Dan Lanning reveals what defenders need to step up to make his scheme go

Dan Lanning is hoping to carry his success with Georgia‘s defense into his first season at Oregon. After developing the Bulldogs into a defensive juggernaut, Lanning revealed what defenders need to step up to make his scheme work with the Ducks.

According to Lanning, finding ways to make ‘havoc plays’ are what will bring success to his defense.

“I wouldn’t say we’re singling out one guy,” started Lanning. “The key for me is, how can we figure out a way to do that with our linebackers? How can we do it with our outside linebackers, how can we do it with defensive backs? And the way you do that is you’re really multiple. You have plays where you can blitz your linebackers at times. Have plays where you can blitz a corner, or a safety. Bring different guys and get them involved in the backfield if you want to create a tackle for loss. You know, there’s a lot of guys right now that I’d say, I don’t know if one person is separating themselves.”

Evidently, Lanning has a bevy of ideas for his defense at Oregon. Continuing, the Oregon coach spoke about shuffling his defensive line during games, and how he’d like to continue doing that with the Ducks.

“They’re certainly playing more snaps than I’d want to normally play,” stated Lanning, regarding the amount of snaps his defensive lineman have seen this spring. “You know, I want those guys to be fresh within the game. But that’s challenged our conditioning a little bit, which has been a positive. It’s given us an opportunity to see a lot of guys in a lot of different settings. You know, we’re having to play guys that we wouldn’t normally see as a nose, or a three technique. Try to get them in there and operate. They’ve done a good job of handling that.”

After the extended success Dan Lanning achieved at Georgia as their defensive coordinator, the leader of Oregon is looking to put his fingerprints on the program in his first season with the Ducks. The college football world will have a keen eye on Lanning at Oregon, wondering whether he can live up to his reputation as a bright, young coach in the new setting.