Oregon Ducks Coach Dan Lanning Compliments Transfers, Veterans After First Practice

Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning evaluates the first fall football practice.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks during Oregon football’s media day Monday, July 29, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

To say that expectations are high for the Oregon Ducks Football team this season is an understatement. Oregon enters their first season in the Big Ten Conference with the No. 2 2024 class in the conference and has several marquee match-ups that are sure to capture the national eye. Not to mention the rumors of “unlimited NIL” from Nike CEO Phil Knight, the Duck traveling to campuses across the nation, and the glitz and glamor of “Generation O’s” uniforms.

From the outside looking in, Duck fans are clamoring for a season like no other. On the first day of fall practice, Oregon coach Dan Lanning started his presser by addressing this cloud of anticipation.

“The nation knows you're gonna have energy and enthusiasm day one,” Lanning said. “I haven't been around a team that didn't have that. What I was looking for from our team is execution. You know, we've had a lot of spring practices, a lot of walkthroughs, a lot of prep time to get it right. I thought our guys got it right today. You know, it got a little quieter towards the end of practice where guys were getting gassed. Have to continue to work on getting in football shape but outside of that I was really pleased with the guys.”

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks during Oregon football’s media day Monday, July 29, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

In the exhaustion of first hitting the Moshofsky Center field for drills, the team begins to bond and athletes feel out the locker room for leaders. Coach Lanning said nearing the end of practice, several players rose to a leadership role, but he wouldn’t get specific.

Coach Lanning was asked if one of those rising leaders was senior wide receiver Tez Johnson, who stated during Oregon’s media day that he was becoming more vocal in the locker room due to the absence of his adopted brother and former teammate, quarterback Bo Nix, who was drafted to the Denver Broncos earlier this year. Johnson claims during that media availability that Nix leaving left a gap for a leader that Johnson has encouraged himself and others to fill.

“I think it's a little early for that,” Coach Lanning said. “We're gonna go watch the film. I think there's multiple guys on our team that could have, you know, a bigger role from a vocal leadership standpoint, but you know, that comes from performance too. And this is day one. We don't have pads on yet. So there's still a lot to be seen.”

Entering fall camp, Lanning had high expectations for his athletes, but also didn’t want to temper enthusiasm for the monumental tasks ahead.

“I wanted to make sure we're not walking out here and running 15 defenses that we can't run that we bust every time or 15 plays on offense that don’t work because we're not running the right route, we're not blocking the proper guy. And I didn't see that today. I saw guys execute at a high level, which is the expectation,” caoch Lanning said.

Throughout this media availability, coach Lanning stressed that there are no definitive decisions on exact positions, depth, and skill. This mentality shows in the way the Ducks ran their schemes, which didn’t involve any numbered groupings.

“We did more two spot work today,” coach Lanning said. “And we've never done it in a first practice for us in the fall. So what's that mean? Instead of 44 guys getting a rap because the ones and twos are going we got 88 guys getting the rap, right? So that's really beneficial to us at some point. Yeah, we'll start to break down into more of the ones and twos group, but we're not to that point yet.”

Though Coach Lanning was coy about labeling starters, he did provide praise for some of his Ducks. First was Michigan State transfer and senior defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.

“Derrick brings great experience. You know, he's an explosive player. I've been really impressed with how quickly he's picked up what we do and how well he's able to execute that, you know, he's been a good veteran presence for that group. And having some other guys in there that, you know, are veterans, whether it's Keyon Ware-Hudson or you know, some of the other guys A’Mauri Washington, he's coming back with more experience and near to Mykeil Gardner, you know, and then combining that with Jamaree Caldwell. I think, you know, that's a really good mix of players that can help us,” Lanning said.

Coach Lanning also spoke about redshirt senior tight end Patrick Herbert, who’s looking to dominate on the field for his sixth year after an unfortunate history of season-ending injuries.

“Yeah, I mean, Patrick is steady. Every day he comes out here to work, you know, humble attitude, has a goal for himself to improve, but he's a team player first,” Lanning said. “And he's always coaching. The thing you'll notice about Pat is if he's not in the drill, and there's somebody else going and they come off, he's given them a coaching point. He's given a directive of how they can improve which is really impressive.”

Then there’s Duke senior defensive back Brandon Johnson. After Johnson left Duke due to a coaching change, Johnson says he transferred to Oregon because of the Ducks’ “elite” reputation. During Oregon’s media day, Johnson claimed it didn’t take long to study defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi’s playbook, which helps bolster his case to take the nickel position.

“I think that playing nickel in the NFL and playing nickel in college football star positions is the hardest position to really play because you asked that guy to do so many different jobs. What BJ has is a lot of experience in that position and provides a lot of versatility. You can blitz ability standpoint, coverage standpoint, and he's smart and intentional, and he's working on it. So there's a lot of guys in that room battling right now for that position, but he's certainly providing some experience and the ability to pick up things quick,” Lanning said regarding Johnson.

Michigan State defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (41) celebrates after sacking Akron quarterback Jeff Undercuffler Jr. (13) during the second half at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Then there’s junior defensive back and Ju-Co pick-up Sione Laulea, who was ranked as the number one junior college corner recruit by 247 Sports. Lanning says that Laulea’s debut in spring practices didn’t have what he was looking for, but he thinks that’s changed for the fall.

“Yeah, just constant growth from Sione,” Lanning said. “I mean, he's picking it up day by day and you start to see him start using stuff. We give players tools for their tool belt, right? And we have expectations they can use them at certain times. So he's starting to become that guy. Now that realizes Okay, I got a certain split from one and two. I'm going to use this tool that I have, and that stuff starting to show up that didn't show up in the spring, but it's showing up now.”

When it comes to the overall performance of the first day of fall camp, it’s really no surprise that Lanning isn’t giving any concrete answers on performance. Throughout the fall camp, Oregon’s depth will become clearer as more and more Ducks get their chance to go full-go. For now, Lanning was looking for excitement, and it seems he received that on the practice field.