Dan Lanning Offers Clarity On Evan Stewart And Trey McNutt Injuries

The No. 6 Oregon Ducks are physically preparing for the end of the regular season with their second bye of 2025.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks hope their post-bye matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes goes better than the Indiana loss that followed their first bye week. He spoke to the media on Wednesday about the lessons Oregon learned from earlier this season.

Lanning also had a positive update on quarterback Dante Moore, who exited the Wisconsin game with a nose injury. The coach kept things positive when asked about the return timeline for wide receiver Evan Stewart (torn patellar tendon) and defensive back Trey McNutt (broken leg) who have yet to play this season. The clarity Lanning provided is that both athletes are still possible to return this season.

What Lanning Said

dan lanning oregon ducks evan stewart injury trey mcnutt dante moore brock thomas big ten ncaa college football iowa hawkeyes — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning walks the field before the game as the Oregon Ducks host the Wisconsin Badgers on Oct. 25, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Opening Statement:

“Good practice today. Worked on a lot of specific stuff, really more about us. Attacked some red area, worked on some open or short yardage, but overall, really good day. Good competitive practice.

What The Ramp Up For Wide Receiver Evan Stewart Looks Like:

“We'll keep evaluating it when he's ready. We'd love to have him out there, but there's still some progress that has to happen there.”

If There’s A Chance Of A Return For Defensive Back Trey McNutt:

“There's certainly a possibility.”

How Quarterback Dante Moore’s Progressing After Wisconsin Exit:

“He had a good practice today. He’s out there rolling. Did a great job.”

His Reaction To Mid-Season Coaching Changes:

“A little hard to wrap your head around. I'm not sure exactly what the hurry’s for, but it's part of what we all are aware of and what we signed up for in this profession. It's a tough profession, but it's a really rewarding profession,” Lanning said.

“There's a lot of people who would love to do the to do what we get to do, and it's nice to be in a place that has really consistent stability, and players that are really focused. But I think that's just an example of distractions that exist right now in college football that our players and our coaches handle really well.”

If There’s Anything They Learned From The First Bye:

“Try to separate them. Certainly some things that we try to take from the bulk of the season, but we just really good self-scout across the ball where the defense will break down the offense, offense will break down the defense and find some things that we can build off of.”

What Stood Out About The First Quarter Versus Wisconsin:

“Not taking easy money at times. That's part of the reason we did openers today. We want to be able to start off better on our opening drives. So, it's good opportunity to attack, but just small things here and there, and it takes 11 guys you know to be able to execute at high level.”

What He’s Liked From Quarterback Brock Thomas So Far:

“He's done a good job. I mean, that's a really tough environment and game to operate in, even we had a bobbled snap. That's one that you'd love to have back. And there was a ball in jeopardy play that you'd love to have back. But outside of that, Brock's performed really well.”

His Thoughts On Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz:

“I met him in Big Ten meetings, and it's like, you feel like you're in the presence of somebody really special, and he's so humble for what he's accomplished. Obviously, more Big Ten wins than anybody in the history of the Big Ten speaks for itself. But a coach that does it the right way, believes in what he believes in, and does it to such a high standard. I've got a lot of admiration and respect for him, and the job that he's done at Iowa.”

Thoughts On Iowa Defensive Coordinator Phil Parker:

“Phil's an unbelievable coach. I mean, consistently these guys have played really, really well on defense for a really long time. What’s funny was I was watching Dante Moore at MLK, I was watching him play, and Phil was there the same night that we were there watching Dante, and obviously Dante ended going to UCLA, but that same night I got to visit with Phil,” Lanning said.

“He's a guy I've got unbelievable respect for the job that they do on defense, the way their guys play with their hair on fire. They know their issues. They're super consistent. Year in and year out, they play at a really, really high level. So, ton of respect for him and the job that he's done and how he's adapted with the game.”

Having Brayden Platt Back At Linebacker:

“Worth evaluating, but it's really good to see him back out there running around. He's moving well.”

Offensive Areas To Work On:

“Just in general, the margin in football is smaller and smaller, so have to continue to work on those areas that matter in those margins, right? So, third down, red area and short yardage, like we mentioned today, those are all areas we want to attack.”

His Perspective On Red Zone Defense:

“That's an area we want to improve on. And again, the benefit is, we haven't let a lot of people get down there, but when they get down there, I think we can be a lot better. And we've gotten guys in some tight moments where we've been really close to being off the field. We've held guys to field goals at times. But more importantly, we got to make sure that we can go capitalize and make people not score when they get down there.”

How Important The Bye Is To Get Physically Ready For The End Of The Season:

“Always huge. And we try to make sure that we maximize it and take advantage of it. It's a long season. You got to prepare yourself for it, but our guys use it really well.”

Biggest Improvement From First To Second Self-Scout:

“Just think more that the experience we continue to get, the composure starts to show up, guys being able to do their job at a high level. Some small mistakes that we make early in the season we’re not making as much, but there's new mistakes that we got to go correct.”

How Much The Staff Looks At Minnesota, USC, Washington During The Bye:

“We take a glance and then try to reset before work into Iowa.”

What They’ve Learned About Cold Weather Games At The End Of The Season:

“You're gonna play good teams every single week in this league. It's a real challenge. Obviously, Iowa’s really good team does really good job.”

If He Always Knew James Ferguson-Reynolds Was Capable Of Throwing The Ball On A Fake Punt:

“Certainly not something you had to practice figure out. It was a nice toss though, wasn’t it?”

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How Much The Punting Has Changed The Game:

“It's been huge. I think last game, Wisconsin had four punts inside the 20, we had three, right? We always keep track of average starting field position, and if that's a weapon for us, but James has certainly been a weapon for us this year in the punt game.”

Educating Players On Potential NCAA Professional Sports Betting Changes:

“I’ve not spent a lot of time on it. Can't do it, so don't do it. Our players know that.”

His Comfort Level With Ducks vs. Them Film Crew:

“We try to push the limits. It's been something that I would say when I talk about adapting is important in college football, it's been something we've adapted. Over time, I knew it was a piece that we wanted in our program, and it's really grown,” Lanning said.

“You get really excited about the results. You don't know exactly what it'll look like, but guys have taken advantage of it, and our production group has done an unbelievable job. And I think it always gives a different lens for fans and for recruits to be able to peel back the layers and see what it looks like,” he continued.

“And then there's certainly times they put some stuff on there that we're like, all right, let's take this off. But overall, we want to keep pushing the limits there. I can thumbs down, thumbs up some stuff.”

If He’s Had A Favorite Halloween Costume:

“I love it when my wife dresses up as like Jasmine off of Aladdin. She always wants me to be – what’s his – I guess he's Aladdin, right? But I don't have a six pack for that. My grandma made me this really cool ninja turtle outfit when I was a kid. That's probably my favorite, Leonardo with the swords. That's a throwback, though, that was probably third grade, so it's been a while. Had a couple of unique ones in college that I probably can't speak to.”

Favorite Halloween Candy And What His Household Gives Out On Halloween:

“I don't know the second answer. I don't know what Sophia gets. I'm probably like a gummy worm guy, or like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Those are hard to beat. I know Cutter Leftwich, one of our offensive line coaches, he really likes those as well.”

“So, he made an announcement on the plane ride back from Rutgers the other day to deliver all the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to C-28 or whatever seat he was in. So, speaks to how much he loves them. I don't love him that much, but I enjoy him.”