‘Best fall camp practice yet;’ 11 notable quotes from Dan Lanning after Oregon’s Practice No. 10
Though he has a spring game under his belt, Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning got the first live scrimmage experience with this full roster behind him on Saturday afternoon. The team went through a scrimmage that was deemed largely successful, resulting in a few nice plays and reportedly no major injuries.
However, a handful of players — both starters on the offense and a few reserves on the defense — were absent from Tuesday’s practice. Whether they were dealing with long-term ailments or just minor bumps and bruises is unclear at this point, and it likely will not be made clear anytime soon if past history with the Oregon sports staff is any indication.
Lanning did meet with media members after practice on Tuesday, though, to discuss how the team is progressing up until this point in camp. Here are some of the best things he had to say:
Opening Statement
Lanning: “I think this was the best fall camp practice yet. Really good energy, guys really pushed, great strain. Looking for second effort and I think everyone was trying to find that 1% today so I thought it really showed up.”
A Great Practice
Q: What made the practice so great?
Lanning: “You know, I think just in general our guys are starting to take ownership of what practice looks like. It’s really relative to their performance and their energy that they bring. I think guys just came out with the right mindset saying, ‘You know what, I want to get better today. I’m not looking for this just be another day,’ and they did a good job of that.”
Film Standouts
Q: After watching the scrimmage tape, what stood out about Saturday?
Lanning: “You know, just really fundamentally there’s plenty that’s still for us to clean up. There’s not a lot that really shows the sequence of a game in practice and you know, scrimmage is your best way to replicate that. So the substitution patterns, the matching personnel, the moving the ball, big plays down the field, we have to try to create that more in practice and that showed up in the scrimmage and it’s stuff that we can improve.”
QB Assessment
Q: After 10 days of practice and a scrimmage, where are you at on the QB assessment?
Lanning: “Probably the same you’re gonna hear from me every time. I feel like we have guys that can win. I thought they made really good decisions today. We had a couple of scenarios at the end — we worked four-minute and two-minute today — you know we’re gonna get the ball back situations and it was pleasantly surprising to me the quarterbacks turned around asking me questions. ‘Hey, Coach, we want to take a timeout here? Do we want to not score here in this situation?’ You know, and I think that’s smart football play.”
Going Forward
Q: Where do you guys want to get better in the next few days before the next scrimmage?
Lanning: “Continue to have measured growth, taking what’s there, not trying to force something that’s not there. Making great decisions. We distribute the ball to our playmakers and just know the offensive. You know, what we’re operating, our principles and how we can execute.”
Scrimmage Improvements
Q: What specifically did you see improve from Saturday to Today after watching tape?
Lanning: “You know, just fundamentally like we walk away and we did on Monday similar to what we would do on a day after a game. We did a corrections walk. We intentionally did corrections that we screwed up in the scrimmage, right, and then in practice today and practice yesterday, we’re trying to like recreate those moments that happened in the scrimmage that we screwed up. So if we had a wrong adjustment versus a certain look or we didn’t get a cadence right on offense or a motion, right, trying to rescript that so it happens again to see if we got to correct it. And I thought, you know, that showed up from our guys.”
WR Room Improvement
Q: Where have you seen the WR room take a step forward this fall?
Lanning: “I think that group showed and displayed another level of toughness that I haven’t seen from them before. You know, I think they knew that that was a place that we needed measured growth and they’ve shown that. I think they also realized that hey, you can have a good play, you’re gonna have a bad play. The play that matters the most is the next play. And I think you’re seeing that more and more from their mentality. We don’t want the last play to affect the next one.”
Mase Funa
Q: How have you seen Mase Funa fit into this defense so far?
Lanning: “Mase has some position versatility. I certainly think he can play Sam for us but I think you can play rush end, and you know that Jack position as well and nickel situations. He’s proven to be a really good edge setter and I think he’s a guy that is a great picture of knows his plan, has a rush plan, is able to execute it right. It’s not about having 15 moves. It’s about having one move that you can execute at a high level and then having a counteroffer that Mase just comes out there and works every day. That’s what you see it’s consistency from Mase which is appreciated.”
Treven Ma'ae's Growth
Q: What have you seen from Treven Ma’ae this offseason?
Lanning: “Yeah, I joke around with Treven a lot. You know, to me, he’s, you know, a 55 year old in a 20 year old body. He is super mature and I’ve seen great growth from him. You know, he’s a guy that’s really performing at a high level. We’d love to see a little bit more production, but he executes his assignment consistently and tries to use the right technique.
Steve Stephens
Q: How has Steve Stephens established himself in the defensive backfield so far?
Lanning: “One thing I’ll say about Steve is he’s very smart. Right? And that sticks out to me, you know that you have to be able to make some of the checks. You’re the quarterback in the back. And Steve’s done a really good job of that. I don’t think he’s ever come out here and worried about where he was at what position he was working at. All he does is work and that’s showing up consistently but he’s helping other guys get lined up, which is hard to do for a guy that really did get to play in the spring. So he’s done a good job of that.”
Brandon Dorlus Alpha
Q: How has Brandon Dorlus really stepped up as a leader on the defense?
Lanning: “It’s a good example today, we pulled Dorlus aside and said, ‘Hey, we’ve been following your GPS. I want to see you hit some top speeds.’ So we just pulled him out of a period and said ‘I want to see if we can hit some top speeds in this period.’ He just took his butt over the sideline and said, ‘Okay, watch it right here. I’m gonna hit it.’ And he sprinted. You know, he just said I’m gonna strain because coach feels like this is important for us to get better. And that’s what Brandon has consistently done. He’s pushing himself to get better. I think that shows up consistently.”
