Dan Lanning Talks 2026 Signing Class

Wednesday afternoon Oregon head coach Dan Lanning spent time talking about his signed 2026 recruiting class. The Ducks were able to fend off a lot of programs for many of their top recruits.

While Oregon might not be done yet, Lanning was able to speak about the recruits that are signed.

Lastly he also talked about what his coordinators will do in the postseason along with any rooting interest in games this weekend.

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On the Class:

“Players we thought could impact here early, make an impact, be able to contribute. So it was much more about quality over quantity. It wasn’t about signing as many guys as we could possibly sign. It was more about signing guys that we thought would really make an impact on this team. We’ve got a lot of great players that represent a lot of different places. Several guys recognized as the best player in their state. I think we have 11 different states represented. Guys from all over the footprint, which is always fun about Oregon, is we can go anywhere in the nation and find, you know, great players.

Several multi-sport athletes. I think 14 guys that play multiple sports, that’s always a big positive.

And, you know, rankings can be overrated, but we signed some guys that are obviously really highly ranked and really good players, but more than that, quality people.”

On Not Having any Late Flips:

“Yeah, I just think it’s, you know, players come here for a reason and there’s a lot of reasons that go into that, but I think we have a really complete program, you know, in a lot of ways. Everything that you’re looking for from development on the football field and the opportunity to compete at the highest level on the football field as well as what Oregon provides academically and the support that exists here on our staff. The relationships I think are a real key here.

Every player that we were able to sign, it’s truly a complete staff effort. I think that speaks to this is a place that’s unique where it’s going to be more than just a relationship with one position coach or one person on staff. This is a place where we team recruit and develop those relationships and those are paid off.”

On the late commitments: (Hudson, Lewis, Banag)

“They’re all guys that we identified earlier. There’s guys that we rather like pull the trigger on later, knowing that, you know, we want to make sure we had a great opportunity. It’s not like you want to alert the rest of the world, what your intentions are necessarily with some guys you’re looking at. And then it’s always the constant evaluation of, okay, what’s our roster going to look like in the future here as well? Where do we need to grow? What attrition might exist? You know, there’s always attrition every year.

So I think you pay attention to all those details and making sure you don’t over-sign to where you don’t have enough opportunities for the people that you’re bringing onto the team.”

Communication about coaches moving on:

“You know, the conversation has never changed here. I mean, every player that’s signed here, they always sit down in my office and I always share the truth about my vision for their future and the truth of, you know, what does it look like for me here in the future and the future of our coaches here.
I’ve never been shy about the fact – in fact, I, been very adamant about the fact that my goal is to help people reach their dreams and goals.

Will (Stein) obviously grew up spending time in that stadium. His parents both went to school there. So I think when you’re honest from the beginning to the end of, hey, this is what it looks like right now. We’ve got an unbelievable staff. We’ve had transition here in the past and we’ve shown exactly what that looks like when transition happens. But when you’re really honest about that and you don’t tell them, hey, this guy’s here for life, you know, and then the next thing you know, the rug gets ripped out from underneath you and you prepare him for those moments. I think that speaks volumes.

And, you know, ultimately people are signing up for more than just one person being here. But that’s part of the goal is for people to come and, you know, get the opportunity to share in their dreams and their futures. And part of that is coaches get to celebrate their futures as well. So when you’re honest about it, I don’t think that has to be a big conversation. I think when people are deceptive about it, when it looks different in other places, I think that’s when it’s a big shock and a lot of things can change.”

On Bryson Beaver:

“Quarterback’s always a unique position. Getting to see him throw in person I think is always a big piece of that. Trusting your evaluation skills. And this is a guy that obviously got really hot towards the end and had a lot of opportunities and places that he could go. But you fall in love with the family. You know, Bryson’s got an unbelievable group around him.

And then you really get to recognize, okay, the arm talent, the things that exist there, they’re going to be beneficial in a piece that you want in your program. And then the ability to mentally handle the load that we ask for our quarterbacks to handle. There’s a lot that goes to that. And he’s the guy that checked those boxes.”

On Iheanacho and Tofi:

“Yeah, these guys are super athletic. They’re guys that we’ve been recruiting for a really, really long time. You know, we think they both can play tackle, but they do certainly have position versatility, but seeing them there at the tackle position, they’re both guys that talk about recruiting for a long time. I mean, I remember seeing Tommy in a camp, you know, three years ago, and same thing really with Manny in that situation. We spend a lot of time traveling to camps, seeing guys in action, those relationships start then, and then it becomes, you know, the body of work of building that relationship and seeing what it grows into and making sure you’re still, you know, through that, through that entire process.”

On Communicating with Bair during Mission:

“Yes, it’s been somewhat limited, but there’s been some opportunities in there that we could.
And there’s still been, you know, great communication with Brad and Shay and his family, the ability to connect, you know, from time to time. But Elder Bair’s been doing a mission and he’s done an unbelievable job of that. But we’ve been able to stay in touch, whether through email, you know, the occasional opportunity to touch base with the people he’s done an unbelievable job of that. The occasional opportunity to touch base with the people he’s around, and really excited to get him here.

This is one that he signed several years ago, and now you get the opportunity to have him here. I’m really excited about what Gatlin can do.”

On Tony Cumberland:

“Yeah, I mean, as we all know, this group looks different right now compared today than it did come June.
And I think Tony’s a great example of a guy that knew what he wanted. It’s been really fun watching Tony grow up and become the man that we’re all excited to see. But obviously he’s an unbelievable player and an unbelievable man that we’re all excited to see. But obviously, he’s an unbelievable player and an unbelievable talent that has done big things here locally. And I’m excited to see that show up on our field. But we’re really grateful for guys like Tony.”

On Tristan Phillips:

“Yeah, Tristan’s a guy that reminds me a little bit of a guy you guys are all familiar with in Bryce Petcher just as far as how much he loves the game of football, how intense he plays, the level of intensity. He enjoys training and works extremely hard. So he has all those traits that you’re hoping that you see in a linebacker. And obviously he’s had a great season. I’m glad that he’s going to get to be a part of what we’re doing here.”

On Tank Jones:

“Yeah, it’s one of the games, you know, again, I don’t get to see a ton of games during the season. It was one of the games that I was able to go watch him play this year, which was a lot of fun to see the impact he can have on a game. You know, he’s been a guy that’s been used on defense, used in the backfield, carrying the ball. You know, Kam Araghi, Coach Lupoi, those guys built unbelievable relationships as well as several other people on our staff. And, you know, I think this was a great example of a place being a dream school for a player that really came to fruition for Tank and what he’s going to be able to accomplish here.”

On Tosh and Will Coaching Through Playoffs:

“Yeah, certainly the plan is for those guys to be able to help us as we go through and chase what we want to finish this season.”

On Jett Washington:

“He’s got great ball instincts. He can attack. He’s a physical hitter. You look at a lot of things that we were able to do with Dillon this year, Dillon Thieneman, on his stack position. I think Jett translates to a lot of that stuff really well as well. But ultimately, just a really great program there at Bishop Gorman that’s turned out a lot of phenomenal players, a lot of success. The guy knows what it means to be a winner, right? And you want guys in your program that knows what it means to be a winner. He comes from a family of athletes. So I’m just excited to see what he’s able to do here.”

On Conference Games He’s Watching:

“No, no, probably not. I mean, no, I’m going to enjoy some good football games this weekend. I’m not rooting against them. You know, Cutter Leftwich, which is on our staff, his brother’s over there. Sure. I hope they have success. Yeah, I’m just going to root for some good games. Probably like all you guys on Saturday, you want to watch good games.”