then I think the best coaches adapt your system to fit great players. We played more 21 personnel this year than I've ever played, you know, in my time here. And that's credit to us having, really, talented players here that can do that. Tradarian is definitely a guy that fits that, you can you can flex them out and throw in the ball, he can run it from the backfield. He has versatility, and that makes them harder to defend.

Bringing the Beef

Q: How unique is it to find such big interior offensive lineman?

Lanning: Yeah, these guys are super athletic. They're guys we've been recruiting for a really, really long time. You know, we think they both can play tackle, but they do certainly have position versatility, they're both guys that, talk about recruiting for a long time, I mean, remember seeing Tommy in a camp, you know, three years ago. And same thing really, with Manny in that situation, we spent a lot of time traveling to camp, seeing guys in action. Those relationships start then, then then it becomes, you know, the body of work, of building that relationship and seeing what it grows into, and making sure you're still, you know, through that entire process, these are guys that can play for you at a high level, and we feel really confident in guys like that.

Bair Back

Q: What has the communication been like between you and Gatlin Bair?

Lanning: It’s been somewhat limited, but there's been some opportunities in there that we could and there's still been great communication with Brad and Shea and his family, the ability to connect from time to time. But elder Bear's been doing the mission, and he's done an unbelievable job of that, but we've been able to stay in touch, whether through email, the occasional opportunity to touch base with the people he's around, and really excited to get him here. That's one that he signed several years ago, and now you know, you get the opportunity to have them here. I'm really excited about what Gatlin can do.

Free Reign

Q: Will you be looking to use recruiting to set up future classes now?

Lanning: Yeah, I think time will tell. I mean, I'm really excited about the group of guys that we just signed, certainly, but college football is fluid, right? It'll continue to change. There will continue to be, you know, attrition. We've been really lucky to keep guys here and, you know, show guys the plan for them. You know, whenever in a changing world, as things progress, it's harder and harder to do that. But I think it really goes into each class individually in itself, and you have to attack it accordingly and make sure that you continue to work your tail off, because it just doesn't happen on accident.

Under the Radar

Q: What are your thoughts on Tony Cumberland?

Lanning: This group looks different right now compared today than it did, you know, come June, and I think Tony's a great example of a guy that knew what he wanted. It's been really fun watching Tony grow up and become the man that we're all excited to see. But obviously he’s an unbelievable player and an unbelievable talent that has done big things here locally, and I'm excited to see that show up on our field, but we're really grateful for guys like Tony.

Linebacker Depth

Q: How excited are you to get a guy like Tristan Phillips in the building?

Lanning: Tristan is a guy that reminds me a little bit of guy you guys are all familiar with in Bryce Boettcher, just as far as how much he loves the game of football, how intense he plays, the level of intensity that he enjoys training. Works extremely hard, you know. So he has all those traits that you're hoping that you see, you know, in a linebacker. And obviously, he's had a great season. I'm glad that he's gonna get to be a part of what we're doing here.

Committed

Q: What do you think of Tony Cumberland’s commitment level?

Lanning: I think there's benefits from just a familiarity standpoint. I think ultimately that's a decision Tony made for an opportunity to get somewhere where he felt like it was going to put him in position to be where he wanted to be, three years from there, two years from there. And the great part about that is, yeah, there's a piece of where he can come over here and visit campus quite a bit, you know, over the last year, which was awesome for us. And obviously him being an alumnus here at Oregon is certainly a benefit as well.

Pried Him Away

Q: How were you able to take Tank Jones away from Alabama

Lanning: I don't get to see a ton of games during season. It was one of the games that I was able to go watch him play this year, which was a lot of fun to see the impact he can have on a game. You know, he's been a guy that's been used on defense, used in the backfield. Coach Lupoi, those guys have built unbelievable relationships, as well as several other people on our staff. And I think this was like a great example of a place being a dream school for a player that really came to fruition for Tank and what he's going to be able to accomplish here, but just again, unbelievable player that said, “Hey, I don't care that. It's not closed, right? Like, if this is the place that fits me. That’s where I want to be.”

Pick of the Litter

Q: Do you have a better sense of what you want in a coordinator after working with so many?

Lanning: You realize what traits are maybe more important than others. And I've been really blessed to have unbelievable coaches here, but the most important traits aren't always the most important traits that other people think. To me, it's about the ability to be humble, the ability to work with others, right, and share a creative space, to realize it's not just yours, it's others, right? A lot of people are involved in having success on offense and defense. We've been really fortunate to have coaches that realize that, to recognize that it's not their call, that it's the player, right, that's really the secret, is having great players and having guys that can execute at a high level, you know, that accountability is necessary, and then being humble enough to realize when you make mistakes, so you don't make the same mistake again. You know, I think a lot of those things don't necessarily exist in the game, and all those traits are way more important to me than how much football you know, what you can draw up on a dry-erase board, like none of that matters if you can't teach a player to do it and they don't know that they love you and you care about them. You know, like all those things are way more important to me than than a lot of the things that I think people evaluate when they're going through that process.

Special Culture

Q: What does it say about your team that you see so few players transfer?

Lanning: Yeah, I mean, I think they're all tied together. It's all hand-in-hand, and really what it has a lasting impact on is your team, right? There's several guys on our team that made a huge impact this year that didn't have as big a role as last year, and strength in numbers, like of all the years that we've talked about that really applying, this year is a great indication of, we're going into a couple games this year, we have multiple starters out because of injuries here or there, that retention is part of what pays off in those moments, and guys creating moments for themselves because of how hard they worked. And you never know, life's hard, right? Football is hard. It's a hard sport. You know, some people give up right before they reach an opportunity and what they can create. And we've had a lot of guys that battled through, didn't necessarily have the easiest path to the field and figured it out because they were able to stick around and say, “I'm just gonna work hard,” and see what comes out of it. And we've had a lot of guys benefit from that. This team certainly benefited from that.

Close and Personal

Q: How did you come up with the idea for personalized recruiting messages?

Lanning: It’s been something I've probably done for a little while. I don't love that every secret gets out. But yeah, we build relationships. And not everybody always picks up the phone, not everybody always answers the text message. But a lot of times, when a video gets sent, it gets seen. There's a lot of different ways you communicate nowadays with guys and players, and we do everything we can to make sure that we, you know, when they wake up in the morning, they see a message from us, and when they go to bed at night, they see that, so communication is a big key to that.

Unicorn

Q: What are your plans for Jett Washington here?

Lanning: Yeah, I think the options are limitless. When you see a player of Jett’s ability. He’s got great ball instincts, he can attack. He's a physical hitter. You know, you look at a lot of things that we were able to do with Dillon Thieneman this year. I think Jett translates to a lot of that stuff really well as well, but ultimately, just a really great program there Bishop Gorman, that's turned out a lot of phenomenal players, a lot of success. The guy knows what it means to be a winner, right? And you want guys in your program that know what it means to be a winner. He comes from a family athlete, so just excited to see what he's able to do here.

Hot Commodity

Q: Do you take pride in taking Oregon recruiting to heights it’s never seen?

Lanning: Yeah, I just take a sense of pride in the product that we have here, and again, that's credit to our players and credit to the coaching staff that I get to work with every day. This is an unbelievable place, and it's awesome that other people get to recognize what exists here and what's continuing to grow here.

Only Ducks

Q: Will you be rooting for Kirby Smart and Georgia this weekend?

Lanning: No, no, probably not. I'm gonna enjoy some good football games this weekend. I'm not rooting against them. I'm just gonna root for some good games. Probably like all you guys on Saturday, watch some good games. 

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Notable quotes in Dan Lanning's National Signing Day press conference

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