When you attempt to describe the ‘secret sauce’ that goes into this Oregon football team, one would be remiss if you didn’t place being masterfully prepared at the top of that list.
Each Monday when Dan Lanning meets with the media on the third level of the Hatfield Dowlin Complex he has a remarkable ability to break down every element of the team he’s preparing for.
The challenge this week is the USC Trojans who visit Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
And there’s certainly a lot to prepare for as the Ducks get ready to take on the former Heisman Trophy winner in Caleb Williams.
While many head coaches delegate the breakdown of film of future opponents to their coordinators and assistant coaches, it’s easy to assume in the case of this Oregon team Lanning is the first one in the building and the last one to leave.
Now much of that is primarily due to his strong work ethic as a former defensive coordinator, but it’s also because Lanning is a football junkie and loves the process almost as much as he actually enjoys the actual games.
Listening to Lanning is like a symphony of extremely well-tuned instruments.
He understands in order to have a successful concerto, every element and musician of the orchestra must be exquisitely prepared.
It’s really a thing of beauty if you eat, breathe, and live college football.
When asked about facing USC and the many elements of their highly potent offense, Lanning deftly, and quickly, broke into his breakdown of the Trojans.
“Try to take them all away” explained Lanning when asked what it would take to take away all of the offensive challenges this USC team poses.
“It’s hard,…you know, you talk about trying to make a team play left-handed,…this is a team that’s hard to make play left-handed because they do so many things really really well. I think you have to be sound when you play these guys. And their quarterback has kinda seen it all and has a lot of experience.
“So it’s hard to pitch something to him that he probably hasn’t prepared for already. It’s about being sound,…and smart,…and being patient, and when you get the opportunity to change up a look or provide and create pressure you want to be able to do that. It can’t be a feast or famine mentality. You can’t expect this guy not to have some success in this game. He’s going to have some success and it’s really about how we respond to that success. It’s about the culmination of plays over time.”
(MONDAY BRIEFING) DAN LANNING BREAKS DOWN USC