On3 Roundtable: Dan Lanning’s fingerprints are all over the 2023 Oregon team

Oregon had a coaching change most Power Five programs are not used to. Mario Cristobal left in favor of another Power Five school, heading back to his hometown of Miami to rebuild the Hurricanes. This led the Ducks to hire Dan Lanning away from Georgia after winning a national championship as the defensive coordinator.

When Lanning arrived on campus, a total rebuild was not needed. Cristobal had success on the field and when recruiting. Had he not left for Miami, most would expect Oregon to still be on an upward trajectory and potentially competing on a national stage.

Even so, a complete roster overhaul has taken place. Lanning has done a majority of his work in the NCAA transfer portal, adding instant additions for 2022 and hoping for the same this upcoming fall.

“He walked into a job where you think Mario Cristobal did a really good job recruiting,” Justin Hopkins of On3’s Scoop Duck said when joining the On3 Roundtable. “There’s a lot of pieces there, lots of guys. He’s not walking into a project, right?

“Even though that was the case, Dan Lanning was still very active in putting his fingerprints on this program. Just off memory, he’s close to 30 transfers in the last two years. Last year’s crop that came in, if they weren’t starters, they were on the field pretty regularly. Very big contributors.”

Hitting the portal is good and all but you have to remember where Lanning comes from. He has worked under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, the two best recruiters in college football. Lanning is going to be lethal on the trail and want to compete with the big boys.

First full cycle in 2023 was a success, finishing in the top 10. Now, the 2024 class is loading and has the potential to be better.

“He went and signed a massive recruiting class in this past 2023 cycle,” Hopkins said. “Got nearly 20 commits right now in the 2024 cycle.”

The process is not completely done yet for Lanning. Hopkins believes there is still a sliver of work to make the roster 100% what Lanning wants, something he likely can accomplish once the 2023 season is over. But the head coach has to feel good about what he has in front of him.

“If I was putting a number on it, I would say it’s 85% Dan Lanning’s team,” Hopkins said. “I think that’s just been his aggressiveness in turning over the roster and really going after guys that fit what he needs.”