Dan Lanning shares lasting impact of Spencer Webb at Oregon

Spencer Webb is gone, but he isn’t forgotten. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning attempts to honor Webb’s legacy every day.

“There’s really not a day that goes by that you don’t think about it,” Lanning said during Pac-12 Media Day on Friday. “We finish every summer workout with a climb up Spencer’s Butte. So that’s going to be a big capstone to our season.”

Although Spencer Butte isn’t named after Webb, it’s a constant reminder of the former Duck. Webb died in a cliff-diving accident in July 2022. Webb would have been a redshirt junior in 2022. The 6-foot-5 tight end played in 12 games, tallying 18 receptions for 209 yards and three touchdowns in his final season with Oregon.

Now a year removed from Webb’s death, some Ducks didn’t know the California native personally. Nonetheless, they honor him all the same.

“There’s gonna be some guys that go on that walk that didn’t know Spencer, right? There’s gonna be some guys that climb that hill that didn’t know him personally, and there’s gonna be a lot of people that were impacted by Spencer every day when we climb that Butte,” Lanning said. “That means a lot to me. I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to express the importance of life and taking advantage of the time while you’re here on this earth for our guys.”

Lanning’s comments are consistent with his statement following Webb’s death in 2022.

“It takes interaction outside of football,” Lanning said at Oregon’s 2022 media day. “I can’t commend our players enough for handling extremely tough situations in really unique ways. There’s work to be done. There’s not a day that goes by that our program doesn’t remember Spencer, and there won’t be a day going forward that we don’t remember Spencer. Like I said, we start every team meeting off [by] recognizing him. It’s the first thing we do. And that’s not going to change.”

This season likely would have been Webb’s last with Oregon. The Ducks are determined to make it a good one. People quickly forget that Oregon was in the hunt for a CFP spot last season until QB Bo Nix suffered an ankle injury late in a November matchup with Washington. The Ducks blew the lead, the game, and their spot in the CFP.

They don’t plan on letting the opportunity slip through their fingers again.