Everything Dan Lanning Said Before No. 6 Oregon Faces USC Trojans

Lanning faces the Trojans for the first time as a head coach, while Oregon and USC meet for the first time since 2020.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning met with reporters in Eugene following Wednesday's practice to give his final updates before the Ducks take on the USC Trojans. 

Below you'll find a complete transcript of what was said during that press conference.

Opening statement: "A good day at work. Really proud of the guys that are giving us a look this week. The look is extremely important playing obviously a really talented team. Brock Thomas is doing a good job over there of extending plays and making it challenging for us. On the defensive side of the ball, several guys on defense doing the same thing for our offensive unit, but tough challenge. Today was good third-down red area day. Plenty of stuff to clean up, we can open it up."

Question: Receiver-wise, who gave you a good look or has been giving you a good look this week?

Lanning: "We have several guys over there that have done a really good job. It'd be hard for me to single one of them out. There's been a bunch of guys that do a great job."

Question: What makes USC so good right out of the jump on their first drives?

Lanning: "Just think that they have a rhythm and a sequence. They have a quarterback that can make the plays and they've got a lot of talent around him. They probably don't get enough credit for the run game. Their running back's really good, he does a really good job. Their o-line is one of the better O-lines we've seen. So just overall, offensively they're very efficient."

Question: You faced Marshawn Lloyd in '21. How have you seen him improve and what kind of challenge does he present?

Lanning: "He's a big strong back, he can run. Catches the ball well out of the backfield. Just in general, it's a big back. It's not the kind of guy you can just thud tackle. You gotta wrap up, it's going to take a lot of hats to the ball. He rarely goes down on first contact. So it's going to be a good challenge for us."

Question: Do you look at them losing three of their last four as something where you can expose their weaknesses or as a motivator and they might have a chip on their shoulder?

Lanning: "I don't really look at any of that. I'm looking for our team to play our best game. And we know we're playing a really good team."

Question: Tosh faced Lincoln back in 2018 when he was at Alabama. Is there anything schematically that holds true from what Lincoln still does years later?

Lanning: "I mean, ultimately, obviously, they're really good on offense. Lincoln's a great play caller. He does a phenomenal job of scheming up plays game to game. I think he does a good job of keeping it simple and getting into the right looks. They see you in certain looks, they take advantage of it. Overall, this is a really good offense, as good as we'll see."

Question: This game historically has always had a lot of penalties, seems to be a lot of emotion. What's the message to your team?

Lanning: "It's the game within the game. We gotta be able to stay on schedule on offense, which means you can't get penalties. And obviously, defensively, you can't give them new opportunities. You can't give them new first downs. That's definitely one of the keys to victory in this one."

Question: What do you like about motivating your team, getting those guys to buy in every week.

Lanning: "We have great buy in, right? It's not a weekly thing. It starts in the offseason. We talk about winning games is won Sunday through Friday, it's not really won on Saturday. So these guys work really hard, extremely hard throughout the week. It's a player-led team, you know, they lead that process."

Question: "Where have you seen Jackson Powers-Johnson grow most as a center from the start of fall until now?

Lanning: "Just overall consistency. Reps over time are really important. He's a guy that's played all across the line for us, obviously this year he's played a lot at center. But he's been a guy that's with consistency and reps, he's continued to get better and better. He's always been a powerful player. He's very athletic at the position, and he moves bodies up front. But this game will present some unique challenges for him with the front that they have."

Question: What have you seen from Jamal Hill this season since moving from safety to linebacker?

Lanning: "I think it's been a great position fit for him. Ultimately, our linebackers are guys that can run. They're guys that can run, but they're also very willing tacklers, physical, smart players, they get us lined up. I say that's one of the pieces that's been really good for us this year. The way that we have speed at that position that can line up and make plays."

Question: Steve Stephens is playing some of his best ball in the last couple of weeks. What have you seen from him that's allowed him to take that next step?

Lanning: "Steve's a guy that takes every nugget we give him in the classroom and he carries it out there on the field. He's a very smart player, he makes the players around them a lot better, because he has anticipation. He understands the strengths and weaknesses of each call. So he knows where to cover up. He understands the guys he's playing with and how we can get them lined up to execute. He communicates before the snap, communicates before motions. He's a coach out there on the field for us."

Question: Can you speak to the importance of recruiting Southern California and how important it is to win at schools like St. John Bosco and Mater Dei?

Lanning: "We want to recruit the best players in the nation. There's a lot of great players in California. A lot of the best players in the nation in California. So, it'll always be a place that we want to tap into obviously, this game, certainly carries some pieces to that, but more importantly than that, it's go out there and execute in the game and continue to recruit great players."

Question: We haven't seen as much of Devon Jackson lately. Is he okay health wise or is that just a product of guys in front of him playing well?

Lanning: "No, he's been dinged up and we've protected him. He's getting back into it this week. He's out there on the practice field for us today."

Question: As you start to reach redshirt decisions, what will dictate some of those decisions down the stretch?

Lanning: "Just individually evaluate each one of those and what the role for those guys on our team are and if they can help us and we can use them significantly, then we want to."

You can watch the full press conference in the video below.

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