Dan Lanning addresses how Oregon can make up ground on 2023, 2024 recruiting
Dan Lanning and the new Oregon Ducks football coaching staff may be behind the curve on the recruiting trail, but the former Georgia defensive coordinator has a plan to make up ground as he builds his new program.
“We will be aggressive in our approach moving forward,” Lanning said in a recent press conference.
“We have already been able to have a couple guys on campus with the unofficial period this past month. We will definitely attack that in March.”
Dan Lanning then proposed a unique collaboration between the coaching staff and fans to help recruiting immediately.
One of the biggest things we can do as a fan base and as a staff, is focus on getting guys here on April 23rd for our Spring game. We need to pack the crowd and make it the experience we know it can be.”
To close out his update on recruiting, the new Oregon football coach said it’s all about the basics in the near future.
“And then it’s just about getting more of these guys on the phone, on campus, on zoom calls,” Lanning added. That’s where we will attack moving forward.”
Dan Lanning shares why Bo Nix was strong fit at Oregon
Roughly a week after Auburn quarterback Bo Nix announced his intention to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, Nix found a new home in Oregon, a move that the first-year head coach thinks can set the standard under center in Eugene.
On Monday night, Lanning — formerly the defensive coordinator at Georgia — was wearing black and red, leading the Bulldogs to a national championship. But by Thursday, Lanning, now wearing green, had arrived at his new post in Eugene, ready to explain why the Ducks believe they’ve found their quarterback of the future in Nix.
“Competition breeds excellence,” Dan Lanning said. “We’re going to have competition at every position across the board, quarterback included. What I think I know about Bo is that he’s the ultimate competitor; I know how hard he worked.”
Lanning alluded to the fact that Nix will have to earn the starting quarterback at Oregon, though it seems like a foregone conclusion that the three-year Auburn starter will win that job quickly. Nix’s three-year run as Auburn’s starting quarterback had its ups and downs, but his best season, which came in 2019, was in large part thanks to then-Auburn offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham. Dillingham was recently hired as Oregon’s offensive coordinator, so as Nix exhausts his last year of collegiate eligibility in Oregon, he’ll have the chance to reunite with Dillingham — a duo that Lanning thinks will catalyze the Ducks’ offense.
“Obviously, Coach Dillingham had personal experience getting to coach Bo in the past. We were really clear with Bo, (saying) when you come here, there’s certainly an opportunity to compete, but we’re really excited about the guy we have on our roster as well,” Dan Lanning added.
As a true freshman, Nix burst onto the scene in 2019, throwing for over 2,500 yards and 16 touchdowns, both of which were Auburn freshman records. He was named SEC Freshman of the Year, and the Tigers went 9-3 in the regular season, only to lose in the Outback Bowl. His next two years, though, Auburn went 6-5 and 6-6 in Malzahn’s last year and Harsin’s first year. Next season, Nix will have one last chance to replicate that 2019 campaign at Oregon.