Dan Lanning impressed by eagerness of young players

With the start of the season just around the corner, teams are now entering the last leg of their fall camps. This year’s fall camp has been a productive one for the Oregon Ducks and head coach Dan Lanning as they enter their second season together.

Lanning had several key veteran players return over the offseason in hopes of capturing the Pac-12 title in 2023 and possibly earning a College Football Playoff bid. But it’s not all about the veteran players at fall camp. Lanning has also been keeping his eye on the future of Oregon football and recently revealed his impression of the young Ducks at camp.

“More than anything, probably the eagerness to learn. These guys are they all operate as professionals,” said Lanning. “When they get here, they take great notes and meetings. They do the extra when it comes to prehab rehab, things away from the field. I think that really sticks out. And we’ve got a good group of veterans that’s trying to grow them along that they are really receptive to.”

Oregon, who is ranked No. 15 in the AP preseason poll to start the season, will start their year off with a home game against Portland State. While the Vikings may not be an elite-level opponent, it will give Lanning an idea of his team’s identity as they prepare for the more rigorous part of their schedule. And it could lead to more opportunities for the young Oregon players to impress their head coach even further.

Lanning shares takeaways from Oregon’s scrimmage

Lanning also met with the media after practice on Tuesday, where he was asked to recap what stuck out to him from the scrimmage over the weekend. He started with ball security issues for the offense and tackling mishaps on defense.

“There was a ton of things, you know, looking back. I mean, ultimately we want to tackle better, we got to take care of the ball better,” said Lanning.

That was something he talked about immediately after the scrimmage as well:

“There were some takeaways today. I think there were three interceptions, overall, had a fumble down the red area that was critical. So we got to do a better job taking care of the ball on offense.”

He also noted the team struggled when it came to executing situational football throughout the day.

“A lot of things that I walked away and was saying right after the scrimmage still hold true. Situationally, got to play a little bit better situational ball, red area, two minute for both sides of the ball,” noting that they particularly “have to do a better job in those situations offensively.”