WATCH: Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning Georgia Week Press Conference
It's game week for the Oregon Ducks, which means head coach Dan Lanning held his weekly press conference ahead of facing the Georgia Bulldogs Monday evening.
Opening statement: "Pretty excited obviously to finally hit somebody else wearing a different color. Thrilled to be associated with the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic, this'll be a fun event for our guys. Obviously a lot of mutual respect for this team. It's one that we have intimate knowledge of, but really excited to get out there and play. I know our guys are anxious. They've been working really hard. Fall camp has been long and it's time to go play somebody else. Our guys have been practicing really well. We're working on getting our legs back after fall camp. It's been a lot of work, so really conscientious of what we've been doing there on the field with a group of guys, but also making sure that we're game ready."
Question: Obviously this game means quite a bit for everybody, but Bradyn Swinson spoke specifically about feeling like he was overlooked in particular by Georgia. Can you speak going back to his recruitment and how much if at all you plan to kind of remind Bradyn about certain things this week because this has been a game three plus years in the making for him?
Lanning: "I think Bradyn included, every single of our guys is really excited to go play elite competition. Obviously Georgia is a great football team. Ultimately, there's so many stories like that that are stories, but the reality is that's all they are is stories. We gotta go play the football game. Bradyn's gotta go do it on the field. What we talked to our team earlier today about is go play the game not the occasion and that's really what we're focused on."
Question: Their tight ends, Bowers, Washington and Gilbert. Can you speak to what they bring to the table and that matchup and the importance of keeping them corralled best you guys can?
Lanning: "I think it's arguably one of the best groups in the nation. It's hard to find a group that has as much talent in their tight end room--obviously we really love our tight ends here but they've got a great group. A lot of talent. You can call them tight ends but the reality is they're a matchup issue as a wideout as much as they are at tight end. It's something we have to be conscious of in our game plan and where we put our guys in position to be successful."
Question: You've spent the last few weeks focusing on your players, your team, but you're going into a game where you know the coaches, you know the players and you've been with them less than a year ago. Do you allow yourself to ever stop and kind of think about what that experience is gonna be like?
Lanning: "I think a lot of people would sit here and say it's not about that. Very similar to what I said about Bradyn. But there is. There's definitely some feelings of excitement for me to go play a team that I care about and was a big part of for a long time. But that's not the focus. It's my job just like it's the players' job to focus on the task at hand. I'm excited to go play a familiar team. There's certainly some advantages to that but they have those same advantages. "
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