Oregon Coach Dan Lanning Shares Uncensored Thoughts on New Eligibility Rules

Recently, the NCAA ruled in favor of a new five-for-five proposal that changes college football and college sports as a whole. This means that college athletes will now have five years of eligibility rather than having four years of eligibility to play in more than four games, with the opportunity to redshirt once and be able to gain a medical redshirt throughout their career.

Instead, the five-for-five role will ultimately eliminate the redshirt and medical waivers that would allow extra eligibility, but college athletes will have more than four base years of college sports and will be able to play in five seasons. This is something that many have shared their opinions on, including most recently a comment from Oregon Ducks football coach Dan Lanning, who was quick to share his thoughts on the rule and what it means for the Ducks' roster moving forward.

Dan Lanning Comments on the Five-for-Five Ruling

Oregon Ducks dan lanning eugene autzen stadium big ten media days five-for-five ruling ncaa college football 2026 — Dec 30, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning on the Big Ten Network stage during Rose Bowl media day at Sheraton Grand LA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

"I think we've always had the conversation: if you're good enough, you're old enough for us," Lanning said at the Big Ten Media Days. "And if guys are playing above-the-line football, we want to find roles for them on our team. And as you play in those roles, your role grows if you perform."

This goes to show that Lanning isn't against playing the older players now that the rules have completely changed. Lanning is willing to play the older talent in college football and is a coach who looks for certain traits rather than the age that comes with that player. Instead, he is looking for the players who best fit the mold in the vision that he has for the Oregon Ducks offense and defense.

While the new rules will affect the Oregon roster and mindset, the Ducks are in a great position, as they are able to bring in the best high school athletes across the recruiting scene. This leaves more long-term positives rather than short-term fixes in Eugene.

How Beneficial this Ruling is for Dan Lanning and Oregon

While the ruling can be beneficial to every team, this doesn't seem like a make-or-break for Coach Lanning and his Oregon Ducks staff. They haven't struggled to replace the talent that leaves the program, as they don't believe in rebuilding; they believe in reloading. As for many of the other teams in the Big Ten, they haven't had as much success when it comes to reloading, which consistently shows in their up-and-down seasons.

In fact, due to the success that the Ducks have had building rosters over and over again, one could argue that this is a bit of a disadvantage for them now that they have been going after younger talent each offseason and have prioritized recruiting over the transfer portal. While some teams will begin to stack up older talent, the Ducks won't have much room to do so and will be labeled as a younger group in the nation, and will be the younger team in most matchups that they take part in.

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