Dan Lanning Reveals Wild Oregon Ducks' Weight Gain After Ohio State Defeat

Big Ten media days are underway and the Oregon Ducks are walking in to their second season with the conference as defending champions. Retaining a title isn't easy, and a lot of the work to build up a team comes from time in the weight room.

According to Oregon coach Dan Lanning, the Ducks are bulking up to meet the big body play throughout the conference.

"Our players have worked really hard. They put on over 1,300 pounds this offseason. Overall peak power numbers have gone up 21 percent. The average gain for our freshmen is over 17 pounds. Those are some exciting things that you -- you look for wins in the offseason. Those are some great wins for our team," Lanning said.

Jul 23, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon head coach Dan Lanning speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

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The Ducks suffered an early College Football Playoff exit to the Ohio State Buckeyes and look to defend their Big Ten Championship title this season.

Lanning also praised the Oregon strength and conditioning staff, led by third-year head strength and conditioning coach Wilson Love, for helping bring on these physical transformations with a team theme of "double down".

"I do want to take the time to recognize the efforts of some of our support staff back in Oregon: our strength staff, Coach Love and his crew; our nutrition staff with Brenna; sports performance, Ben Mckay; Chief, our trainer," Lanning said. "These guys have done an unbelievable job this summer of putting our team in a position to be better."

Sep 28, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei (10) and UCLA Bruins offensive lineman Jaylan Jeffers (77) battle at the line of scrimmage during the fourth quarter at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

When entering the Big Ten during the 2024 - 2025 season, the Ducks were critiqued by media members about the smaller size of West Coast football teams competing against the bigger bodies of Big Ten's mostly mid-west based programs. Lanning even acknowledged those comments in a press conference before last years' College Football Playoffs.

"I think, you know, the Big Ten has always been a league that's been identified as a physical, tough conference. And I would say every indication of what we've been able to experience this year has shown that it is, that it certainly matters. But I think that's the equation to winning football right? If you want to have a winning football team, a successful football team, you have to be physical. You have to go win in the trenches," Lanning said back in December.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first down catch during the second half of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A lot of football size arguments tend to revolve back to the trenches. According to a study by Crescent City Sports regarding offensive line size across college football in 2024, the Big Ten came in second behind the SEC for lineman size with an average of 6'5 and 314.3lbs. Last year for the Ducks, their average lineman schematics were 6'4, 316.4lbs, which didn't even crack the top 15 teams.

However, out of those 15 teams, Texas and Penn State were the only two programs with the largest offensive linemen to make it to the College Football Playoff top ten at the end of the season.

So with Oregon getting the size they need for the Big Ten, it's what they do with it during the season that matters.