‘A passion to be great’: Dan Lanning emphasizes QB Dillon Gabriel’s connection with Oregon football
By Ethan Lee
A lot of things have changed lately for the Oregon Ducks football program. Dan Lanning is leading the Ducks into a new era in the Big Ten conference and he’s had to replace several important contributors from last year’s team. But, it seems like he’s done a great job of getting connected with some of the new faces around Eugene, including Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
At the recent Big Ten Media Days, Lanning shared some anecdotes and insights into his connection with the Ducks’ new quarterback and he made it clear the level of importance he puts on off-field interactions. It truly seems like he views these things as being crucial for developing team chemistry and for winning.
For the Oregon Ducks, success doesn’t seem to be about just what happens on the field. Lanning emphasized the significance of success for his program.
“Yeah, one of our DNA traits is connection,” Lanning stated. “You lean on prior experience. Like I said, Dillon is a guy that I knew before in the recruiting process and got to watch him from a distance.”
Oregon football: Dan Lanning proud of connection Ducks football team has
Lanning’s history with Gabriel dates back to when the head coach was an assistant with the Georgia Bulldogs and he first encountered the quarterback during the recruiting process. That had to have helped get Gabriel to Eugene. There’s no way it didn’t.
The Oregon Ducks football coaching staff seems to understand the value of building relationships away from the field. And during Big Ten Media Days, Lanning gave another example, explaining how he recently went golfing with Gabriel and ran into former Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota.
"I'm not a good golfer, but Dillon and I got to go play yesterday,” Lanning explained. “We saw Marcus on the golf course, and he's a good competitor."
Which, that also had to have been pretty cool. With Lanning at the helm, the Oregon Ducks football program is clearly putting an emphasis on building a healthy team culture. And that should lead to continued success moving forward.
Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a great quarterback leading the offense.
"Really has a passion for the game and a passion to be great, and we're excited to have that on our team," Lanning said of Gabriel.
It's going to be exciting to see how he performs in Eugene this season.