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We got a taste of Oregon football earlier this month, as the Ducks held their first two spring practices of the year before going on spring break. The spring season resumed on Tuesday, though, with the Ducks getting back on the field and ramping things up as we hurdle towards the annual Spring Game on April 26.
During that break, a handful of Ducks joined the fold, including Ole Miss transfer defensive back Jadon Canady, as well as 4-star CB Brandon Finney, and 4-star RB Dierre Hill. After Oregon's practice, media members got to chat with head coach Dan Lanning, as well as linebacker Bryce Boettcher and center Iapani Laloulu. They broke down the team's progression during the spring, the new faces in the locker room, and what they hope to see from players going forward.
Here are some of the top quotes from Lanning's press conference on Tuesday morning.
Dan Lanning: A good day today, coming back from spring break, you know, I think this is one of those practices you always want to figure out where guys are at over the break, you know. And we took some good steps forward, but there's a lot of a lot of room for us to improve as a team right now. We got a lot of talent, not a lot of experience. We've talked about that, but I'm excited about the direction of our guys. They want to get better. They want to improve, but that's what these practices are for.
Question: Leadership is not something that's new to Bryce, but how have you kind of seen him step up as maybe the elder statesman of that defense now?
DL: This is not really new to him, right? I still want to hear his voice out there at practice even more and more. It's always showing up as a player, right? But that's not, that's not something that's new to Bryce, so I have high expectations for what he looks like on the field and continue to challenge him to keep pushing. But he's been a really good player for us and a really good leader for us.
Q: What's your outlook at the nickel position this spring, now that Jaden is here, and how you handle Daylen (Austin) with the uncertainty of the future?
DL: Yeah, we got a lot of guys competing out there, and we have one practice today. So that's the great thing about spring practices. Use all the spring we'll use all the fall camp. We'll continue to compete.
Q: There are there some of the younger players that maybe we haven't seen play a lot that are stepping into those roles to express what you've seen from that group?
DL: When you ask me these questions, I don't ever really hop into who's doing what? We want everybody on our team who's capable of being a leader to be a leader. I don't care how old you are. I don't care how many snaps you played. Where can you contribute? Where can you lead? Starts by leading yourself. You want to be a guy that can set an example for yourself. What's it look like? And then the players recognize that it's not a secret Who works hard, who doesn't, who attacks every single day? We got a lot of guys on our team that are really capable of that. We got more guys that we need to have continue to step up.
Q: You guys lose some talent at the time with Terence (Ferguson) and with Patrick (Herbert). I'm just wondering, how are you seeing kind of Kenyon (Sadiq) step into that, that role, and maybe even some of the younger guys, like AJ (Pugliano) that missed all of last season, and how is he kind of showing early up in the spring?
DL: We got a lot of good, talented players in that position. Obviously, Kenyon has the most experience there. He's shown an ability to make great plays. I think he's going to be a great playmaker again for us this year, you know. And just even watching the way he took the field today, you realize, okay, this guy has a purpose, right? He's coming out there for a reason. But there's a lot of guys that were looking to create, you know, opportunities for that, those spots and and that's what you want, as many good guys that can go play at a high level.
Q: I don't think we've talked to you about Isaiah World at all. What was it about him that you saw on the transfer portal that you liked, and how's he adapted to the team so far?
DL: Yeah, great athleticism and size, you know. God doesn't make very many people like that, right? And he's got a great spirit every single day, you know? He has the right mindset and the right attitude, this guy that played basketball, you know, in high school, and then kind of, he's grown into a football player. And with that size and strength, it's something that we really want to take advantage of.
Q: How do you approach scrimmages in the spring and evaluating where guys are at for multiple position battles?
DL: Yes, similar, similar to what we've done in the past. We'll have scrimmages the next two Saturdays, not this Saturday, but the next two Saturdays, and then our spring game, you know, and I think those are the best settings that you can evaluate where players are at. You know, the negative of a scrimmage, we do a lot of two spot work. So that's going to limit the amount of guys you can have on the field at the same time when you do a scrimmage. So great benefit from the live reps, the work on the field, you know, really, really good for us to be able to take advantage of, we have to build up, you know, our ability to go compete in a scrimmage, right at this point, and just coming off a break. That's that's not really this week, right? So we're in that build phase as we go through spring, and then we'll have three opportunities to really evaluate these guys in live reps.
Q: What does the corner room look like? How or how different does the corner room look this year with a different group of experience and younger guys particularly great to bring back a Dakota (Fields) off of injuries and is Rod Pleasant going to be part of it in the spring, or is he also focusing on track?
DL: Yeah, Rod is available where he is, you know, when we can get him, we'll be able to use him. Won't necessarily be an everyday thing, because he's doing track, but, you know, I just think we have length in that room, right? And we had some really good players that played for us here in the past, but we're just much bigger group, but obviously lack some experience there. So it's about getting those guys caught up. That's your job as a coach, right? Get them in position and they can go make plays and execute a high level.
Q: What's it been like seeing Bryce a little bit more? This is the one sport he's focused on. What can you see in terms of progress this spring from maybe past springs hasn't been the case?
DL: Probably the biggest difference is just his body, right? He's always been a guy that's wanted to have a little bit more size of the linebacker position. And when you're playing baseball and running bases and run around in center field, sometimes that's a little bit harder. The weight rift regiment is a little bit different. So just the ability to get those extra reps and put the weight on that's necessary for him to play at a high level.
Q: What's the most challenging part about spring practices for you as a coach, and how do you embrace that challenge, maybe by getting some of these newer guys up to speed?
DL: What's great about football is every single day is a different challenge. And you don't know what it's going to be when you get out of bed. When you come up here, what we can do to control it is our organization. The way we teach. For us, every single day, those guys step into the classroom or step into our meeting room, it should feel like they're going to to a class session. There's a lesson plan. There's objectives for the day. And then how you grade that is, do we execute that on the field, in that practice? And if we don't, then how can we teach it better? And how can we execute it better? So every day is different. Every day has different goals, different themes. Today, we focused a lot more on red area, being a little bit tighter to the line, to the goal line, and attacking that. Now we have to go watch the film and see how we executed it and where we were great. Then we need to keep building on and where we weren't. We have to attack.
Q: You guys weren't able to get Jamari Johnson out of high school, but you were after he was a target in the portal. And what was his recruitment like, and what's it been like finally getting to work with him?
DL: Yeah, great kid, great family, you know, really, really excited about him. I think he, you know, performed really well, and his reps at Louisville this year showed up on film. What he was able to do, obviously, had an injury that he's coming off of, and we're really excited about, you know, the future there. But that was, it was a tight recruitment down the stretch, one that, you know, we never burned bridges on the way out. He made a decision that was best for him, you know, as it went down the stretch. And ultimately, I think, he realized this is the place that he wanted to be when it's all said and done.
Q: Will was commenting that Poncho (Iapani Laloulu) really stepped into a leadership role. I guess a do agree, and then, if so, can you explain maybe, where you're seeing that with this team, and the importance of that leadership from your center?
DL: Poncho has been fantastic when it comes to that, right? And I think, you know, O-line for us is always, I think Coach Terry does a great job. And really, just the culture that the team here, they've always done a good job of being leaders, and Poncho stepped it up. I think he's realized his voice can be heard more, right? His play is one thing, but his ability to move other people and impact other people is something I've seen him step up. And that comes from communication, that comes from the details, knowing what your job is, comes from the way you train in the off season, what you eat, right? Making sure your body's in position to be successful. So Poncho is doing a lot of those things for us right now.
Q: A couple of weeks ago, you got to spend time with Bo (Nix) and Justin (Herbert) and Dillon Gabriel all together at the Pro Day is that one of those moments where you kind of look at it like, "Oh, this is a really special time" being able to be with those players and those men in particular?
DL: You hope that we get to continue to create, you know, special moments like that. Like I said before, you know, I would say proof's in the pudding, right? And you look around here, if you're a great quarterback, right? You come to the University of Oregon, you got a chance to have a lot of success. A chance to go perform in pro days, get drafted high go have the opportunity to play in the NFL. And you talk about three great guys that did an unbelievable job for their team here at Oregon and are getting opportunities now at the next level.
Q: What benefit did some of the quarterbacks on his team have from potentially meeting with Justin or Bo? I know some of them have crossed over, but just those relationships, how beneficial could they be for your quarterbacks?
DL: More than anything, is watching how those guys work, right, whether it's Dylan Bo, obviously, the success that Justin's have, but the details that those guys, you know, go in, day in and day out, the professionalism that the position requires, the confidence that they have, you know, all those things pay off, and they come with time. But being able to see the way Bo Nix, takes notes every single day in a meeting benefits you know, someone or the younger quarterbacks on our team being able to see the way Dillon competed on the field, or his ability to keep a great temperament in the middle of game. I think all those things benefited those guys.
Q: What sort of an impact do you feel like Dillon this past season had on Dante and in his offseason journey and trying to become a starting quarterback to this team this coming season?
DL: you know, for all of our quarterbacks, Austin (Novosad), Dante, you know, every guy in that room, Brock (Thomas), Luke (Moga), you know, I think being able to watch the way again, like I just said, what a professional looks like, how they operate day in and day out. You know, when they realize there's an issue, how do you attack it? Right? One of Dillon's best traits is, hey, son's not going right. I need to go pop in with Coach Lanning or Coach Stein and say, "Hey, how can we get this right?" Right, being proactive, not reactive? And you know, Dillon did a great job of that. So I think all of our quarterbacks in that room, Austin, Dante, Luke, I mean, every one of them, and then obviously some of these young guys, that stat, that standard, gets established, that becomes the Oregon standard. That's the way we do it in that room, right? And it's going to carry over the young guys and just joined our team.
Q: Cross training positions ... how do you go about deciding who's ready for maybe an expanded role, what they did previously, or can they play this other position and help you get better?
DL: So it's always a tough dynamic. We chart it throughout the spring. You know, where guys are working at multiple spots. We want to try to challenge guys to be able to do as much as they can for the team, right? And you kind of figure that out as it goes, like, can this guy handle a little bit more right maybe when you're working, somebody a different position you work a few different calls that are a little simpler form as well but you know we become the best version ourselves when we have our best 11 on the field right and that sometimes means guys working at multiple spots, and that gives us that chance.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon head coach Dan Lanning details Ducks resuming spring practice
Continue reading...
During that break, a handful of Ducks joined the fold, including Ole Miss transfer defensive back Jadon Canady, as well as 4-star CB Brandon Finney, and 4-star RB Dierre Hill. After Oregon's practice, media members got to chat with head coach Dan Lanning, as well as linebacker Bryce Boettcher and center Iapani Laloulu. They broke down the team's progression during the spring, the new faces in the locker room, and what they hope to see from players going forward.
Here are some of the top quotes from Lanning's press conference on Tuesday morning.
Opening Statement
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Dan Lanning: A good day today, coming back from spring break, you know, I think this is one of those practices you always want to figure out where guys are at over the break, you know. And we took some good steps forward, but there's a lot of a lot of room for us to improve as a team right now. We got a lot of talent, not a lot of experience. We've talked about that, but I'm excited about the direction of our guys. They want to get better. They want to improve, but that's what these practices are for.
Leadership from Bryce Boettcher
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Question: Leadership is not something that's new to Bryce, but how have you kind of seen him step up as maybe the elder statesman of that defense now?
DL: This is not really new to him, right? I still want to hear his voice out there at practice even more and more. It's always showing up as a player, right? But that's not, that's not something that's new to Bryce, so I have high expectations for what he looks like on the field and continue to challenge him to keep pushing. But he's been a really good player for us and a really good leader for us.
Nickel position
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Q: What's your outlook at the nickel position this spring, now that Jaden is here, and how you handle Daylen (Austin) with the uncertainty of the future?
DL: Yeah, we got a lot of guys competing out there, and we have one practice today. So that's the great thing about spring practices. Use all the spring we'll use all the fall camp. We'll continue to compete.
Younger players growing
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Q: There are there some of the younger players that maybe we haven't seen play a lot that are stepping into those roles to express what you've seen from that group?
DL: When you ask me these questions, I don't ever really hop into who's doing what? We want everybody on our team who's capable of being a leader to be a leader. I don't care how old you are. I don't care how many snaps you played. Where can you contribute? Where can you lead? Starts by leading yourself. You want to be a guy that can set an example for yourself. What's it look like? And then the players recognize that it's not a secret Who works hard, who doesn't, who attacks every single day? We got a lot of guys on our team that are really capable of that. We got more guys that we need to have continue to step up.
Young tight ends
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Q: You guys lose some talent at the time with Terence (Ferguson) and with Patrick (Herbert). I'm just wondering, how are you seeing kind of Kenyon (Sadiq) step into that, that role, and maybe even some of the younger guys, like AJ (Pugliano) that missed all of last season, and how is he kind of showing early up in the spring?
DL: We got a lot of good, talented players in that position. Obviously, Kenyon has the most experience there. He's shown an ability to make great plays. I think he's going to be a great playmaker again for us this year, you know. And just even watching the way he took the field today, you realize, okay, this guy has a purpose, right? He's coming out there for a reason. But there's a lot of guys that were looking to create, you know, opportunities for that, those spots and and that's what you want, as many good guys that can go play at a high level.
Isaiah World
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Q: I don't think we've talked to you about Isaiah World at all. What was it about him that you saw on the transfer portal that you liked, and how's he adapted to the team so far?
DL: Yeah, great athleticism and size, you know. God doesn't make very many people like that, right? And he's got a great spirit every single day, you know? He has the right mindset and the right attitude, this guy that played basketball, you know, in high school, and then kind of, he's grown into a football player. And with that size and strength, it's something that we really want to take advantage of.
Spring scrimmages
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Q: How do you approach scrimmages in the spring and evaluating where guys are at for multiple position battles?
DL: Yes, similar, similar to what we've done in the past. We'll have scrimmages the next two Saturdays, not this Saturday, but the next two Saturdays, and then our spring game, you know, and I think those are the best settings that you can evaluate where players are at. You know, the negative of a scrimmage, we do a lot of two spot work. So that's going to limit the amount of guys you can have on the field at the same time when you do a scrimmage. So great benefit from the live reps, the work on the field, you know, really, really good for us to be able to take advantage of, we have to build up, you know, our ability to go compete in a scrimmage, right at this point, and just coming off a break. That's that's not really this week, right? So we're in that build phase as we go through spring, and then we'll have three opportunities to really evaluate these guys in live reps.
Cornerbacks
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Q: What does the corner room look like? How or how different does the corner room look this year with a different group of experience and younger guys particularly great to bring back a Dakota (Fields) off of injuries and is Rod Pleasant going to be part of it in the spring, or is he also focusing on track?
DL: Yeah, Rod is available where he is, you know, when we can get him, we'll be able to use him. Won't necessarily be an everyday thing, because he's doing track, but, you know, I just think we have length in that room, right? And we had some really good players that played for us here in the past, but we're just much bigger group, but obviously lack some experience there. So it's about getting those guys caught up. That's your job as a coach, right? Get them in position and they can go make plays and execute a high level.
Boettcher focusing on football only
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Q: What's it been like seeing Bryce a little bit more? This is the one sport he's focused on. What can you see in terms of progress this spring from maybe past springs hasn't been the case?
DL: Probably the biggest difference is just his body, right? He's always been a guy that's wanted to have a little bit more size of the linebacker position. And when you're playing baseball and running bases and run around in center field, sometimes that's a little bit harder. The weight rift regiment is a little bit different. So just the ability to get those extra reps and put the weight on that's necessary for him to play at a high level.
Biggest challenges this spring
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Q: What's the most challenging part about spring practices for you as a coach, and how do you embrace that challenge, maybe by getting some of these newer guys up to speed?
DL: What's great about football is every single day is a different challenge. And you don't know what it's going to be when you get out of bed. When you come up here, what we can do to control it is our organization. The way we teach. For us, every single day, those guys step into the classroom or step into our meeting room, it should feel like they're going to to a class session. There's a lesson plan. There's objectives for the day. And then how you grade that is, do we execute that on the field, in that practice? And if we don't, then how can we teach it better? And how can we execute it better? So every day is different. Every day has different goals, different themes. Today, we focused a lot more on red area, being a little bit tighter to the line, to the goal line, and attacking that. Now we have to go watch the film and see how we executed it and where we were great. Then we need to keep building on and where we weren't. We have to attack.
Finally getting Jamari Johnson on board
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Q: You guys weren't able to get Jamari Johnson out of high school, but you were after he was a target in the portal. And what was his recruitment like, and what's it been like finally getting to work with him?
DL: Yeah, great kid, great family, you know, really, really excited about him. I think he, you know, performed really well, and his reps at Louisville this year showed up on film. What he was able to do, obviously, had an injury that he's coming off of, and we're really excited about, you know, the future there. But that was, it was a tight recruitment down the stretch, one that, you know, we never burned bridges on the way out. He made a decision that was best for him, you know, as it went down the stretch. And ultimately, I think, he realized this is the place that he wanted to be when it's all said and done.
Poncho's leadership
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Q: Will was commenting that Poncho (Iapani Laloulu) really stepped into a leadership role. I guess a do agree, and then, if so, can you explain maybe, where you're seeing that with this team, and the importance of that leadership from your center?
DL: Poncho has been fantastic when it comes to that, right? And I think, you know, O-line for us is always, I think Coach Terry does a great job. And really, just the culture that the team here, they've always done a good job of being leaders, and Poncho stepped it up. I think he's realized his voice can be heard more, right? His play is one thing, but his ability to move other people and impact other people is something I've seen him step up. And that comes from communication, that comes from the details, knowing what your job is, comes from the way you train in the off season, what you eat, right? Making sure your body's in position to be successful. So Poncho is doing a lot of those things for us right now.
Three great QBs at Pro Day
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Q: A couple of weeks ago, you got to spend time with Bo (Nix) and Justin (Herbert) and Dillon Gabriel all together at the Pro Day is that one of those moments where you kind of look at it like, "Oh, this is a really special time" being able to be with those players and those men in particular?
DL: You hope that we get to continue to create, you know, special moments like that. Like I said before, you know, I would say proof's in the pudding, right? And you look around here, if you're a great quarterback, right? You come to the University of Oregon, you got a chance to have a lot of success. A chance to go perform in pro days, get drafted high go have the opportunity to play in the NFL. And you talk about three great guys that did an unbelievable job for their team here at Oregon and are getting opportunities now at the next level.
Young QB's with three trio of legendary QBs at Pro Day
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Q: What benefit did some of the quarterbacks on his team have from potentially meeting with Justin or Bo? I know some of them have crossed over, but just those relationships, how beneficial could they be for your quarterbacks?
DL: More than anything, is watching how those guys work, right, whether it's Dylan Bo, obviously, the success that Justin's have, but the details that those guys, you know, go in, day in and day out, the professionalism that the position requires, the confidence that they have, you know, all those things pay off, and they come with time. But being able to see the way Bo Nix, takes notes every single day in a meeting benefits you know, someone or the younger quarterbacks on our team being able to see the way Dillon competed on the field, or his ability to keep a great temperament in the middle of game. I think all those things benefited those guys.
Gabriel tutoring Moore
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Q: What sort of an impact do you feel like Dillon this past season had on Dante and in his offseason journey and trying to become a starting quarterback to this team this coming season?
DL: you know, for all of our quarterbacks, Austin (Novosad), Dante, you know, every guy in that room, Brock (Thomas), Luke (Moga), you know, I think being able to watch the way again, like I just said, what a professional looks like, how they operate day in and day out. You know, when they realize there's an issue, how do you attack it? Right? One of Dillon's best traits is, hey, son's not going right. I need to go pop in with Coach Lanning or Coach Stein and say, "Hey, how can we get this right?" Right, being proactive, not reactive? And you know, Dillon did a great job of that. So I think all of our quarterbacks in that room, Austin, Dante, Luke, I mean, every one of them, and then obviously some of these young guys, that stat, that standard, gets established, that becomes the Oregon standard. That's the way we do it in that room, right? And it's going to carry over the young guys and just joined our team.
Cross training positions
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Q: Cross training positions ... how do you go about deciding who's ready for maybe an expanded role, what they did previously, or can they play this other position and help you get better?
DL: So it's always a tough dynamic. We chart it throughout the spring. You know, where guys are working at multiple spots. We want to try to challenge guys to be able to do as much as they can for the team, right? And you kind of figure that out as it goes, like, can this guy handle a little bit more right maybe when you're working, somebody a different position you work a few different calls that are a little simpler form as well but you know we become the best version ourselves when we have our best 11 on the field right and that sometimes means guys working at multiple spots, and that gives us that chance.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon head coach Dan Lanning details Ducks resuming spring practice
Continue reading...
