Oregon Ducks Coach Dan Lanning: Recruiting 'Hungry' Prospects In NIL Era

How is Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning supercharging the recruiting within the Oregon football program through the NIL era? What is Lanning's approach in the Big Ten Conference? How will Oregon handle the quarterback switch from Bo Nix to Dillon Gabriel?

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field during the Oregon Ducks’ Spring Game Saturday, April 27. 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning found some time in his busy schedule this offseason to appear on FS1’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” There was a lot to break down but the main takeaways and quotes came centered around him supercharging the recruiting within the Oregon football program through the NIL era, the move to the Big Ten, and the quarterback switch from Bo Nix to Dillon Gabriel as well as Dante Moore.

"One of the reasons I feel like where I'm at is because I had a chip on my shoulder... Now guys are coming in and they're taken care of, and do they still have that chip? That hunger, that desire to be great? Those are the guys you want to recruit. At the end of the day, what it really does is it reveals what your program is... If you have a program that's making guys better every day that they enjoy being a part of, that does a good job of taking care of their players, you're gonna be able to retain great players and develop great players. You're also gonna be a place that people wanna come to. Players talk, they know what it's like in the locker room, they know what it's like to be a part of a team. We're lucky here to have a great culture that our players really embrace. Those things that can be negatives around NIL, they really don't creep into our place."

- Lanning on recruitment

The switch from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten this upcoming season has brought a lot of excitement around the Oregon program but it seems as if Lanning will not be changing his specific approach to his opposition. Lanning explained how his coaching staff is preparing for the new opponents like the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines in conference play.

"Ultimately, in my opinion, winning football is winning football, and it starts in the trenches... You have to be big up front. You have to be able to win on the line of scrimmage. I don't think that formula changes, but what we're doing right now in the office is truly studying some of those opponents that we're going to be seeing next year, and you want to start to incorporate the things you might have to do that are different for those opponents and not install those the week of the game. You want to start to prepare for those in fall camp, so there might be a package here or two that we have to carry that's a little bit different for some of the teams we'll face."

- Lanning on the move to the Big Ten

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field during the Oregon Ducks’ Spring Game Saturday, April 27. 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Lanning was quick to praise his former quarterback Bo Nix who was recently selected by the Denver Broncos with the 12th pick in the NFL Draft. Even all great things must come to an end but the Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel and the UCLA transfer Dante Moore are both solid replacements to have.

"I'm gonna miss the person. He's a special individual. He's as good of a person as I've ever met... His wife Izzy is unbelievable. He came here with a different level of maturity, already married. I felt like we had another coach in the building... What separates Bo is how much time he puts in to work. He watches more film than coaches. There's no one that's going to step on the field more prepared than Bo. And then the way he practices every day, the level of intensity. His commitment to being great, it really kind of spread throughout our program."

- Lanning on Bo Nix

"More important than what they are as players, these guys are unbelievable humans. They want to be where they are going to develop, but they are great teammates, Lanning said. You gotta see these guys in the locker room, interacting with their teammates, that’s what I think we have in that entire QB room."

- Lanning on Dillon Gabriel/Dante Moore

If you still can't get enough of Coach Lanning and reside in the Oregon area, make sure to head over to the Eugene Emeralds game this weekend on June 15th as the giveaway is a Dan Lanning bobblehead. The first 1,000 fans in the park will get one.