Dan Lanning Addresses Injuries to Key Oregon Ducks Starters

The Oregon Ducks are gaining momentum down the final stretch of the regular season. The Ducks took down the USC Trojans in week 13 at Autzen Stadium and are set to hit the road to face their rivals, the Washington Huskies.

Coach Dan Lanning provided updates on the injuries on his roster during his Monday press conference. The Ducks have been without three of their top wide receivers in the past few games, while center offensive lineman Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu suffered an injury against USC.

What Dan Lanning Said

oregon ducks dan lanning injury big ten college fotball rivalry washington huskies dante moore usc trojans wide receiver — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning takes the field ahead of the game as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on Nov. 22, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Opening Statement:

“On to a fun one. Season's gone really quick here, obviously, and excited for this next challenge here with Washington. But again, want to take the opportunity to thank our fans for being unbelievable this past weekend. Got some work in with our guys this morning, and certainly excited to continue to attack this week.”

Whether Iapani “Poncho” Laolulu Will Play vs. Washington:

“We'll see.”

If Wide Receiver Evan Stewart Has Made a Decision About Returning or Redshirting:

“No, I don't think so.”

What Makes Defensive Coordinator Tosh Lupoi a Candidate For Job Openings and How He Keeps His Staff Intact:

“Tosh is an unbelievable coach, right? I learned from him, as much as now, getting the opportunity to work together in this setting with me as a head coach, but I've learned from him back when I was a GA at Alabama. And he is a relentless worker and an unbelievable guy preparing. He'll make an outstanding head coach when the opportunity comes that he wants, and it makes sense for him,” Lanning said.

“Anybody that wouldn't look at him would be crazy. I mean, he does an unbelievable job and has a reputation of doing an unbelievable job as a recruiter. But that's not all that he is. He is an unbelievable coach. He can coach every position on defense, understands offense, ball, puts in the time and effort,” he continued.

“So, when he gets his opportunity, I know he'll kill it, and at some point, that'll happen. I always talk about my goals for our staff and really myself, is for me to be able to help people advance, for opportunities for themselves that make a lot of sense. And will that happen this year for Tosh?”

“I think it has to make unbelievable sense for him for it to happen. And same for Will (Stein) and same for several coaches on our staff. We got a bunch of coaches that are going to be phenomenal head coaches when they get that chance. But we also have a really good product here that a lot of these guys have said no to a lot of great opportunities because they don't want to leave what we have here,” Lanning said.

“So will he get that opportunity someday? I hope he does if he wants that. And same for all the other coaches on our staff, because they're certainly deserving. We get to have a great team here because of what they've done. And the great thing is our players understand that that's how opportunities work. Man, you go places, you work really hard, and the next opportunity comes. And it'll be the same for the players that are on our team, that you work really hard, you do a great job, at some point, you get the opportunity to go be in the NFL.”

“So, we'll see how that all goes. The number one thing that can impact that is how we perform, right? And if we perform really well on Saturday, it's going to continue to create more opportunities for us. And if that happens, then that's going to be me accomplishing some of my goals, where other people get to accomplish theirs. Ao we'll see how it all plays out. There's some great coaches we got here. I hope they get the opportunities that they deserve down the road for sure.”

If He Still Sees a Benefit to Playing in the Big Ten Conference Championship Game Despite Having an Injured Roster:

“That's got to be one of your longest questions for me just to say I'm only worried about this game – but it was a good question. But I'm just worried about this game. That's got to be close. I don't know if we had a timer on it. That was one of those long ones,” Lanning joked about the question.

“It was a good question. It's a good question. I just, not a lot of benefits for me answering it. We'll play whatever game we get to play, but I'm really excited to play this one first.”

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His Perspective on the Rivalry and Controlling Their Emotions:

“There'll be a lot of the same messaging from that standpoint of go out there and do your job, it’s the best way you can control it. And I know that our guys, there’ll be a high level of emotion in this game. They're going to have that, but it's definitely an important rivalry to us,” Lanning said.

“This game means a lot. It's probably the number one question I get asked when I'm out on the road with donors and support groups and talking about our university is about this game. It's one that I struggled with early on when I was here. To start, they had some success against us, so it means a lot to me. It's one that I want to have success in,” he continued.

“And they're well coached. I mean, Jedd does a good job. They have good players. They've done a really good job in talent evaluation. Their quarterback’s playing as well as anybody right now. Got good wideouts, got a good back. I know they've been a little banged up. It sounds like they're getting healthy, similar to us. We've been banged up. So ultimately, though, you see a complete team. And then two fan bases that don't like each other, which makes it fun.”

Approaching the Rivalry with Few Starters Having Participated in it in the Past:

“You show it to him. You educate him on it. You show them the history of the game. We did some of that this morning. Try to illustrate to them what it looks like and compare it to other atmospheres they have been around.”

How Depth Contributes to Team Culture:

“I think it's that. I mean, it's certainly easier to feel like you're a part of something when you get to be a part of it on Saturdays and get to be out there on the field on Saturdays. We've had a lot of guys that have been a part of it.”

“And their role might be different for a lot of guys, but when you can use the numbers we have, we can use all the guys on our team that we have, and they can contribute in some way, you certainly are going to have a better feeling about your contribution to the team.”

Dante Moore and Malik Benson’s Connection on Third Down:

“Preparation. A lot of preparation has been put in by Dante. Works really hard. Being on the same page. Several of those plays that he's made are checks based on coverages as well. So, to piece all those pieces together, it's a lot of hard work on his part, and work by the wideouts knowing that they're going to be where he trusts them to be.”

Defensive Back Brandon Finney Jr.’s Response to a Rough Outing:

“He's always the next play guy, right? And I think it'll be learning moments for him, but ultimately, he's a guy we'd all go to war with any day. When you go against good players, that's part of understanding that moments like that can happen. And that's not a surprise. You have an expectation that moments like that will happen at some point this year. It's about how you respond, and he's already responded, so got a lot of confidence in him.”

How Offensive Linemen Fox Crader and Charlie Pickard Played vs. USC:

“I thought they did a good job of stepping up. Certainly, some opportunities that they can clean up. But the guys played with good effort. They were execution sound, like, as far as technique, we had a couple snap infractions with Charlie, we have to get cleaned up. But those guys came in and performed.”

The Washington Receiving Core and the Ducks' Secondary’s Performance vs. USC:

“Washington has certainly some capable wideouts. We got to do a better job at the 50-50 balls. There were some moments where they competed, and they were contested at times, but they went up and won it. They got the ball at the top. And those are tough against guys like that,” he said.

“Ultimately, we wanted to limit Makai Lemon. I thought we were able to do that in a lot of ways. I know he scored, but he didn't have a ton of yards in receiving. But the other wideouts stepped up and made some big plays. Some of those, I think we can make better plays on.”

“Some of them, I think they were great throws and catches, and those are going to happen in those moments. But probably more than any of that is cleaning up just the pass interference, where we had opportunities to get off the field and we didn’t.”

Lanning's Impressions of the Huskies’ Defense:

“I think they've got a little bit more versatility that I've seen from the past and a lot of variety that they can pitch. They’re a game plan defense. You’re gonna see new stuff each week not necessarily carry over from the previous week.”

“They've got good talent on that side of the ball, but the variety makes it a challenge. Four down, three down fronts, multitude of coverages, some middle close certainly some high safety looks that we've seen in the past, but a lot of variety off of that as well.”

Washington Quarterback Demond Williams’ Year-by-Year Growth:

“We saw him last year. I knew that, okay, this guy's gonna be a really good player. His speed is unique at quarterback. I don't think there's anyone we've seen that can run like he runs this year, and he can make really impressive throws as well,” Lanning said.

“He has some wideouts he can go you can go to. So, when he's on, man, they're dangerous. They're really dangerous, and it's hard to get him off. So he plays really well, can make all the throws come around with his feet. A tough guy to get down.”

How Coach Jedd Fisch’s Team Compares to His First Season at Washington:

“It takes a while for culture to set in, and it takes a while to get your players there. I mean, guys playing inspired, and I can't speak to exactly what the huge growth moments are for them. But one, that the quarterback development is really impressive, schematic, and the pieces they're carrying, the variety that they carry. I mean, it's a real challenge, and it takes some time to get all that in, and it seems like it's really informed now.”

Tight Ends Kenyon Sadiq and Jamari Johnson’s Run Blocking:

“I think they're good in the C-area. They block well, they're physical. Those things all showed up.”

What He’s Thankful For and His Favorite Thanksgiving Dish:

“Man, so much to be thankful for. It has to start with family for me, for sure. Thankful for the opportunity to coach here at Oregon and coach people that I do work with. There's a lot of benefits, a lot of things to be thankful for. And if it's Thanksgiving, I've got to go dark meat, Turkey. Man, I don't know how you can pass that up.”