With a monopoly on fan interest and access, Ducks say, 'You'll just have to take our word for it'

Oregon practice is closed to the media all August, closed to the fans also. The Ducks work undisturbed at Autzen Stadium until the season opener August 30 against Montana State in 20 days.

At 35-6, most fans endorse Dan Lanning's zeal to seize every competitive advantage, even if it means they don't see much of the team between seasons. The superb video series "Under Construction" salves some of the bruised feelings. In the NFL fans can watch every workout of training camp.

In an era of tampering, sign-stealing, player poaching and unauthorized scouting, Lanning is perhaps right to exercise an abundance of caution. Nothing leaks out about injuries and new plays and players are kept secret. It's the way it is in the NIL/portal/revenue-sharing/playoff era, where college football is a bigger business than ever.

The team avoids disruptions and distractions while limiting access to players and potential inadvertent NCAA violations. It promotes the "FEBU" mentality, ("Forget") Everybody But Us.

The Ducks scrimmaged yesterday for the first time. Joey McMurry of the Oregon football office filed this report:

Lanning said, "Really solid scrimmage. Walked away healthy which is always a plus here in fall camp. I think defense probably won the day."

He praised the defense for limiting explosive plays and improving communication, great notes of progress for a new unit that returns just three starters.

Asked about Dante Moore, the coach said, "I don't know that anything necessarily stood out. Like I said, I think defense won the day."

"They were able to get some three-and-outs. But, you know, we operated efficiently, but we just didn't create the explosives and didn't have some of the downfield passing attacks that we've had in other days in fall camp. You know, I've come in here before and told you that the offense won the day today. You know, I feel like defense won that."

He's pleased with the energy and intensity, the team's abiliity to create a game-like atmosphere in practice.

"We had an overtime period the other day, and the energy and enthusiasm on the sideline was pretty awesome. You know, you would have felt like Autzen Stadium was packed," Lanning said.

Receivers Jeremiah McClellan and Dillon Gresham are showing the abilty to come down with 50/50 balls against the Ducks' longer and more athletic secondary, another area where stacking elite talent is paying dividends.

Duck fans have to like what they're hearing, even if they're not seeing much.