Dan Lanning lists expectations for return game

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has some clear expectations for the punt and kick return game for the Ducks this year. And he summed them up short and sweet.

Speaking with reporters after a recent practice, Lanning summed up his hopes for the return game in about a dozen words. Catch the ball, keep the ball, score the ball.

“We gotta catch the ball, right? Own the ball, and then score,” Lanning said.

He added there won’t be any live returns during a scrimmage on Saturday.

It’s understandable that Lanning wants to see some more pop from the Oregon return game. In his first year at the helm in 2022, the Ducks ranked No. 107 nationally in punt return average and No. 89 in kick return average.

And if they’re catching, securing and scoring the ball on kick and punt returns after not scoring a single return touchdown in 2022, Lanning will probably be quite content.

Lanning recently discussed how freshman can make an impact for Oregon this year

A lot of freshmen are going to take time to develop, but others will be ready to play this season. Lanning knows that it isn’t easy for those freshmen, though.

As Lanning explained, one of the biggest challenges for young players to overcome is the mental side of the game. In particular, moving on from mistakes.

“A lot of it starts with just hitting the reset button and not letting one mistake be the next mistake and the mistake after,” Lanning said. “You’re gonna make some mistakes, especially early, but being able to hit the reset button and keep going on.”

Lanning emphasized that because of team depth and an improved practice format, young players will be ready to go sooner.

“One thing that’s distinctly different this Fall compared to last Fall is we didn’t have the bodies to even go two-spot practice, right, we had to go seven-on-seven on one field and team 11-on-11 practice on the other field. We have that now, we have a deeper team, we have more players who can play and are available. So, that’s allowing those younger players to develop quicker.”

Later, Lanning was asked by the media scrum to share the traits that a true freshman corner would need to show him to see the field in a significant role.

“Yeah, perform at a high level,” Lanning said. “You could put a lot of different things on it — perform at a high level. What’s important to corner? You’ve got to be able to defend the ball. Play it when it’s in the air. Stay on top. Make tackles, right, make plays, but that’s really at any position. The level’s not based on if you’re a freshman or a senior. It’s based on your level of performance. If you perform at a high enough level, you’ll play.