Excuse Dan Lanning if he had to play catchup when he arrived at Oregon. He was tied up during the winter helping Georgia take down Alabama to eventually win a national championship. For a time, the Ducks head coach was pulling double duty knowing he would eventually land in Eugene and become settled in his new role after serving as the defensive coordinator in Athens.
Lanning eventually did arrive on campus and quickly began retooling the roster and adding talent both from the NCAA Transfer Portal and through traditional recruiting efforts at the high school level.
There was plenty of travel as Lanning and his staff crisscrossed the country delivering a few new offers while also connecting with some of the program’s top targets.
The end result through National Signing Day was an influx of talent with Lanning and the Oregon coaches managing to acquire some new pieces while securing commitments from prospects who went astray during the coaching transition.
Three of the four most recent commitments for the Ducks came from three of the top recruits in the class. Four-star cornerback Jahlil Florence made the decision to re-commit to the Ducks Monday after backing away from his pledge in December. Four-star running back Jordan Bryant-James backed off his commitment to Georgia Wednesday in favor of following Lanning and running backs coach Carlos Locklyn across the country to Eugene.
Finally, Rivals250 offensive lineman Dave Iuli capped an eventful Singing Day for the Ducks when he made the decision to rejoin Oregon’s class after previously backing away from his pledge in December. He ultimately decided to return to the Ducks rather than follow Mario Cristobal to Miami or make the move south to Los Angeles and play at USC.
Lanning and his coaches packed a lot of work into the month of January, and Wednesday the staff was able to see the results from a hectic first month on the job.
“I think we were able to attack in a short amount of time,” Lanning said Wednesday. “I think our coaches did a tremendous job and our support staff did a tremendous job early on to identify some needs in our program and some elite players that can come be a part of what we’re doing.
“So, very appreciative of all the hard work that’s gone into not just today but the last signing period. Pieces falling together, it’s a pretty exciting time for us.”
Yes, the last month was about finding new faces to help build the class, but it was also about building a connection with those prospects who decided to step away during the time of the transition to Lanning and the current staff. From a midnight visit to see Florence as soon as the dead period came to an end to hosting recruits on campus over the last few weekends, building trust with the recruits who had been committed proved to be just as important as finding new prospects to join the Ducks.
“For us, I think as a staff, it was a challenge but a challenge we welcome,” Lanning said about that process. “You know, Oregon is a phenomenal place. We’ve got the ability to get great players here, and I think people just had to have an opportunity to sit down, listen to us and realize that we have a genuine group here that care. Certainly excited about the group we were able to put together.”
Oregon’s class nearly doubled in size over the last few weeks. There are now some new faces such as Bryant-James, Khamari Terrell, Justius Lowe and Kawika Rogers in addition to some familiar ones like Florence, Iuli and Emarrion Winston, who also rejoined the class Wednesday.
Throw in transfer portal additions with quarterback Bo Nix, defensive lineman Sam “Taki” Taimani and cornerback Christian Gonzalez and it was certainly not an easy task for Lanning and his staff to put together this type of class in short order.
“As a coach and just as somebody that’s operating in today’s landscape in college football, you have to be willing to adapt and change,” Lanning said about maneuvering recruiting this last month with the transfer portal being such a big part of the process now. “Ask questions. Don’t assume you know everything. I think we work through that process together. Was able to put a great staff together that sees big picture.
“I think it starts there with everybody having a similar vision. ... We still want to be able to develop players, but it’s going to change year to year. I think we’ll continue to adapt our approach as we move forward.”
Along with learning how to build a roster the way he wants it, Lanning also had to learn a new part of the country. He understands Oregon has reach allowing the Ducks to pull prospects from as far away as Texas and Tennessee. He also understands that keeping top talent from around Oregon at home will be important as well.
Lanning made a sweep through Oregon shortly after arriving on campus helping to lead to commitments from Lowe (Lake Oswego) and Winston (Central Catholic). Defensive back Trejon Williams (Jefferson) also locked in his pledge Wednesday after opting to hold off on signing his National Letter of Intent with the Ducks back in August.
“My very first day recruiting, the very first day I could get on the road I spent that time in Oregon,” Lanning said. “That time in Portland and the area. So, that’ll always be a priority for us. Obviously, we have the ability to go anywhere, and that’s a blessing, but we have to win home first.”
Getting to National Signing Day with a bigger class was at the top of the list for Lanning when he arrived at Oregon. He has completed that step, but the work does not stop. It is truly only beginning.
The Ducks have already managed to host some notable recruits in the upcoming classes. That will continue once March rolls around after the current dead period comes to an end. The 2023 group is the one Lanning will truly have an opportunity to build from the ground up, and he values the importance of what that group will mean for the future of the program.
“We’ll be aggressive in our approach moving forward,” Lanning said. “We’ve already been able to have a couple guys on campus with the unofficial period this past month. We’ll definitely attack that coming in March. One of the biggest things we can do as a fan base and a staff is focus on getting guys here for the 23rd for our spring game. April 23rd at 1 p.m. we need to pack the crowd, make Autzen the experience we know it can be.
“That’s one of the big pieces moving forward. Then just getting more of these guys on the phone, on campus, on Zooms. That’s where we’ll attack moving forward.”
The Ducks have improved their overall recruiting ranking to 45th in the class, which is good enough for fifth in the Pac-12. A commitment from five-star Seattle offensive lineman Josh Conerly Jr. would give the Ducks another bump likely pushing them into the third spot of the conference rankings.
Oregon is currently tied with UCLA for the second-best average rating per commitment in the Pac-12, 3.33 stars.
