Dan Lanning Hits the Road Recruiting, Wants to Form Own Opinion on Oregon Ducks Roster

The new Oregon head coach discussed how he would make sure that every current player gets a look and detailed his plans to get on the road.

Author:
John Rustik
Publish date:
Jan 14, 2022 2:31 PM EST

Following Georgia's 33-18 win in the national championship game, Dan Lanning didn’t spend much time celebrating the victory. That's because he had already turned all his attention to what he's building in Eugene.

“Walking off the field, in the tunnel right after winning that national championship, I was on FaceTime with a guy that can help enhance our program and make us better,” Lanning told reporters on Thursday. “At that moment, I was a Duck.”

Lanning’s ability to give Oregon a spark is going to be tough. After the departure of Mario Cristobal, Oregon saw major attrition in the form of de-commitments, transfers, and NFL Draft declarations. While there’s a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal, Lanning remains committed to evaluating the players currently on the Oregon roster.

“It’s still late nights and early mornings for us,” Lanning said. “We’re sitting, watching film of our current players. I think everyone thinks – for us right now that we’re evaluating all these players that are outside in the portal, or this high school recruit here… I’m spending time last night watching film of our current players and our current guys.”

It's becoming rather apparent that Lanning will start the season on a clean slate. He will form his opinions on players as he begins to assemble the team. This attitude has led to him confirming the quarterback position is still wide open, and that he's evaluating every aspect of the team from top to bottom.

“I want to be able to form my own opinion because, I told our team yesterday, that when there’s transition and when there’s a new, it’s an opportunity for you to be the absolute best version of yourself,” Lanning said. “Whatever the staff was before and their opinion of you, that’s great, but the reality is that person's not here. I’m here now.”

Even with the amount of talent already on the roster, Lanning is ready to bring some more skilled players to Eugene.

“The unfortunate part for us right now is I haven’t been able to go on the road once as a coach for Oregon and recruit,” he said. “But, tomorrow we get that opportunity, so we have to take advantage of that for our program.”

Although the task may look daunting on the outside with the amount of talent in the portal and already on the team, it seems that Lanning is prepared to do all the heavy lifting to put Oregon in the best position to compete.

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