Dan Lanning Breaks Down Oregon's Spring Game

Oregon held it’s annual spring football game on Saturday and the Fighting Ducks defeated the Combat Ducks 24-20.

Head coach Dan Lanning met with reporters following the spring game to give his early analysis and takeaways from the action.

Below are some of his top quotes.

On play of quarterbacks

Lanning: “Some good, some bad. It’s kind of the same answer you’ll get from me a lot. There was some really positive plays. Thought we got in a funk a little bit in the middle. Started off a little bit hot. Operated well in some situations and some we could have certainly been better.

On redshirt freshman wide receiver Dillon Gresham

Lanning: “I would say that Dillon’s probably one of our most improved players from this past season to what he’s done now. He’s continued to make big plays on the field and done a really good job for us. He showed it today I think we all saw what he’s capable of today.”

On how Dillon Gresham has improved

Lanning: “Probably biggest piece knowing his job and being able to count on him when the ball’s coming his direction to come down with it. I thought he made some contested catches today, made some great plays on the ball. He’s become much better as a returner and that’s just with reps and consistency. But I think he would be the first one to tell you hey I got even more room to grow. I got more to even improve.”

On seeing Kenyon Sadiq live up to the hype

Lanning: “I’ve seen it every day that he’s been here. That’s a guy that’s constantly improved, that’s worked really really hard. Embraced whatever role he’s wearing for the team and been able to help us since the day he got here. I think you saw some of Kenyon—what we get to see every single day in practice.”

On using momentum from NFL draft in recruiting

Lanning: “Proof’s in the pudding. You just look at it. You’re setting a program record for guys to get drafted in the NFL this year. Every year our draft picks have gone up since we’ve been here. And that’s really credit to those players that have worked extremely hard getting an opportunity to live out their dream. Really excited for them and really grateful for what they did for Oregon.”

On Luke Moga, progress he’s made this spring

Lanning: “Every quarterback has a different skill set and Luke’s always been a really athletic player, but where he’s really come on this year is throwing on time, taking what’s there, becoming a complete quarterback from that standpoint. He had some really good moments this spring and certainly some good moments today.”

On Blake Purchase’s skill set

Lanning: “Blake’s another one I would say great improvements this offseason. He’s worked really hard, he’s changed his body. He’s become really comfortable in the system as far as what his job is and his responsibilities. He’s a complete outside linebacker right now for us and if he continues to take that same growth this summer he’s gonna be a big impact player for us.”

On young secondary playing in Autzen Stadium

Lanning: “I think it’s a great environment for them. Not everybody in the nation gets to play in an environment like that for a spring game. So for them to get some opportunities there’s gonna be some stuff that we can learn from. To go against some really good wideouts each day, we talk about iron sharpens iron. I think we got to see some of that.”

On biggest priorities for him with the defense this offseason, growth he’s seen

Lanning: “One it’s completely different group. I think there’s a lot of new experience that’s there. I think you gotta start with saying what can we operate and what can we execute? It’s not gonna be the same as last season. And even the season before that our number one call on defense was different than it was this past year. So we’ll adapt that to fit our personnel. Biggest thing I want to see is guys out there communicating. I think we could have tackled much better than we did today, but when you don’t go live tackling every day in spring you’re gonna see some of that. As we get closer to fall camp I think you’ll see that improve and they’re going against some really good playmakers on the other side of the ball. Ultimately we have to be a team that can stop the run and take the ball away. Saw a takeaway today show up and make a big play. Actually a couple of takeaways in today’s game. But ultimately, assessing this group as an individual group. It has nothing really to do with last season.”