Everything Dan Lanning said at Pac-12 Media Day

Dan Lanning is less than two weeks away from kicking off his second season as Oregon’s head coach.

On Friday, Lanning took the stage at Pac-12 Media Day in Las Vegas and fielded questions from reporters regarding his team and how it is taking shape ahead of the 2023 season. Below is a transcript of his full press conference.

Related: Dan Lanning on what Oregon’s revamped linebacker room brings to Ducks’ defense

Q: Let’s talk about your team. How have you grown this program philosophically from year one to here we are entering year two?

Lanning: “We’ve done a couple of studies. We just recently finished up doing like a SWOT analysis of our team. An it’s really funny to peel back the layers, ask our guys, you know, what are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? Where are our opportunities, and what are our threats? And I thought our guys did a really good job of breaking that down, figuring out what we can really lean into what we have to improve on and what can get in the way of our success. It’s been fun.”

Q. How did those guys receive that from you? What stood out from that analysis?

Lanning: “Big pieces, we’ve talked about Oregon for a long time being a really good program. And we study a little bit this offseason, the book, Jim Collins, Good to Great, and we want to go make those steps and ask what’s that look like? And I think part of that is ownership and accountability within our team. Our players have really embraced that. And they’ve done a good job of it’s sometimes not always fun to hear what you’re not good at. And sometimes it’s not always fun to figure out what you need to get better at, but I think our guys have done a really good job of attacking that.”

Q: Speaking with (Jeffrey Bassa) earlier, he talked about how it was a big honor to be here. Why was he the right choice?

Lanning: “Jeff is just a great example of a guy that’s put in the hard work. You know, he made a position change early on in college and has now gone through the process of changing himself, his body, really become a student of the game. He’s a guy that lives by example every single day. And he really exudes some of the attributes that we want our players to have.”

Q. You said last season pass-rush needed to get better. You said that spring season. Now that you’ve evaluated spring ball, why do you feel your group is better at that area?

Lanning: “I think we have better depth, better understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish. And we have done a good job of recruiting and bringing some great talent in that can make us better there.”

Q. You’re really big every week on talking to your players about going to the doctor, getting a prescription, putting it into execution. For Dan Lanning, looking back over year one, what did the doctor say over the off-season?

Lanning: “I’m not gonna give you all the secrets of the trade, but I got a lot to improve on, just like everybody on our team. It goes back to that SWOT analysis like what are your strengths? What are your weaknesses, and are you willing to hear the real truth? We leaned in recently to some of the principles that were written down in 1977 by Rob Strasser for Nike and those 10 principles, a lot of those hold true today. And our business has changed.

“That’s one of those big principles and we got to be willing to adapt in a world and college football where everything changes. The other thing we talked about is living off the land. We have great resources in Oregon. And we shared a story of Mariano Rivera, when he was playing baseball as a kid, he used a cardboard glove. And he wasn’t really worried about looking at somebody else’s plate.

“He was really focused on what he needed to do to get better. And I think that’s the same thing that I try to do and certainly, that’s what our players are trying to do in our program right now.”

Q. A question for you, Kirby Smart and Georgia is the archetype, you had a big part in that. Do you have conversations with Kirby in the off-season? Have you given any advice or had conversations with Kenny Dillingham, the Arizona State new head coach?

Lanning: “I’ll tell you this first as a head coach, we just don’t get a lot of wiggle time to talk to each other and anytime we’re talking to each other you feel like you should be talking to a recruit. That being said, I certainly get an opportunity to catch up with Coach Smart and have a lot of admiration and respect for the opportunities he created for me. And I have that same relationship with Kenny. We’re probably talking more about each other’s families than we are talking about football. He’s a great student of the game. He’s going to be a phenomenal coach for Arizona State, and excited to see what he does there.”

Q. Can you talk about the impact that the newcoming students — that you plan on them making?

Lanning: “I hope a big one. We have over 45 newcomers on scholarship, almost over 50 players on our team that are new to our roster, and you hope that they do a great job of transitioning in with the guys that we already have here. Some great veteran leadership that exists on our team. But one thing that’s been great is the opportunities that we get to spend together away from football. I think that makes that transition that much smoother for our players.

“You know, recently, we were able to do some community service. I’m really proud of the fact that we have in the last six months, we’ve done over 850 hours of community service with 16 different organizations. And I think that’s a part of realizing these guys, what’s it mean to be an Oregon Duck? It means doing a little bit more and those guys as they transition, getting to be a part of the project where you build beds, for a community or do some of those things I think that helps with that transition process.”

Q. Can you describe the synergy you have with Bo Nix? How did that play into the relationship last year, and how more in sync are you this year?

Lanning: “Yeah I can tell you what Bo’s thinking right now. Competing against Bo is where it starts. You see how much of a competitor he is. And getting to go against him, I knew the type of guy that I was going to face. So when you get the chance to bring him on your team, it’s really exciting, but Bo’s not just our quarterback he’s also my babysitter. I walked in the house the other day my wife was out with some of the other coaches’ wives I believe and Bo’s in the living room there and I’m like, ‘What are you up to man?’ He goes up boys just finished basketball practice, they’re getting ready for bed. So there’s a unique connection there but it’s more than just football. He’s a member of the family.”

Q. Obviously there’s so much quarterback talent in the Pac-12 this year. From a defensive point of view, how do you approach that?

Lanning: “Try to figure out what they do best and stop it. It’s certainly an exciting time to be in this league. You get to go against great quarterbacks every single week. But I think that’s part of the challenge is every real competitor, you know, enjoys is get to go against elite competition.”

Q. With the landscape changing in the Pac-12, with USC and UCLA going to the Big Ten, how do you feel that’s going to affect the program’s recruiting appeal?

Lanning: “I’m really focused on Oregon and we’ve been able to recruit elite talent since I’ve been here. We’ll continue to do that. You know, our focus is winning games. And I’m a true believer if you win games, the rest takes care of itself.”

Q. What is Bo Nix’ hourly rate for babysitting?

Lanning: “Man (laughter). He does a lot of things from the goodness of his heart. I hear he can pull top dollar these days.”

Q. To have a leader like that, when he decided to come back, how are you feeling about where the offense is?

Lanning: “It certainly helps have your quarterback back. And you know, we were one of the best teams in college football protecting our quarterback last year. A lot of that credit goes to Bo and a lot of that credit goes to our offensive line. We have some of those pieces back, but there’s going to be a new group in front of them. We have the talent. And you know, as we went through our SWOT analysis, we said, hey, one of our weaknesses we haven’t had the same experience on the offensive line this past year. So how do we create that? And I’m so impressed with the job the offensive line has done in creating that this offseason, the extra work they do after workouts, the time they spend together to create that chemistry that’s necessary. But certainly, Bo’s a big piece of that and then you talk about having weapons outside and great backfield, I think all those pieces add together to set us up for success.”

Q. How is Kenny Dillingham going to do for the Sun Devils? How hard is going to be when you play against him?

Lanning: “When you play him it’s gonna be like playing your brother. Like if I was playing my brother basketball right now, I’d want to whoop his ass. That’s the goal. But Kenny’s a competitor too. And he’s a great coach. And obviously, he’s familiar with that area that’s home for him. I think you’ll do great things with Sun Devils.”

Q. You talk about your offense, you talk about the history of this program. You’re always connected to it. Specifically, a little over a year ago you lost Spencer Webb. How have you maintained your relationship to his legacy within the locker room and for you personally?

Lanning: “There’s really not a day that goes by you don’t think about it and tomorrow, we finish every single workout with the climb up Spencer’s Butte. So that’s gonna be a big you know, capstone to our season. There’s gonna be some guys that go on that walk that didn’t know Spencer. There’s gonna be scouting from guys that climb that hill that didn’t know him personally and there’s gonna be a lot of people that were impacted by Spencer every day when we climb that butte. And that’s something that means a lot to me. I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to express the importance of life and taking advantage of the time while you’re here on this earth for our guys.”

Q. Your philosophy as it relates to the transfer portal. Do you see it as a really helpful tool, using it more than you’d say your competitors are, and how do you see it integrated with high school recruiting?

Lanning: “I can’t really speak to our competitors, but I’ll speak to us. If we find somebody that we think will make our program better and they fit the characteristics of what we’re looking for for our team, we think there’ll be a great teammate, they bring us talent, then we’re going to do everything we can to make sure they’re on our team. We’re always going to recruit high school athletes. We have over 29 players coming in as freshmen this year. We’re really really excited about, but the transfer portal is a tool that we want to use and we want to be the best at it.”

Q. With the transfer portal, with where college football is, seems like there’s never time to take a break. Your core DNA trait is connection. How do you make sure that is a point of emphasis with all the responsibilities, requests that go your way?

Lanning: “You got to remember what’s the most important piece and for us that is the most important piece. That’s the secret sauce for us. On fourth down you’re going to go that much harder when you care about the guy next to you. And it’s just as important for our coaches and our families. I think we just got off some vacation to have a good spend together. But I’m sure Sauphia is ready for me to go back to work right now. She’s tired. Like the rules are different when I’m at the house, but we just love having the players over at our house. We love spending time with him away from football, that community service. Those things I think are really special for us.”

Q. Talking about your family, being a dad, you talk about making time for your kids, what is the key to that?

Lanning: “The hardest part isn’t time, it’s intentional time. It’s the willingness to say I’m gonna put my phone down for a little bit and focus on those guys but we’re competitors in our house just like we are on the football field. So it might be a board game one night, it might be a puzzle. It might just be a conversation but you just have to find the time to make it. Luckily I’m head coach now but at home Sauphia is the head coach. She kind of runs the show and she’s just like all of our coaches’ wives they give so much of their time. You want to make sure that you find the time to be intentional back with your family.”

Q. Time in Eugene. The job is all gas, you’re rolling. You’ve had some moments to get in touch with the community. What have you learned about this community that you didn’t know a year ago?

Lanning: “Just so welcoming. And it’s been a place that we really enjoy being a part of. You’re looking at being an hour and a half from the coast span an hour and 30 minutes from the mountains. Getting to experience and really all the things that we’re getting, and I feel like there’s so much more than I haven’t gotten to see yet. So I’m excited to continue to explore the community explore the state of Oregon, but the people are what make it so special.”

Q. A lot of newcomers at linebacker. I’m curious how important Jeff is going to be there and just an overview of that group.

Lanning: “Overall I’m really excited about that group. I think nowadays in college football at linebacker especially you have to be really athletic. The day and age of having an old MIKE linebacker that can go b gap to b gap or c gap to c gap, that’s not a reality anymore. You have to have guys that can run, guys that have blitz ability, can cover you know, obviously Jeff fits those traits as a guy as a former safety. You got guys that we were able to bring in like Jestin Jacobs, Connor Soelle, they’re going to be able to add to that and you have the guy and Jamal Hill that we moved as well. Also excited to see some of our young guys develop Devin Jackson, some of the other guys on our team have had really good offseason. So it’s a group that I’m excited about. I think we have some great talent there. And we just got to get that experience on the field.”

Q. When you talk about that front seven, it’s a lot of four-, five-, six-, seven-year guys. What have they done to the 50 new faces that have entered into this program?

Lanning: “That leadership, it means a little bit more coming from a player than it does a coach. So when a Casey Rogers has something to say and he’s speaking to a young freshman, I think they hear the message a little bit better. And one thing you’re excited about is when you start to hear your players saying the same message that they’re hearing from you. Those guys carry that message on really strong, and they’re the ones that live it day to day. I’m gonna play zero snaps for Oregon this year. But those guys will be playing a lot of snaps and it’s important that they understand what the goals are of the team and when you have some veteran leadership that certainly helps.”

Q. I always felt that college football writes itself, it’s the best drama, unscripted. Tez Johnson comes in as Bo Nix’s brother. When he came into Bo’s family, his hoodie was an Oregon hoodie. It’s been his dream school; now he’s there. What have you noticed about him as a wide receiver?

Lanning: “He’s fast. It’s been great having Tez. I think he’s been a great complement to that room. He’s been integrated into the team really well. It’s nice to have this big brother on the team. That certainly helps. But you know, Tez works. And he’s one of those guys when he steps on the grass, you can tell he loves football. There’s a lot of things that he wants to get better at. There’s a lot of goals that he has set for himself. And as long as he keeps that in front of him, what he has to improve what he has to attack I think he can be a real asset to our program.”

Q. Most of your freshmen last year redshirted. Where are those guys at a year into the program? How much can you lean on those guys to provide more depth?

Lanning: “It’s been fun this weekend or really just being down here. I’m getting some text messages and some updates from our strength coach, Coach Love and some of the gains these guys have had this offseason, a lot of these guys have changed their body. And being a year into the program, they’re gonna have opportunities to really impact and make an impact on our program. So, excited to see what those guys come along. And if they’re good enough, they’re old enough. We don’t care how old you are. We care how good you are. And we have some good players that are ready to take the field for us and some great depth, and I hope some of those freshmen are a part of that.”