What Oregon Ducks' Dan Lanning Said After Spring Scrimmage

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning spoke to the media after the team scrimmaged on Saturday, and the Ducks leader seemed relatively pleased with his team's progress so far in spring practices.

The Ducks only have so many chances to practice together as a team before the annual spring game in Autzen Stadium on April 26, and a number of position battles are still ongoing. Both quarterbacks Dante Moore and Austin Novosad are seemingly competing for for the starting role, and Lanning spoke about what he is looking for in his team's quarterback.

Additionally, the spring transfer portal window is officially open from April 16-25. How active will the Ducks be? Perhaps the biggest name expected to be in the transfer portal is former Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Oregon was heavily involved in Iamaleava's recruitment as a high school prospect, but are they still interested a few years later? Lanning was asked about the Iamaleava and Tennessee situation, and he declined to comment.

Oregon football coach Dan Lanning leads his team onto the field before the game against Oregon State at Autzen Stadium Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. | Chris Pietsch/The Register Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

What Dan Lanning Said After Saturday's Practice:

Opening Statement:

"A beautiful day in Eugene, man. It was a great day for some football. I thought our guys went out there and had competitive toughness. Really operated fairly clean, certainly some things to clean up, but saw some good from both sides of the ball. Some explosive plays on offense, some great pursuit from defense. Got to get an opportunity to look at the film and see exactly what we saw, but our guys worked today."

On player leadership:

"I saw some of that. I still want to see more. You know, just pointing out a couple good examples out there on the field today. So, continue to always look for more of that."

On Tennessee Volunteers and Nico Iamaleava:

"Not getting into anything else except, let's talk about a scrimmage today. The Ducks worked really hard in a scrimmage today."

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) walks off the field after the win over Kentucky after an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the offense and defense competing:

"So that's, that's what you want to see, you know, in spring ball, some back and forth. And I thought we had some good back and forth today. You know, went both ways at times, you know, offense had success. Third down period, defense had success. So, it was just some good competitive periods today."

On Oregon's physicality:

"Yeah, well we’re tackling, right? And I think that's how you become a great football team. You gotta practice it, so it doesn't happen on accident. And I think you saw some really good moments of that. Again, anxious to watch the film and see what showed up."

On evaluating quarterbacks after a scrimmage:

"Yeah, efficiency, right? Like, who can operate and keep the ball out of jeopardy, right? Who understands the system? You know, thing about quarterback is, you gotta be able to get everybody lined up. You gotta understand the protections. You gotta understand the play clock, right? The operation. So there's a lot that we ask our quarterback to do here. I think that allows them to play fast once they get in a real rhythm of that. But who's moving the ball down the field, right? Matriculating the ball down the field, who's creating, you know, touchdowns, right? Makes the play of the people around them better, and then it's able to operate our system."

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On the team's progression in spring ball:

"Feel like we're at practice eight, right? We just had practice eight and got opportunities to continue to get some more work here over the next few weeks. So right now, I'm worried about what's next."

On offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon and Alex Harkey:

"Well, both, you know, physically gifted guys. I think they walk out there with a temperament. There' s very few teams that I've been around that have an O-line that feels like our O-line, right? I think that's credit to coach (A’lique) Terry and the guys that support him in the offensive line room, coach Cutter (Leftwich), right? Coach (Dallas) Warmack, coach (Ryan) Walk. Those guys, they all work extremely hard."

"And you see that showing up with guys like Pregnon and guys like Harkey that you mentioned, but also several other guys in that room, you know, they're close, connected. Work hard, you know, and there's a lot of room for growth and opportunities for us to get better there, but those guys are working in the back here."

On younger players gaining scrimmage experience:

"You get better football by playing football. So days like today, make us better, right? And every one of those situations is different. We want it to be as close to game days we can get on days like today. But there's a difference, right? And you're working against your own team, right? And there's some real competitive periods, but you got to move on to the next play too, so they get to see all those things in these scrimmages. We're going to take advantage every scrimmage, every practice we can, to create that."

On quarterbacks playing like themselves vs. former Ducks Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel:

"I think that's everybody in our organization, right, not just exclusively quarterbacks. I think coaches have to be who they are, right? Players have to be who they are. So everybody understands that, but I also know where's one on a play progression, right? Where do my eyes need to start? What do I need to be able to do?"

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore throws out a pass during practice with the Oregon Ducks Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024 at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex in Eugene, Ore. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

"And there's a teaching progression to everything that we do. Same with quarterback, so I'm more concerned about are their eyes in the right spot to start, right? Are they making the right calls, the right reads, the right checks, and are they putting the ball in jeopardy? Are they protecting the ball?"

On the cornerback room:

"I mean, some good, some bad, right? Saw some physicality show up today. Some guys have to make tackles in space, which is one of the hardest things to do in football. Saw some guys get beat over the top at times today, too. So that's going to happen, right? And what we got to do is learn from those mistakes. But I see a group that's really hungry. Really hungry, eager to learn, taking advantage of their opportunities when they're on the field, and maximizing those chances."

On defensive lineman A'Mauri Washington:

"A'Mauri's got unbelievable ability that we're really excited about. When you see a guy that's worked extremely hard since he got here, sometimes it's hard, you know, early on, to be able to make huge contributions there on the defensive line, but he's become a guy that we really count on. He has explosive power, he has great strength, and he understands his job when he's out on the field. So, really proud of his progress and the teammate that he is and what he does for our team."