Notable Quotes from Dan Lanning following whirlwind signing day for Oregon
If you’re just tuning in you’ve missed a lot.
Wednesday marked the start of the early signing period in college football, and the Oregon Ducks took that opportunity to steal back the ‘Win the Day’ motto from Chip Kelly and make a splash in the world of recruiting.
It started out before the sun was up in Eugene, with 4-star Baylor quarterback flipping his commitment to the Ducks, A couple of hours later, 5-star safety Peyton Bowen announced his flip from Notre Dame to Oregon, and minutes after that, 5-star EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei announced that he was committing to the Ducks over the USC Trojans and Ohio State Buckeyes.
On top of that, 4-star CB Daylen Austin announced his flip from LSU to Oregon no more than an hour later.
You get all of that?
While it’s been a crazy morning in Eugene, there is undoubtedly more to come, with a highly-coveted transfer portal OT announcing his commitment later, along with other potential commitments and flips as well.
Fortunately, Oregon media members were able to talk to Dan Lanning on Wednesday morning during his signing day press conference. Here’s what the Coach had to say:
Opening Statement
Lanning: “Exciting day to be a Duck. We’re right now in the process of building some important pieces as we grow moving forward. You know, I think that we put a lot of attention in finding guys with obviously elite talent but also elite character. As we’re building this class, we found a class that was really connected. We talked about connection being one of our DNA traits. You know, at the end of the day, I think, piecing this class together a big part of that was really just the connection we have with each family of each one of these players. I know there’s some that will continue to release throughout the day and some we have their information already that we’re holding but really excited about this group. We got a group that has a lot of state champions and we have a group that has some guys that are really high GPA guys were able to address some needs, you know, across the board for our team that I think are going to make us better moving forward and keep us competitive as we move into next season.
Last 24 Hours
Question: What have the last 24-48 hours been like as you weathered the ups and downs of the recruiting world?
Lanning: “At the end of the day, you want to be in position when you get down to the end, and I think every one of us has had our phones plugged in pretty much nonstop for the last 48. And there’s been a lot of conversations and you know one thing I think that we’ll spend a lot of time on is we’re never going to trick someone into coming to Oregon. We want someone to pick Oregon because it’s the right fit for them in their heart, they notice a place they can grow and they can get better. And the same for us. You know, I think when there’s a sales pitch that doesn’t fit you, what you realize is you’re going to lose people in your program. And one thing that I’m proud of right now is if you look at our freshmen, we don’t have a single freshman in the transfer portal right now. What’s that mean? It means what we said last year is reality. Right, and the people we’re able to bring on board. We’re excited about the direction we’re headed and that’s the same thing we’re looking for as we add pieces moving forward.”
Surprises
Question: Even for those who following recruiting closely, there were some surprises today. Was there anything that came as a surprise to you, or did you have a good feel for what was going to take place?
Lanning: “Really a combination of both. You know, generally, there’s not a lot of opportunities where you get to the hat ceremony, you don’t know where you sit. I would say that we were really clued in to be in a great position on a lot of these as they finished and have, you know, had a lot of confidence, really securing a lot of that confidence last night as we’re able to roll into the day. But yeah, there’s certainly some moments where you get up there and you feel like you’re right there in the fight, you don’t know so it’s been a pleasant surprise we’ve gotten. I think everyone sees what we’re building. And I think there’s some players that want to be a part of something special and all this does is create momentum for us moving forward and they realize that you can reach all of your goals and aspirations right here.”
Will Stein
Question: What’s it been like to watch Will Stein recruit over the past couple of weeks and be able to land a massive QB flip like Austin Novosad?
Lanning: “Will is a guy that’s felt very strong from the moment he stepped on campus about Austin and obviously Austin’s a guy that he had a relationship with, all the way back to when Austin was in eighth grade. And I think when you watch the film, and you start to do a deep dive into Austin’s character and learn more about his family, you realize right away what a special individual he is. But that’s a place where Will’s relationships really paid off and he obviously did a phenomenal job there closing out.”
Class Characterization
Question: How would you characterize this class in a few words?
Lanning: “The number one adjective I would use is winners, right? We got a bunch of winners in this group. Like I said, guys that are you know, state championships at their high school team. Guys that have been captains for their team guys that achieve really at a high level in the classroom. They’re gonna compete and some of these you know, championship bowl games, some of these bowl games are getting an opportunity to go compete and I think that speaks to how these guys are wired. Right. They love competition. They’re not afraid to be a part of a great class. You know, some guys are concerned about who else is going to be in the class with them and who they’re gonna have to compete against. These are guys that want to go play with the best because they know that really, you know, that’s going to result in wins, right? When you have great players around you, you have an opportunity to be a great team. And that’s something I’m really excited about with this group.
Last Year vs. This Year
Question: How has this recruiting cycle and signing day compared to the scramble that was last year?
Lanning: “Yeah, ultimately, the biggest thing is time, right? We had time to be really thorough and go back and evaluate. There’s some guys that trusted us last year that stayed on board, I think I got hired and signing day was less than a week later. Right? And it didn’t necessarily provide a lot of opportunity for there was a little bit of a trust factor that to go in there but not the opportunity to develop relationships like we like to develop and this year what do we have we had the opportunity to do that to develop strong relationships going down the stretch, you know, with guys that we think can impact us in a positive light.”
State of Texas
Question: You guys hit the state of Texas hard this year. What led to that success?
Lanning: “I think we’re gonna lean on some of our comfortability. And we have a lot of coaches that are familiar with that area. That being said, you know, we feel like we can go anywhere in the nation attack the best players in the nation, and bring them aboard but there’s no doubt there’s great talent in Texas. And as long as there’s a great talent in Texas we’re gonna recruit it hard and do everything we can to make sure that talent makes its way to Oregon.”
Bo Nix's Return
Question: How much do you think Bo Nix announcing his return for 2023 impacted the recruiting class this year?
Lanning: “We’re excited for Bo you know, ultimately, my goal as a coach is sitting back and making sure Bo feels comfortable about making the decision he has to move in and make going forward for him. I wanted him to be able to do that with a clear mind and really have some time to sit down and process and evaluate his situation. I thought he did a phenomenal job of that. I thought he had a really strong circle of trust that he could really lean on and I want to kind of step back and let them go through that process. And he did an exceptional job of that but there’s no doubt that great players want to play with great players. Bo’s a really talented player that makes us strong moving forward, and he certainly had a positive impact on us finishing down the stretch and we’ll continue to do that.”
NIL Talk
Question: A lot of the narrative around massive flips and commitments comes to be about NIL and players getting payed to go somewhere, What’s it like when you see that?
Lanning: “Well, I think it’s great to be in a place where you can be innovative and ahead of the curve but I think anybody that really knows college football right now knows there’s a lot more to recruiting than NIL. Nobody picks the place just because of those factors. Certainly, some of those factors matter and you want to be in a place where you can build a brand. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the nation that’s better than Oregon when it comes to that and being able to build a brand for yourself as a player. But it goes back to relationships and the guys that we’ve been able to, you know, go and get on our team here. That’s because of relationships. That’s because of long-term relationships. And I think any of them would tell you the same thing. These guys are picking places based on what’s the best opportunity for them. And that’s what we continue to look for is who can make us better, and how can we make them better.”
Kenyon Sadiq
Question: One of the players who stands out in this class is TE Kenyon Sadiq. What did you see from his film during the recruiting process?
Lanning: “I’m really excited about Kenyon. Obviously, he’s a really talented player and probably does not get or receive the amount of attention that he deserves. I think anybody that watches the film can see that he’s really good and athleticism shows up. He’s got great size, he’s a workout warrior. The guy loves the gym, wants to be great, and is excited to be a part of what we’re building here at Oregon. So that’s one of these guys that that fits every characteristic that we’re looking for in our program as we build this program, so really pumped about him and him being part of what we’re doing.”
Austin Novosad
Question: What do you see from Austin Novosad and why do you think he is a good fit at Oregon?
Lanning: “He has the ability to place the ball. I think if you watch this film, you’re going to see some really accurate throws and challenging throws you know, a lot of quarterbacks might like to throw a deep ball and throw you know, some quick game throws. One thing that shows up consistently with Austin is his ability to throw intermediate routes really accurately. I think that’s hard to do in football and then the more you are around him, you realize his intelligence and his desire to be great. This guy is really hungry and I think really excited to have some great weapons around him. His family I just kind of fell in love with and just the more I got to be around Austin and realized that we were wired similar way, and his relationship with Will, I think it is obviously something that we really wanted to tap into and were able to utilize down the stretch.”
Early enrollees
Question: Do you know who is going to enroll early at this time?
Lanning: “I’m not gonna hop into every single name that will take a lot of time here, but we’re gonna have around 15 guys and we’ll continue to look to enhance, as we move forward, that number could go slightly up could go slightly down, based on how quickly we can transition transcripts and all those other moving parts that are part of that process.”
Recruiting Momentum
Question: How does a day like today with all of the massive commits and flips help you carry momentum forward into the 2024 and 2025 class?
Lanning: “You know, I’ve always felt like championships are really won in recruiting, right? That’s where it starts, but it’s also just as much about championship culture. It’s about having the right people on your team that have people that are rowing the boat in the same direction. And if there’s anything I’m excited about this class, I think we got a bunch of guys that are like-minded, anxious for growth, not afraid of hard work, and looking for the opportunity to build something really special. They see all the things that I see here at Oregon and want to be a part of it. So yes, certainly, we’re going to build off this momentum. We got some great players here. We’ll continue to acquire some great players moving forward here. In the next 24 In the future, and certainly today does nothing but help that.”
