Dan Lanning Provides Final Updates Heading Into Season Opener vs. Idaho

On Wednesday head coach Dan Lanning met with the media for the last time before No. 3 Oregon kicks off the season against the Idaho Vandals on Saturday. He provided final updates and discussed a handful of topics including injury updates, some young defense backs and more.

Below you’ll find some of his key quotes from the press conference and some analysis.

Opening statement: Great day of work today. Good week of prep. We were able to get kind of a bonus day this week with the way we set things up so tomorrow will be more like a typical Thursday for us.”

Question: Is Bedford in a better spot right now than at first anticipated?

Lanning: “I don’t think so. I don’t know. What spot do you think he’s in?”

Question: You said he’d be out for a couple weeks and he was out there today.

Lanning: “Yeah he’s able to move around. I don’t know that he’ll be able to help us game 1 or not. We’ll see what it looks like. We’ll continue to assess it.”

Question: What have you seen from Aaron Flowers so far through spring and through fall camp and his growth?

Lanning: “He’s just had a level of focus and approach knowing ‘hey I don’t have it all figured out but I’m gonna figure it out with tempo, time and consistency.’ So he’s getting there. He’s doing a good job, he’s gonna be a good player for us.”

Question: You said Charlie Pickard would help this team. What are the things he’s done during camp to make you feel that way?

Lanning: “He does everything right. His prep’s right, the way he works is right. Everything is right I think he’s a leader in that offensive line room and that’s been really consistent with him.”

Question: Is Dakoda Fields gonna be…

Lanning: “Dakoda’s gonna be down for a little bit. Had a knee injury. We’re gonna have to work to get him back. Don’t want to put a timeline on it, but it’ll be a while.”

Question: Where have you seen growth from Daylen Austin in fall camp?

Lanning: “We’ve asked him to play multiple positions and kind of be in multiple spots. He’s a football player. Good football player and we’re challenging a lot to do a lot of different things. But I think his physicality is showing up and continue to see that.”

Question: You talked earlier in the week about Idaho and how competitive they’ve been. You drilled home a little bit that they’ve played these FBS games these past two years, they’ve not been down at halftime.

Lanning: “Yeah they’ve been a really competitive team versus good teams, teams that we’ve played. They bring their best, they obviously perform up. I think this’ll be an exciting game for them, but nobody you can go to sleep on. They’re talented. They’re a good team for a reason.“

Torres’ Take

Like others I was surprised to hear and see that Matthew Bedford was back at practice. But it doesn’t seem like he’ll be available this weekend and I see no reason why the staff would want to rush his return.

Tough news in the secondary to hear about Dakoda Fields getting banged up, as I have had very high expectations for him even as a true freshman. Fortunately for Oregon they’re loaded at cornerback and should be able to navigate his injury fairly easily.

Staying in the defensive backfield Daylen Austin looks like he’ll be in the rotation quite a bit for the Ducks at nickel and I’ve heard he’s looked great this fall. It’s sounding more and more like we’re going to see a bunch of Charlie Pickard this Saturday and coaches aren’t expecting to see a drop off.