Dan Lanning calls OT transfer Ajani Cornelius 'a professional'

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is considered by many one of the best young defensive minds in college football today. But during a recent interview, when talking about a player that impressed him the most, it was an offensive lineman that caught his eye. In December, Lanning was able to recruit offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius out of the transfer portal from Rhode Island. And the Ducks head man has loved what he’s seen from the young lineman, going as far as to call Cornelius ‘a professional.’

“Johnny’s approach is a guy that really wants to develop. He saw the opportunity here to grow as a player,” said Lanning. “He has aspirations of what are the things that he wants to accomplish; (he) has clear goals of the things he wants to accomplish.

“I think he saw that he could check all those boxes here; that he could make sure make sure he reached those goals here. I think he is a professional. Very intelligent and certainly takes the approach of a learner, which is exciting for me; a guy that’s looking to get better.”

More on Cornelius

Cornelius garnered plenty of interest after officially entering the portal Nov. 29 and took official visits Nebraska, Ohio State and Tennessee in addition to Oregon. The Ducks were among the first teams to extend him an offer once he entered the portal.

Cornelius is the No. 3-ranked transfer to hit the portal during the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

Cornelius started 22 games over the past two seasons at Rhode Island. He sat out his first two years on campus, but took over as the starting right tackle last year and earned first team All-Colonial Athletic Conference this season.

Cornelius played high school football at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, N.Y. Coming out of high school, Cornelius had some FBS interest while committed to Howard at one point but ultimately signed with Jim Fleming at Rhode Island.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this story