Dan Lanning breaks down hire of Ra’Shaad Samples as running back coach

When Oregon needed a running backs coach on short notice, Dan Lanning made a quick but popular move. The Ducks now have Ra’Shaad Samples on staff, previously of the Arizona State Sun Devils. Samples has been one of the rising coaches in football and will now work in Eugene as the program transitions into the Big Ten.

Lanning has never worked on the same staff as Samples, only coaching against him. However, offensive coordinator Will Stein and tight ends coach Drew Mehringer are quite familiar with him. All three of those guys have a connection to the state of Texas, with relationships being a huge reason why Oregon made the hire.

“You always lean on relationships of people that know the guys,” Lanning said. “There are several guys on our staff that knew Ra’Shaad well. He’s a guy that I knew of but didn’t get to work with, personally. But Will, Drew has worked with him in the past. Certainly excited.”

Samples played his high school football at Dallas (TX) Skyline and is the son of legendary Duncanville head coach Reginald Samples. His footprint in Texas is huge for Oregon, an area Lanning has gone after while recruiting. Stein and Mehringer have been present but Samples takes them to another level.

Oregon will deploy Samples in more than just the Lone Star State, though. Lanning trusts the new running backs coach to thrive anywhere when recruiting because of how well he connects with people.

“Relationships are huge,” Lanning said. “Ultimately, for us, we’re going to recruit across the nation. So, we have to have guys that are good at relationships. Not guys that are good in areas. Ra’Shaad’s a guy that’s certainly really good in Texas but he’s good at relationships. He cares about relationships and that’s going to pay off for us in recruiting.”

Versatility is another area Samples can help Oregon, something Lanning is a big fan of. He coaches wide receivers at Arizona State and was the passing game coordinator. The Los Angeles Rams hired him as the running backs coach too.

Oregon will employ him at RBs but if Lanning needs some help elsewhere, Samples has proven he can step up to the plate.

“We spent a lot of time trying to find the right guy,” Lanning said. “There’s a lot of great candidates and tons of people that wanted to be here. For us, the pieces that he adds to our program — even as a young, up-and-comer, he’s had some great experience… The multitude of positions he’s worked with made him a great fit for us.”