Dan Lanning recaps sixth fall practice

Dan Lanning spoke with the media this evening after the conclusion of Oregon’s sixth fall camp practice, here’s everything he had to say.

Lanning started talking before he even got asked a question today, telling the media:

“Really good day today, it was brief, it was quick, it was really all about competition. Had a lot of competitive periods in practice today, wanted to get on and off the field and get our work.

On if practices were in full pads:

“No, we practiced in shells and we’re pretty much the same as (in full pads). We’re not tackling all the way to ground in full pads anyway. We did have a couple live plays today that we did tackle to the ground, but it was good competitive grit.”

Lanning later adds that the competition was more of offense vs defense rather than between position groups. This included a “move the field” period, a “redzone lockout” period, and a ton of chances for the players to go against one another.

On the improvements from last week to this week:

“The competitive nature and the toughness element showing up. This is where guys’ bodies start to hurt and you see who’s real and who’s not.”

On the upcoming Saturday scrimmage:

“I’m really looking ahead to right now, so I haven’t made it to Saturday yet. When we get there, we’ll get there, but it’s going to be competitive like everything else.”

On what Kobe Savage adds to the team:

“He operates with a level of toughness, he’s picking up our system quickly, he’s proven to be a good tackler for us, he’s physical.”

On Coach Michalowski:

“He’s one of my most trusted friends, and guys that I get to work with. He’s been with me at a lot of stops, for good reason, because he does a great job developing those guys. I think he has an immense amount of knowledge that he’s able to share with his players, and he gets the best out of them. You watch his position and they improve.”

On Jordan Burch’s growth:

“(How much) more comfortable he’s gotten, he had to get uncomfortable to get comfortable. The more uncomfortable he got, the more comfortable he’s gotten doing what we ask him to do, and he’s becoming more of a vocal leader. You’re starting to see him show up, he’s a hard guy to block, and that’s definitely an advantage for us.”

On what Tez Johnson needs to improve on:

“Just consistency, and the truth is last year has nothing to do with this year, right so who cares. Tez will be the first one to tell you that, who cares about last year, it doesn’t matter. Continue to develop that consistency, being a guy that the other guys can count on, being a guy that brings other guys up.

On replacing Bucky Irving’s receiving ability:

“The good thing about this position is that there’s a lot of these guys that can catch the ball. More as we go through camp we’ll see that. I want us to be able to stick any running back in the game and see him catch the ball out of the backfield. The guys that are repping with the 1s and 2s are guys that can do that.

On Jayden Limar’s jump from a freshman to a sophomore:

“There’s such a big difference between being a freshman and a sophomore, and he’s a great example of that. He’s been “steady eddy” on the field, he does his job consistently, he’s always out there looking to improve, and doesn’t say a lot, just does the work.”

On Dante Moore and Austin Novosad’s growth since spring:

“Another opportunity to be more comfortable in the system, I think both of those guys have had really good days, and they’ve had days where they can both improve. Both of them are really starting to get comfortable with what the call is, and anticipating what their answers are with each call.”