Dan Lanning appeared on George Wrighster's The Unafraid Show podcast Wednesday, and he said, "To me, it's about the climb. It's about how we can continue to improve. There's a level of play that you have to have at a place like Oregon to be able to play."
This morning is the continuation of that process as the Ducks begin their fourth spring practice under the North Kansas City, Mo. native, who is 35-6 as the Oregon head coach.
It shapes up to be a season of changes and challenges. The Webfoots said goodbye to 33 seniors after last year's 13-1 campaign, including their top six in the defensive backfield. They sent a record 12 players to the NFL combine and look likely to have a record number of players drafted.
Despite losing veteran leader Jeffrey Bassa at linebacker, Jordan Burch and Derrick Harmon on the defensive line, and Dillon Gabriel at quarterback, the outlook is up in 2025. FanDuel has the Ducks as one of the favorites to win the national championship:
National Championship Odds:
- Ohio State +600
- Texas +650
- Oregon +650
- Georgia +700
- Penn State +800
- Notre Dame +1200
Despite the loss of those veterans, Lanning and the Oregon coaching staff passed up a chance to add a player from the portal at quarterback, edge rusher or linebacker, suggesting they have supreme confidence in the talent they have at those positions.
Dante Moore, Matayo Uiagalelei, and Bryce Boettcher have become the leaders of this team, and the program is sold on the progress of young talents like Moore, Brayden Platt, Amauri Washington, Aaron Flowers, Kingston Lopa, and Peyton Woodyard. Teitum Tuioti can be counted on to make plays from his outside linebacker/edge rusher spot.
Lanning addresses the media after today's practice, a helmets-and-shorts affair with no contact (as mandated by the NCAA for the first two). He'll be coy about details like the depth chart, but the main goal of the earliest workouts is to acclimate the 10 portal additions and the 12 early enrollees to the pace and practice order and get a sense of who has been studying and who is in top football shape.
Offensive coordinator Will Stein has to evaluate whether Moore has the accuracy and poise to operate the offense at the level fans enjoyed under Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel. On the Ducks of a Feather podcast, all-time Oregon great Kenjon Barner asked the redshirt sophomore what he'd learned from Gabriel, and he said, "He told me at the end of the day you don't want to compare yourself to nobody else. You just want to play who you are."
It's a year of transition. Is this the year Lanning moves toward greater trust of all the young talent he's stacked up over the last three recruiting classes? Will fans see Jeremiah McClellan, Elijah Rushing, Dakorien Moore, Kyler Kasper, and Ify Obidegwu move into larger roles? Can Na'eem Offord and Trey McNutt crack the two-deep as true freshmen?
One of the biggest areas of concern is at offensive line, where A'lique Terry has to retool after losing four starters. The Ducks added tackles Isaiah World and Alex Harkey from Nevada and Texas State, and guard Emmanuel Pregnon from USC. They have to replace a potential first-round draft pick in Josh Conerly, plus capable starters Ajani Cornelius, Marcus Harper II, and Nishad Strother.
Center Iapani "Poncho" Laloulu returns, and he's a Rimington Award candidate after starting 13 games last season, a big, mobile leader at 6-foot-2 and 325 pounds. Evaluations are mixed on World's ability to replace Conerly at left tackle:
NFL vet and college football analyst Geoff Schwartz has expressed a lot of confidence in the 6-foot-8, 309-pound senior, while film guru Hythloday of Addicted to Quack suggests he needs a lot of refinement and retooling in his technique to handle the conference's top edge rushers in the heat of a game.
Terry has done a great job with the O-Line over the last two seasons, and this year, Cutter Leftwich rejoins the staff to take over the role that Mike Cavanaugh held as his assistant. Getting this reloaded group to gel stands as one of the biggest challenges in reaching the playoff for a second straight year, this time with the aim of going deeper. The offense will only have its characteristic productivity and explosiveness if they can achieve consistency and dependability up front.
Spring practice won't answer questions like these, but it should provide some hints. A new generation of playmakers has to emerge.
A player wins those roles by making plays in practice. The Ducks will have sessions on Thursday and Saturday, then take a break until April with 13 more sessions leading up to the spring game on April 26. It's heartening that Oregon still has one, with many schools around the country opting out due to concerns over tampering.