Many things were addressed on Friday during Pac-12 football media day. The day started with commissioner George Kliavkoff answering questions, many of which pertained to the L.A. schools as it had recently been announced that USC and UCLA are moving to the Big Ten. He did not mention what school was in discussion to join the Pac-12 but listed some qualities he looks for in a Pac-12 program.
Shortly following the commissioner’s opening statements was the press conference for Dan Lanning. The first-time head coach started out with a statement about his excitement for the program and his expectations at fall camp rolls around on August 5th.
“I'm excited about the direction of our program, excited about being part of the fastest-growing brand in college football,” Lanning said. “Since 2010 there's been nine teams that have played for a national championship. Fortunate enough that Oregon has done that twice.”
Lanning is coming off of a national championship appearance himself, winning the 2021-22 title with Georgia last year as their defensive coordinator. Oregon’s appearances were in 2011 and 2015, both resulting in losses. Lanning hopes to bring another title to Eugene while continuing to improve the brand that has helped the program blossom.
“Obviously we had 2.57 million viewers tune in every single week to watch our games, which is top 10 in the nation, best in our conference,” Lanning said. “We've continued to recruit at a really high level. One thing that I will say about all that success is that's past success. This is the 2022 team. We have to be focused on what we're going to do in the year 2022 as a team and a staff.”
Before taking any questions from the attending media, Lanning pointed out that his team is different than it was a month ago. Focusing in on the end goal of a national title game is a lot more difficult while dealing with the recent tragedy that took place on July 13.
“Moving forward, one thing that's certainly changed in this off-season for us is our team has a void. We're missing a brother in Spencer Webb who we lost in a tragic accident,” Lanning said. “We spent a lot of time together as a family, mourned his loss. Something that you certainly cannot replace. We finished off our summer workouts with a climb-up Spencer Butte, which will be an annual tradition to honor him. Our theme this season as we honor Spencer is really growth.”
The team has plenty of chances for growth this season as they play to honor one of the locker room leaders. One position that has seen plenty of growth over the offseason is in the quarterback room. The first game of the season in Athens, Georgia is just 36 days away and the front runner for the starting spot is yet to be clear. Though he did not give much insight as to who is in front, Lanning mentioned that his group has been working tremendously with the help of offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham.
“Just at the end of the day you want to know you have quarterbacks in your program you think you can win with. I think we have multiple guys that can do that, with Bo, Ty, and Jay, have all been extreme competitors,” Lanning said. “Kenny is a guy I obviously have a ton of respect for. We see the game very similarly. He’s a teacher. Kenny is the guy that made sense when it came to QB development.”
With many of the questions being LA school related for the commissioner, Lanning too got to speak his opinion on how the departures will affect the Pac-12, and more importantly his team. As for now, the Ducks are staying in the Pac-12, and Lanning has no concern as to what impact it might have.
“Like I said, I trust our leadership to be positioned for success. Oregon has been always a premier team in college football. I think we'll continue to be,” Lanning said. “Our fans are extremely passionate. Being a top-10 team when it comes to views in homes this last year, the ability to compete for championships year in and year out with coaching changes and different things. That's still allowed Oregon to be at the forefront of competition. The conference champions, the last four years, are still in this conference. That's something that I'm excited to see and compete against, especially for the next two years.”
The final common theme around the questions that Lanning received revolved around his experience so far as the head coach of the Ducks. He is now roughly eight months into his inaugural head coaching position. Dealing with a depleted staff and roster, he has managed the position well and is in line for a productive first season. To get to the seemingly calm month of July was no easy task and took plenty of effort on Lanning’s part.
“Obviously I've had great experience in the last several years of my coaching career. I spend very little time talking about the past. I'm really focused on the future,” Lanning said. “Yeah, it's been a whirlwind, a lot of fun. It's fun piecing together the talent. Obviously, we can recruit at a really high level. It's also about bringing in coaches that are about relationships and development. Certainly, there's a lot of pieces that go into being a head coach. You wear a lot of hats. When you have a great team around you, it gives you a chance to be successful.”
