Dan Lanning takes the podium at the Monday meeting. "What's the theme this week? Let It Rip."
Lanning is at heart a teacher, the son of two teachers, with a gift for engaging his students. He asks senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher, "When you hear that, what do you think, Bryce?"
"Bet I see his face Bryce is smiling. All the linebackers in the room are smiling right now. When I say 'let it rip,' what do you think, Bryce?"
Bryce answers with a growl in his voice. "Just letting it rrrip, you know?' A few in the room chuckle.
Lanning, again. "What's letting it rip, man? Not second guessing yourself. Just going for it."
Lanning tells the players he wants them to trust their training and preparation, to play with abandon and purpose. The power point advances to an image of a bull coming out of the chute, trying to throw a cowboy. "The bull don't care," Lanning tells his team.
On Saturday the Ducks beat Oklahoma State of the Big 12, 69-3, the worst lost for the Cowboys since 1907. The Ducks come out of the chute with two long touchdowns in their first three plays.
After the game Lanning talked about NIL and how that wasn't the focus for the Ducks. "Bryce Boettcher came here for a backpack and a tee shirt," he said. The senior linebacker from South Eugene High School led the Ducks with nine tackles in 32 snaps.
Throughout the video you see the joy on the sideline and the connectedness, images of the Ducks playing for each other.
Lanning tells the media in the postgame, "It's about the team. I preached to our guys all week that our team is the secret sauce."