Dan Lanning speaks with the media following Fall Camp Day 11

Dan Lanning spoke with the media again today following the conclusion of Oregon’s eleventh Fall Camp practice. As Dan Lanning often does, he dives straight into his immediate thoughts on the practice.

“Really good, competitive practice from the guys today, finished off with a really competitive redzone period.”

On what he saw looking back at Saturday’s scrimmage:

“We (have) got to get better at our operation, and we’ve really attacked that the last couple of days. We need to incorporating more crowd noise for our guys so they get used to that. Had some of that today, which was a positive.” Lanning was asked why he felt the need to use crowd noise today. He responded, “we’re going to play in some really loud stadiums, and our stadium is a loud stadium. When our defense is out there, the coach to player communication is a little different.”

Lanning added that the playbook is mostly set, but a few plays are being cycled. An immediate follow-up was asked about if the scheme was set, which Dan Lanning immediately shut down saying there was, “still time before then.”

On his relationship with Jordan James:

“He’s a guy that every single practice, we challenge each other, what’s this practice going to look like from an energy standpoint, and effort. The guy just plays hard, he’s really quiet. If you guys get the chance to talk to him it will be interesting to see if you hear what he says. When he plays, he plays really loud. I appreciate a guy that plays loud, brings the energy every single day, runs hard, runs tough, he’s that guy that has toughness.”

On Traeshon Holden’s growth within the team:

“Biggest piece that we’re talking with Trae (Traeshon) on is what’s the next play, great last play, what’s the next play. He’s done a great job at that embracing that the last few days. I think he’s been really strong with the ball this year, (has) done a good job snatching it, attacking it. When he’s had opportunities to block hard, he’s blocked hard.”

On Traeshon’s leadership role:

“His best leadership role for us is when he goes out there and puts it on the field every single day, and how he affects the people around him. Those days that he does that, it makes our team really tough to stop.”

On what he’s seen from Evan Stewart:

“Highs, and lows, and he would be the person to tell you that, but I think there’s a lot of positives there with Evan the way he attacks the ball. Like after I said back in the spring, he’s one of the best at attacking the ball in the air. Certainly has speed, continue to look for him to ramp it up and elevate his game for us.”

On A’Mauri Washington’s development:

“I always think one of the biggest transitions for defensive line is how they use their hands at the line of scrimmage, and it’s something that has really shown up for A’Mauri. He’s got a powerful punch, and when he’s able to play in the backfield, its going to be really disruptive to an opponent.”

On the second year players on the D-Line:

“I think we’ve seen a lot of growth from that group, whether it’s A’Mauri, My’Kiel (Gardner), there’s a lot of guys that have stepped up and have done a good job of elevating their game and putting themselves in position to help us.”

On what he wants to see from the kick returners:

“Probably starts with the decision-making back there, making good decisions, a fair catch is sometimes a win on a kickoff return. Ultimately great decision-makers and we (have) got to be able to block guys up front. The hardest job in football is being a front line guy on KOR (kickoff returns) and having to run back thirty yards and then block somebody. We have to get good at that and train that.”

On incorporating 3-4 running backs:

“I think we have multiple guys that can play winning football, and I think we have multiple guys there that can help us.”

On Devon Jackson playing fast:

“I think Devon is a completely different player than when he got here, I’ve said that before. He’s always been a fast guy, but fast the wrong direction doesn’t help you, now he’s fast in the right direction. Lots of positive with Devon, expecting him to continue to grow to help us.”

On establishing a pipeline in Southern California:

“Anytime is recruiting it’s about relationships and it’s about time, time invested. Certainly when you start getting some guys from a certain area that have connections with each other, a lot of those guys want to be able to play together. If we can continue to do a good job of adding those ones together, whether it’s identification, relationships, getting them on campus, all those things add up and equate to wins in recruiting.”