Dan Lanning stresses importance of keeping in-state talent in Oregon

First-year coach Dan Lanning won 10 games with Oregon and then signed a top-10 recruiting class, an excellent start for a program that has the potential to run the Pac-12 when firing on all cylinders. One way to get there is keeping in-state talent in Oregon.

There may not be a ton of it, but Lanning wants to make sure the Ducks protect their home recruiting grounds.

“Sometimes the thing that gets lost at a place like Oregon is the feeling of pride in performance because there’s not necessarily (guys that) grew up being a hometown team for a lot of people,” Lanning said.

But that’s not to say there isn’t occasionally talent in Oregon’s backyard that is worth defending.

One example in the 2023 class is three-star edge rusher Teitum Tuioti, who signed and enrolled from nearby Sheldon High School in Eugene, Ore.

“I think the guys that we’re able to bring in from Sheldon, there’s a little bit of pride in performance,” Lanning said. “There’s a little bit a piece of wearing that ‘O’ means a little bit something more to them.”

Keeping in-state talent a priority for Dan Lanning

Oregon’s relationship with Sheldon High School is one that Lanning obviously wants to protect and nurture. The program produces the occasional Division I prospect.

But more than anything, it’s right in Oregon’s backyard. Players from there are likely to have a little bit more pride in the green and yellow of the Ducks.

“Whenever you can find good players — obviously coach (Josh) Line’s a guy that I have a lot of respect for as a former player here — but when you can find a place that cares about the university and find people that care about the university it means a little bit more to them being part of the team,” Lanning said.

Oregon’s 2023 recruiting class finished ranked No. 8 nationally, an improvement of three places from the 2022 class, which finished ranked just outside the top 10 and No. 11 overall.