What Oregon's Dan Lanning Said at Big Ten Football Media Days

Dan Lanning's first season as Oregon's head coach could not have gone much better. Except for that ending, of course. The Ducks went unbeaten through the regular season, defeated Penn State in a wild Big Ten Championship Game and earned the top seed for the College Football Playoff. And then, Ohio State happened.

"I don't think we played our best football," Lanning said of the Ducks' 41-21 loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. "That being said, we did go undefeated in the conference and won the Big Ten Championship in our first year. That said, double down. Focus on our process. What do we have to continue to improve? There's always learning lessons, but it doesn't necessarily impact the future."

Lanning brings the Ducks to Penn State for the annual 'White Out' on Sept. 27 that is by far the most anticipated date on the Nittany Lions' home schedule. Tickets already top $300 for the Big Ten title game rematch.

What will Penn State face from the Ducks in its Big Ten opener? Here are the highlights of Lanning's press conference at Big Ten Football Media Days.

Dan Lanning on how to "coach" celebration 🗣️#B1GFootball x @oregonfootball pic.twitter.com/Bl3QBcZZp5
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QUESTION: I know you said last season obviously doesn't have a bearing on this season, but to what extent did the way last season ended motivate your team coming into this off-season and winter workouts and all that?

DAN LANNING: I think every coach probably feels this way, but we always remember the losses over the wins. I think there's a lot you can learn from that. It doesn't take away from what we were able to accomplish, but we lost a great team. Coach Day did an unbelievable job last year of having his team in position to have success there. There's some things I think I could have done better at the end.

I don't think we played our best football. That being said, we did go undefeated in the conference and won the Big Ten Championship in our first year. That said, double down. Focus on our process. What do we have to continue to improve? There's always learning lessons, but it doesn't necessarily impact the future.

QUESTION: You have Dante Moore at quarterback. What have you been most proud of as far as his progression since he's been there? Have you had a chance to kind of link him up and reach out with Bo Nix and Dillon to kind of -- your record with transfers has been pretty excellent. Has he had a chance to link up and talk to those guys?

DAN LANNING: Yeah, all of our quarterbacks have, Austin, Dante, Luke. We've been really fortunate the last few years. We've had a great mentor in that room. We have guys with unbelievable experience that these guys were able to watch and see.

I think probably what impressed me most with Dante is not wanting to be in a microwave society, not wanting to just get it fast because there's an opportunity in front of him, but to have the slow-cooked meal, to have the opportunity to sit back and mature and learn, learn from experiences that you don't necessarily have to be on the field to feel. The same goes for Austin. The same goes for Luke and the other guys in our program.

Those guys have learned from great quarterbacks that have done it at a really, really high level. For him to have that opportunity, show maturity, develop in his leadership, I think it's going to create great opportunities for our team.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you just your perspective as far as the chemistry being built between Dante and Kenyon Sadiq. How do you see Kenyon being able to shoulder some of that load this season?

DAN LANNING: I actually told Kenyon on the way down, yesterday was the first time I played it, but I played with my youngest son, Titan, we played the NCAA college football, and Sadiq went off, right? He balled out. I need to make sure I bring that up to our quarterbacks, throw it to Kenyon because he's been unbelievable this off-season. Like I said, if you just see him work, it's not a secret.

I feel like he would tell you those are some of the traits he learned from the guys that are ahead of him, whether it's Terrance Ferguson or Pat Herbert. Yeah, there is a chemistry being developed, and that's what fall camp is about, our quarterbacks getting on the same page, our tight ends, our wideouts, our backs, and just creating that rhythm.

Our guys have worked really hard this summer, but Kenyon is going to be hard for people to deal with. He's a special player and could be the best tight end in the nation. When you have a great rhythm with your quarterbacks being able to get the ball to them, that's going to be a special weapon for us.