Oregon head coach Dan Lanning met with reporters in Eugene Monday evening to preview Saturday’s week 1 matchup between the No. 7 Ducks and the Montana Bobcats. Get to go play a football game against a really good opponent. When you watch their team play, you see why they’ve been so successful.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning met with reporters in Eugene Monday evening to preview Saturday’s week 1 matchup between the No. 7 Ducks and the Montana Bobcats.
Below are some of the most notable quotes from his media availability.
Opening statement: “Exciting week. It’s finally here. Get to go play a football game against a really good opponent. Coach (Brent) Vigen’s done an unbelievable job with his team. I think he’s the second winningest coach in Montana State history. Obviously they’ve competed for championships. When you watch their team play, you see why they’ve been so successful. Do a really good job disguising coverages on defense, playing with relentless effort. They have some guys that have had a lot of success, a little bit of continuity there. Good rushers. But some guys that can play football on that side of the ball.
“On offense also have a lot of talent. Taco Dollar is a really talented wide receiver. He’s been really good in the return game for him as well. Quarterback that we’ve actually seen before, Justin (Lamson). Is a guy that we played against when he was at Stanford, and sounds like he has good control of the offense. So there’s gonna be some new pieces, some changes, obviously, new coordinators on both sides of the of the ball for them. One that’s been been there on defense, and then one that’s a change there offensively. So have to prepare for a lot of different things, but excited for this opponent.”
On what makes running game so effective
Lanning: “I think they present a lot of different pictures that are tough. Their guys play with some physicality. I mean, they have some guys returning up front that have been good players for them on the offensive line. But they’re they’re really good at creating hats in the run game. They’ve always been dangerous when it comes to quarterback run as well and that’s something that Justin’s shown in his past, his ability to run. So it’s something we certainly have to prepare for.”
On preparing for a team with so much newness
Lanning: “You prepare for a lot, and ultimately, you try to say, okay our rules have to play out. You can get a lot of different things, and you have to say okay are our rules sound? And if you have sound rules, the rest kind of takes care of itself.”
On watching 2023 Oregon vs. Stanford to prepare for Justin Lamson
Lanning: “You look at that for an evaluation as a player, but you spend a lot more time watching scheme from coordinator’s perspective and what Montana State did last year on offense perspective as that falls in.”
On reaction to NFL/Microsoft partnership making AI available to coaches
Lanning: “I’m not using ChatGPT on my sideline to decide what we’re gonna run. I’d be interested in what kind of information that provides, but I don’t know if that’s made it to us. I think AI is something that’s going to continue to grow. It’ll continue to be a part of the game, probably as much as anything from a scouting standpoint. But it’s still the early days probably for us at our level there.”
On addition of Verone McKinley III to Oregon staff
Lanning: “We really care about the guys that have given so much to this program. And Verone’s a great example. Was a great player here, went on to have an opportunity in the National Football League and a chance to keep playing. And I think he realized hey I want to still be around football. And when you could have guys that had great experiences at Oregon, they love this place like we love it. They want to be back here. I’m excited to see what he’s going to be able to do for us, and I know that all that’ll come with hard work and just finding a way to make our team better.”
On he handles having young players getting their first start at Oregon Saturday
Lanning: “I haven’t really talked about it yet ’cause the truth is there’s gonna be a lot of guys out there playing for us that haven’t haven’t played a lot. But you know what gives you confidence in those moments is that they’ve had a lot of experience in practice. That experience that we’ve done a good job of making it feel like a game, it’s gonna carry over.”
On what makes Emmanuel Pregnon a good guard
Lanning: “It starts with the ability to move bodies. You have to have great size. He has that. He has great strength. I think the intelligence required for offensive line, people don’t realize the amount of calls that get made on the offensive line and change when the picture changes. He’s handled that really well. But ultimately, he’s a fun player to be around. His teammates enjoy him. They play harder for him, but he’s athletic and he’s got great size.
On what recent days have been like with season so close
Lanning: “Excitement. I have a lot of excitement. Your favorite part of the year is getting to coach football. And I enjoy practice just as much as the games at times, just ’cause you get to see the growth and the opportunity to improve. But yeah I’m really excited to get out there.”
On if Kingston Lopa offers more than players his size
Lanning: “Yeah. I mean, Kingston was a guy who was a great wideout coming out of high school. Is obviously also a really talented DB, but he has some athletic traits that aren’t common at his position, and certainly help us out.”
On if week 1 game will be a true testament to figuring out who this team is
Lanning: “I think regardless of result, whoever we are on Saturday, I hope it’s not remotely close to who we become. You always talk about becoming the best version of yourselves and I think we’re a long ways away from what we could become. But I think this will be a good starting point to assess exactly where we’re at.”
Category: General Sports
