The excitement of a new football season is building for second-year head coach Dan Lanning.
You can feel the buzz around the Hatfield Dowlin Complex and you can definitely see it on Lanning’s face when talking to reporters.
“Yeah, there’s a football game coming up,” said Lanning on Wednesday when asked about his excitement level.
“Excited to see those fans in Autzen,….right,…when they pack Autzen it makes it a different environment. I know they’re (fans) all anxious to get into the stands and we’re all anxious to see them.”
As Lanning enters his second year as head coach in Eugene, he seems to carry himself with a bit more swagger, tenacity, determination,…and charm.
Lanning always carries that wide grin on his face when talking to the media – almost as if he’s holding a secret tight to his chest. There’s no doubt he knows just how good this Oregon team can be this season but certainly isn’t able to say it outwardly until the Ducks actually show it on the field.
Lanning has always been the type of head coach to refrain from being boastful and to assure others he’ll let his players do the talking through their play on the field.
“I think all of our guys are really excited to go out there and play” explained Lanning when asked about the temperature of his team.
“I thought today was a good energetic practice where guys got better.”
That’s been Lanning’s standard retort when asked over and over how his team looks,…or feels going into game week.
You can be sure Lanning knows just how good this Oregon team is, especially with the talent he has on both sides of the ball.
And you can bet he’s anxious to show it off.
For all of us, we’ll simply have to wait until noon on Saturday when the Ducks lineup against the Vikings of Portland State.
WEDNESDAY PRESSER; DAN LANNING GIVES FINAL ASSESSMENT OF HIS TEAM LEADING INTO GAME ONE
OREGON OFFENSIVE LINEMAN MARCUS HARPER TALKS ABOUT THE STANDARD OF OREGON FOOTBALL
It’s heard and commented on all the time within the confines of the Hatfield Dowlin Complex.
Oregon football has a standard!
And that standard is led and passed down by the veterans or elder statesmen on this team.
Entering his junior year, Oregon offensive lineman Marcus Harper is one of those elder statesmen and is clear what the standard is and the importance of passing it down through the ranks.
“Those guys had a great college career here and how can we elevate that and make it bigger so as where we can maximize and we can take it further than where those guys have been.”
Harper was talking about former teammates T.J Bass and Alex Forsyth who made the 53-man roster on their individual NFL teams whom he credited with instilling in him the standard of how Oregon football is played.