Notable quotes from Dan Lanning after Oregon Ducks’ spring practice

It’s that time again.

The Oregon Duck football team met for the first time this spring as camp officially opened for the 2026 season. Oregon has several new players who will play key positions, as well as several new faces on the coaching staff. The Ducks will have a new offensive and defensive coordinator calling plays.

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Drew Mehringer takes over the offense from Will Stein, who left to take the head coaching position at Kentucky, and Chris Hampton will be the new defensive coordinator after Tosh Lupoi left for Cal. Both coaches were in the system before, so one can expect very few changes in philosophy and play-calling.

The Ducks may have new coaches calling plays, but they can expect the same success they have experienced under Lanning. Having Dante Moore back at quarterback also helps. He could have been a top 5 draft pick in the NFL this season, but instead chose to return to Eugene and hopefully lead the Ducks to their first national championship.

Here are some key quotes from Lanning after his first scrum with the local media.

Opening Statement

Dan Lanning: Good Day 1. You know, it’s always hard to grade a Day 1. What you’re really looking for is effort and execution, because we’re not in full pads yet. We’re in spiders. But I saw guys running with the ball, moving with a purpose, doing a really good job today, out there in the field, some good communication, and then a lot of stuff that we can improve. Obviously, we evaluate it, but certainly some new faces. But I feel like we have good operation going right now.

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Dante Moore’s offseason

Question: Dante, going into his second year as a starter, third year in the program. What have you seen from him just this offseason, as far as comfortability and confidence? Now, going into his fourth year of college football?

DL: Yeah, today, it’s today. It shifts a little bit, right? He’s been doing walkthroughs. He’s a great communicator. Has a really good understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish on the field. Obviously, experience that he’s able to lean on, but now the game speeds up, right? It’s a difference in a walk-through and everything going full speed. So he’s gonna level up, right? But he’s certainly stepping up from a leadership standpoint. He’s a coach on the field. He’s able to take advantage of that. But you know, Day 1, always, there’s an opportunity for us to get better.

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Spring foundation for postseason

Q: Each year, this program has taken another step in the postseason. What type of foundation can this spring provide to take that next biggest step?

DL: It starts day by day, right? Starts with the day. So the best thing we can do to continue to improve and get better in our program is to be the best we can today, right? And we get tomorrow. We’ll worry about tomorrow. But there’s steps, there are operations that you want to improve how quickly we can become a team, you know, it’s really important there’s like I said there’s some new faces there. There are some old faces returning. It’s guys getting uncomfortable really quickly and attacking when they have to every day.

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Using the loss to Indiana as a motivational tool for 2026

Q: Is this group using the Indiana loss as motivation for the season?

DL: We didn’t finish the way we wanted to. There are a lot of lessons to be learned. I think that film has been watched a lot by a lot of us. But it’s a new group, a new team. What we accomplished last year has nothing to do with what we’re going to accomplish this year. But it allows you to ask, “What can we add, what kind of wrinkles can we adjust, how can we play off of our personnel? All those things play into it.

Promoting from within for the OC and DC positions

Q: Thoughts of promoting Drew Mehringer (offensive coordinator) and Chris Hampton (defensive coordinator), and what made you think they were ready for this moment?

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DL: Anytime you’re willing to promote, it’s because you see what those guys do every single day. It’s a body of work. You may interview somebody three or four times on a Zoom, but the best indication of what I’m going to get in the future is how those guys performed in the past and how they worked with their teammates. You’re able to watch Drew and you’re able to evaluate what a Terrence Ferguson or a Patrick Herbert or what a Kenyon Sadiq or Jamari Johnson has done in the program and his role in our offense has grown. He’s been a part of this since Day 1. You’re able to see what this looks like in a leadership role. Same thing with Coach Ham. Our secondary has gotten better every single year he has been here.

Dylan Raiola’s role on the team and recovery from injury

Q: How has Dylan Raiola come in and assumed his role at quarterback and how has his recovery been from injury?

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DL: He was able to practice with us today. You know, we’re being conscientious of where he’s at as he comes back, but he’s pushing, and it’s new for him, right? He’s coming to a new system, but he’s learning it well. He’s definitely a cerebral player that can make the throws so very excited about, you know, where he’s at and where he’s continuing to grow.

The future of NIL and revenue sharing

Q: There’s been a lot of discussion about federal legislation for NIL. What is your stance on that, and just your thoughts on the current system and challenges of revenue sharing?

DL: Yeah, I try to focus on what I do control, right? So we adjust the rules as they adjust something we don’t currently control. I think it would be great if there’s some uniform. But again, I’m always going to say, before we make a new rule, let’s make sure we have a plan to enforce it. I would say, you know, based on the previous 12 months, I don’t know where the enforcement piece is playing into this and what it looks like, so we’ll continue to adapt and adjust. That’s college football.

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Building a new secondary

Q: How did it you guys build a secondary over the offseason, and how did the way that those guys had success in unique roles in terms of versatility can kind of inform this year’s decision making?

DL: Yeah, I think, I mean, always, you’re trying to play the two things people that fit your system and have the character and the athletic ability to fit what you do, and then your job as a coach to be able to make sure the scheme fits to what your players do. And that’s part of what the spring is for. We got on both sides of the ball. We got, you know, a multitude of calls that we can execute. We got to figure out which ones we can execute the best, and then how that fits our personnel is going to be on the field.

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Dante and Dylan working together

Q: What’s the dynamic there between Moore and Raiola? Have you seen those two work together? What’s the competition with that?

DL: It’s like the same as this in every room, right? Guys went out there competing, making each other better, right? And every one of these guys cheer for each other’s success. They want to see each other. You know, we step on the field and practice. It’s offense versus defense. Offense wants to win, defense wants to win, right? So these guys compete at the highest level when they’re out there on the field, they’re hoping for each other’s success, because the stronger we are as a team, right? The better we’re going to be as a team. So they’ve worked really, really well together, just like every position we have out there.

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Coaches Kamran Araghi (EDGE) and Koa Ka’ai (Quarterbacks) fitting in

Q: You’ve always talked about getting young coaches in here and developing them and giving opportunities. Kamran and Koa are two guys that have been behind the scenes for the last three or four years and have probably elevated up. What did you like about them, and kind of just their roles now with this program and their positions?

DL: But you know, Coach Araghi coached our edge last year, right? Koa coached our quarterback last year. So it might look different on paper to somebody outside looking in, but those guys were very involved in what we do day to day operationally last year, and they’ve earned the opportunity to continue to elevate.

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Replacing a talent like Dillon Thieneman

Q: What have you seen from Koi Perich this offseason and how he has taken a spot in that room?

DL: He was football serious and ready to start there; the guy is infatuated with ball. You know, that’s what stuck out. Even when he came on his visit here, you know, he wasn’t really interested in seeing where he’s gonna live or what that looks like. He’s ready to watch some films. So I think that carries over and very, very similar, you know, to the standpoint of how Dillon operated and what he wanted to create while he was here.

Adding just one offensive lineman

Q: You’ve always talked about filling holes with your portal, but always building a program through the high school ranks. This year, you only want the world for one offensive lineman. What did you like about the returners, despite so many starters moving on to the next level to feel confident in the guys of the development you’ve got there?

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DL: Yeah, I think we have size and athleticism. I think Coach Terry and the group that he works with over time have really proven that they’re great at building a cohesive unit, and we have some guys that we’ve recruited really well there over the last few years that we want to be able to see step up and take charge and take advantage of the opportunity.

Adding Coach Ryan Switzer

Q: You guys announced the coaching staff a few days ago. A lot of fans were excited to see the name Ryan Switzer on there. What was that process like of finding him? Did you have a previous relationship with him?

DL: You know Coach Douglas and Coach Samples, I think they all kind of went through this shows how young they are, but they all went through like, combine work, or a rivals camp, stuff like that together, so there’s a little bit of that. And then obviously, anybody that’s familiar with college football is familiar with what he was able to accomplish, but there are a lot of things they can add to our program. With his experience as a returner, right? You always look to be able to add, you know, hats in the building that can help contribute and make your players better. And he’s got a lot of energy and enthusiasm. He’s got great experience. And you know, I think there’s some real value in that for us, having Ryan on our staff.

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Returning all four D-linemen

Q: You’re turning all four starters in the defensive line. What’s your reaction to that, and what Foundation does that provide for a defense?

DL: Well, those guys have to be in charge to set the standard. And you know, any healthy defensive line is going to have a lot of guys that are able to play and rotate. So it’s not going to be just those four up front for us to be the team that we have to be. You’re going to see a lot of guys step out there on the defensive line for us, but those guys coming back, I think it all speaks to the maturity of their decision on, hey, there’s an opportunity for me to improve. There’s some things that I still want to go accomplish here at Oregon, and we expect them to be a piece that can really help us get there.

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Losing Malik Benson’s deep-threat capabilities

Q: Returning a lot of receivers, especially a group that saw some injuries, losing Malik though, how do you guys, you go into an off-season, losing that deep threat, and how do you guys kind of come out of it knowing who you have downfield?

DL: Yeah, I mean, that’s what spring ball is about. We’re gonna figure out who can be that deep threat. But I always think Malik did an unbelievable job here, and I’m really excited for his opportunity, you know, at the next level, because he certainly deserves it. But as the season started, you know, he hadn’t become that, you know, people fall into roles and take advantage of roles when they take advantage of opportunities. So we’re gonna figure out who takes advantage of the opportunity to press the field and go attack it like Malik did.

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Recievers room

Q: Just what excites you about the amount of options you do have in that receiver room after you had to deal with the injury locked down the stretch last year, and how do you apply those lessons that you learned when you do have went from when you didn’t have all your options to when you do this season?

DL: Yeah, we do right now, right? I mean, that’s football, so you don’t know what’s going to happen, what’s going to change throughout the season. We started last season with a lot of options, right? We might have been missing one, right? But ultimately, that adjusts as the year goes on. And it’ll be the same thing this year. There’ll be some injuries within positions that we have to adjust and adapt. And we’ve shown that we can do that, whether that’s utilizing other personnel groups, but being healthy certainly allows us to have our whole repertoire, you know, and the ability to use that.

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Adding DB transfer Aaron Scott

Q: Aaron Scott is someone that you guys recruited heavily out of high school. He went to Ohio State for a couple of years, came here now. What was that recruitment like this time around? And what does he add to that room for you?

DL: Yeah, the message really didn’t change. You know, for Aaron, we pointed out some of the same things. And I think again, the more you build over time, you get to really point to the past and say that’s an indicator of the future. And there’s some things that we’ve been able to do with guys in the secondary here in the past that really point to the future, what that’s going to look like, and involves having players like Aaron that can come compete. He’s a really good player. Had big roles there in his previous school, so look excited to see him grow and develop that.

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Jerry Mixon’s new leadership role

Q: You talk about opportunities for guys. Jerry’s stepping into probably an opportunity to replace Bryce (Boettcher) and the leadership of that linebacker spot, and just what have you seen from him? And why is he ready for that? And then secondly, just the other guys around him. There’s a lot of opportunity for playing time. What’s that going to be like for spring ball?

DL: Yeah, again, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, if you can play above the line football right? And I think there’s, there’s a group of guys in that room that have the ability to play above the line football, and Jerry did that at a high level at times last year. And I expect him to grow and get better, but he’s grown over time. He’s become a better communicator. He’s a guy that you know, like you said, he can be that quarterback at times on the defense, right? And we’ll get those same things from other guys with experience, a healthy Devin Jackson, right, Dylan Williams, right, Gavin Nix, Braden Platt, there’s a lot of guys in that room that can step up. There’s some new faces in that room that can step up. Will Straton and all those guys are earning opportunities as we go through the spring.

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Bigger role for linebacker Nasir Wyatt

Q: What does success look like for Nasir Wyatt this spring as he steps into a bigger role and serves as being, instead of being the guy that’s 3-4 pass rush snaps a game and really filling in for Matayo (UIagalelei) and Tatum (Tuioti)?

DL: There’s a huge difference in coming from high school and stepping out on the field, especially, you know, for the multitude of things that we do in our defense. But now, Nas is a guy that has a lot better understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish. You know, he understands that his ability to play more is based on him being on the field on first and second down, not just pass rush situations. He’s done a great job with his body. Now it’s about maintaining that and continuing to gain the strength and the weight necessary to be an every-down player for us. But he’s a dynamic threat that we have to figure out how we can utilize, because he certainly makes an impact when he’s on the field.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Football coach Dan Lanning breaks down first spring practice