Dan Lanning mum on QB decision, keeps focus on preparation for Georgia
A little more than a week before the season opener, Oregon coach Dan Lanning was asked yet again about his quarterback situation -- and decision.
Instead of saying that he hadn't named a starter this time, he fired back immediately and succinctly: "I'm not telling you."
"The only reason I'm not really talking about it with you guys is I don't know why that's an advantage for us," Lanning said a couple questions later. "If I felt like it was an advantage, I would tell you guys -- I don't. ... When you guys see that first snap, we'll see who's out there on the field."
It would be a surprise to many if it was not experienced Auburn transfer Bo Nix, over redshirt freshman Ty Thompson and third-year redshirt freshman Jay Butterfield, but an official declaration clearly won't be forthcoming.
Of course, this isn't just any season-opening matchup for the Ducks -- they take on the reigning national champions Georgia on Sept. 3 in Atlanta, in Bulldogs country, against Lanning's former team.
To that end, he said the Ducks will work in what equates to an extra Monday and extra Tuesday practice, as it relates to format, before truly getting into game week. But, he emphasized, nothing truly changes from what they've been doing to this point.
"We've still got a lot of time before this game, a lot of time for prep, and I feel like some people hit the brakes whenever they get through fall camp and they kind of relax, and we're still preparing for a game," he said. "You still have to be in football shape, you still have to condition to a certain level and those are things you can't really back off on. ... We're going to use every minute all the way up until kickoff to get better."
He did note that on a day like Thursday, when the Ducks weren't in full pads, the staff was emphasizing more mental preparation than anything else.
“On days like today where you're wearing spiders, it's not as much about the physical -- it's about the mental,” Lanning said. “We want to make our guys think a little bit more and we challenged them. One thing we've talked about is volume reflects confidence, so if you know what to do and you can verbalized that, your teammates are going to be confident in you and you executing your job.”
A name that hasn’t been talked about enough this camp is junior Bryan Addison, who in his time at Oregon has shifted from receiver in his freshman year, to safety and cornerback in the past couple of seasons.
He’s put together an impressive fall camp so far, getting two picks in the scrimmages, and with a 6-foot-5 frame has displayed his versatility in every practice. But Lanning complimented a different aspect of his game.
“I’m just most excited about his leadership,” Lanning said. “He’s been one of those guys who stands in front of the team and demands a lot and also demands a lot of himself.”
One name that has been thrown around a ton, meanwhile, is freshman offensive tackle Josh Conerly, whose peers and coaches have raved about his talent and ability at such a young age.
The five-star prospect out of Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, Conerly has stepped into the college football atmosphere with lofty expectations from Ducks fans.
What is Lanning's expectation for his potential contributions this fall?
“I think Josh is going to be a really good player for the Ducks. I think he's going to be a phenomenal player for us,” Lanning said. “He's shown that. He has a worker's mentality, he has a growth mindset. When his time comes, I think he’ll be prepared for it and that could be relatively soon. We’ll see.”