Dan Lanning evaluates Oregon's cornerback position depth since landing in Eugene

Oregon hired Dan Lanning on the back of his success as the defensive coordinator at Georgia. There, he developed one of the best defenses in modern college football history and helped the Bulldogs win a national championship.

Dan Lanning is a first-time head coach, which means there will always be questions as to how he can handle the job. One thing that isn’t up for debate, though, is that he knows how to coach defense. At PAC-12 Media Days, he was asked about the cornerbacks.

“I think one thing you’ll notice with the guys we added this year is they all have speed and length and size,” said Dan Lanning. “In my experience, those are dominating attributes to being a successful corner. If you have speed, you can make up for a lot of mistakes. I’m excited about those guys’ work ethic. It’s still early, a learning curve there.”

“Not being able to go through all of spring with each of them makes it a little bit tougher certainly. But it’s a group that wants to be great. I have a lot of faith in their position coach, Demetrice Martin, has done a great job, a lot of success, then our defensive staff to get those guys prepared and ready to roll.”

Could Oregon be on the move?

News broke at the end of June that USC and UCLA would be leaving the PAC-12 for the Big Ten. This left schools like Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks and their rival Washington trying to figure out what would happen next. Since then, though, UCLA has faced major backlash for the move. That’s because UCLA is a public school and the move could financially hurt other public schools, like California.

California governor Gavin Newsom has been against the move. He says that the UC regents weren’t consulted and has demanded an explanation for the move.

“UCLA must clearly explain to the public how this deal will improve the experience for all its student-athletes, will honor its century-old partnership with UC Berkeley, and will preserve the histories, rivalries, and traditions that enrich our communities,” said Governor Newsom.

It’s not likely that the Bruins back out, but if UCLA does have to, Paul Finebaum thinks that Dan Lanning and Oregon could take their place. If that does happen, the Ducks will need to be ready to go. Strengthening their defense to match the physicality of the Big Ten is a big part of that.