Dan Lanning explains challenges of playing Georgia

So far this fall, we’ve shown you everything that Kirby Smart and the Georgia staff and players have said, including some of their preparation for Oregon. However, ahead of the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game, let’s take a look at some of the things that Oregon head coach and former Georgia defensive coach Dan Lanning said about the Dawgs earlier this week. After all, there aren’t many folks that’ll be in Mercedes-Benz Stadium that know the Bulldogs better than Lanning.

The press conference got kicked off when an Oregon reporter asked about whether some of the Ducks’ players felt snubbed by the Georgia recruiting and coaching staff, specifically including Bradyn Swinson, a sophomore defensive lineman from Douglasville (Ga.).

“I think every single one of our guys is really excited to go play, you know, elite competition,” Lanning explained. “Obviously, Georgia is a great football team. Ultimately, there’s so many stories like that, but the reality is that’s all they are: stories. We got to go play the football game and Bradyn’s gotta go do it on the field. You know, what we talked to our team earlier today about is go play the game, not the occasion, right? And that’s really what we’re focused on.”

Georgia Tight Ends

Lanning was then asked about the difficulties of facing the Georgia tight end room, a group that he is very, very familiar with from practice last year.

“I think it’s arguably one of the best groups in the nation,” Lanning said. “It’s hard to find a group that has as much talent in their room than their tight end room. Obviously, we really love our tight ends here but they’ve got a great group, a lot of talent. And you could call them tight ends but the reality is that they’re a match-up issue as a wideout as much as they are at tight ends. So it’s something we have to be conscious of in our game plan and where we put our guys in position to be successful. They do a great job of using them in a lot of different ways. One of the big decisions is how are you going to match their personnel, right? If you decide to go big and play physical, which Georgia obviously can do, you might be outmatched in how you can cover right. And if you decide to go smaller and put yourself in position to cover right, well, now they might outmatch you when it comes to bully ball. And they’re able to run it, so they do a great job of mixing it up. Coach Monken obviously is an elite play caller and does a great job of recognizing what you’re in and creating open sets when you’re when you’re big and in creating condensed small sets when you’re small. So, it’ll be fun to see them.”

Facing Former Team

When Lanning was asked about any feeling of excitement towards playing his former team, he was brutally honest.

“Yeah, I think a lot of people would sit here and say it’s not about that, very similar to what I said about Bradyn. But there is. There’s definitely some feelings of excitement for me to go play a team that I know care about and was a big part of for a long time,” Lanning admitted. “But that’s not the focus. It’s my job just like it’s the player’s job to to focus on the task at hand. But I’m excited to go play a familiar team. There’s certainly some advantages to that but they have those same advantages.”

Currently, Vegas had the Ducks as a two-touchdown underdog to the Bulldogs this Saturday. When asked about whether the team had adopted this mentality, Lanning assured that no one in Oregon’s program really cared about it.

“You know, we don’t really bother ourselves with the opinions of others, right? Nobody in Vegas is going to play in this game. Our players are going to play in the game, so we know what everyone you know thinks of our team and that’s okay by us,” Lanning said. “Our goal is to go out there and play the best game we can possibly play. But that’s going to have zero effect on this game. the opinions of others are not going to matter.”

Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith

Dealing with the members of the front seven of the Georgia defense, Lanning spent a lot of time with Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. When he was asked about it, he was very complimentary of the work ethic and character of the players.

“Both tremendous guys,” Lanning said. “Obviously remember recruiting and being around both of those guys, but they’re tremendous talents. You know, Jalen is maybe as explosive and as powerful and strong as any defensive lineman that I’ve ever been around. He would catch passes as a high schooler. He can dunk a basketball in just about any way. Nolan is a tenacious player. Plays with great effort and physical toughness and I think that defense is really taking on the personality of Nolan. Extremely passionate. He plays really hard every down. He’s very consistent, extremely demanding, and gets every ounce of his ability out of the way he plays. So, I have a lot of respect for both those guys and we’ll obviously be aware of where they’re at.”

Usually when teams hire first-year head coaches, they like to have a “warm-up” game before getting into the tough part of their schedule. For Lanning, he can’t wait to go head-to-head with the No. 3 team in the nation.

“We’re pumped to go play,” he continued. “Obviously, Georgia is a great opponent. Kirby’s done a great job of building a program. All those assistant coaches and players have done a great job of building a program over time and I think they’re clicking on all cylinders. But what a great opportunity for us to see exactly where we are early in the season. There’s no powder up game here. You go play a real competition really quick and we’re pumped about it.”

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Defense

First working with Kirby Smart at Alabama in 2015, Lanning is very close with the Georgia head coach. Despite being rivals for the weekend, Lanning has nothing but love for Smart.

“I would not be sitting in this seat if it wasn’t for Kirby Smart,” Lanning said. “I’m forever grateful for him and  that entire coaching staff and I’ll definitely always lean on him. This is certainly unique. we probably haven’t talked as much this summer or especially in the last couple weeks as we will down the road. That being said, when you start playing games you don’t spend a lot of time talking to anybody. But I’ll forever lean on Coach Smart. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and the job that he’s done and I think he’s one of the best in the business.”

Being responsible for the Georgia defense in 2021, Lanning is very aware of the talent that the Bulldogs lost. However, when asked about the biggest strength of the Bulldogs that no one was aware of, he mentioned the returning players.

“I think a lot’s been made of all the people they lost, especially defensively. And I think there probably hasn’t been enough made of all the people they still have,” Lanning said. “They have a lot of great talent there. I think everyone acknowledges that and knows that they’ve got a tremendous coaching staff. they’re in year six or seven of Kirby? So, it’s starting to really click for them. So, they’ve done a good job. I think they’ll continue to do a good job.”

Kickoff between the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 11 Oregon Ducks is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.