For the last two years, Dan Lanning has been feeling his way through his new job in Eugene. He had to lay down the foundation and while that foundation has been rock solid with wins in the Fiesta and Holiday Bowls.
But now it’s time for the Ducks to start building the house. All of the systems, such as the playbook and recruiting practices have been installed. Now it time for the Ducks to go full throttle and that starts now in the Spring.
“Growth this spring, just 1 percent better,” Lanning saidof what he expects day in and day out for this 2024 spring camp. Just want to see this continue to grow. It’s not really about the plays right now. It’s about figuring who can play football?”
In order for the Ducks to move forward, they might have to move back just a little bit, according to the third-year coach.
“So if it means we, you know, throttle back a little bit on install and focus more on who can play ball that’s what I want to see,” he said. “I want to see that energy and enthusiasm improvement.”
One player pumped for the Ducks is of course the new quarterback Dillon Gabriel, the senior transfer form Oklahoma. Lanning is counting on his new signal caller to draw on his experiences in Oklahoma to lead the Ducks this season.
“I just think more than anything, the way that he prepares has given Dillon an opportunity to really absorb a lot of this really quick with the walkthroughs that we’ve had,” Lanning said. “The time leading up to spring, us doing spring a little bit later than some teams, I think that’s allowed him to get ahead of the curve before he stepped out here. And then his experience speaks for itself, his poise and his ability to get guys to come to do extra work with them I think is really paying off.”