Dillon Gabriel on Oregon's aggressiveness under Dan Lanning: 'He set the tone'

It didn’t take long for quarterback Dillon Gabriel to recognize the importance of Dan Lanning’s aggressive coaching style, and how it’s what sets the tone for the Oregon Ducks.

On the latest episode of The Hard Count with On3’s JD PicKell, the first-year Oregon quarterback explained how Lanning’s penchant for being the aggressor throughout the season has helped the Ducks become the top team in the country at the moment, and how it can take them where they need to go to win a national title.

“Being aggressive, being the aggressors,” Gabriel told PicKell, regarding Oregon’s mantra under Lanning. “You know, playing a game that — you’ve got to go win it. You know, that’s where college football is, as well. You know, you have to stay aggressive and play to win, throw to win. But I think if you look back, even to when Coach Lanning first got here, I think he set the tone on how he wanted his program to look, and that’s with, you know, how aggressive he’s been, you know, throughout the years. You know, whether it’s going for it on 4th Down, and, you know, playing a certain way. I think it all correlates together with trust and belief in the offense, defense and special teams.

“I think, you know, we give a lot of people a tough time, with how much we do on all three phases. So I think you’ve got to look at it as a holistic approach, of that’s what we’ve been but then, you know, within our unit on offense, how can we continue to be aggressive in the way we call it, the way we play.”

Throughout the 2024 campaign, Lanning’s aggressiveness has paid off handsomely for the Ducks. They’re 7-0 and sitting atop the college football world, but his quarterback and the entire team recognize the job is far from finished.

Oregon and Dillon Gabriel have another tough test this coming weekend, with Illinois coming to Eugene. We’ll see if they can continue their tremendous season with a win over the 6-1 Fighting Illini on Saturday afternoon.