It’s hard not to be in a good mood when the sun is shining and football is being played.
That was the general attitude of Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning on the Saturday afternoon following the team’s second spring practice of the year. The Ducks handled it, again off the blocks, putting in the effort to ensure stability and build good habits ahead of the regular season.
Lanning talked about what he expects from his team when they go off for spring break and take a couple of weeks off, and how they can be better when they return. He also touched on the recruits in the city and what he liked about the first two days of practice.
Here are some of Lanning’s most notable quotes on Saturday.
opening speech
Lanning: “Good second day. You know we did more reps today, we upped the tempo a bit and there was some fatigue, but you want to do it today before you have a little break because we will have time soon. So, you really want to push the bodies of the guys, and you saw it, you see that our guys reacted to fatigue. It was a good day at work. The guys tried very hard. And that was definitely a positive thing.”
DL interior
Question: This year you have much more depth of the internal line of defense than a year ago. How does this affect how you guys can train?
Lanning: “I mean, very similar to what I said last workout, now we can do two spot workouts, we can basically train two fields, get a lot of guys reps and be ready. And this is what is needed. To get better at football, you have to play football. So having guys who can change depends not only on the physical form, but also on the technique that starts to show.
Spring break thinking
Question: What can you tell these guys in terms of thinking over the next few weeks outside of training?
Lanning: “You have to be disciplined, right? You must be able to make decisions. You know, keep in mind what you are doing and how you attack it. We have a plan for these guys for the next two weeks. They have to execute the plan, right? This is where ownership comes in.”
Early subscribers
Question: How are some of the new members transitioning at the moment?
Lanning: “Yeah, I think they do it very well. I think we also had a great transitional team when it comes to preparing for school and football. We have a great team of coaches. We have a detailed plan for what we’re doing, so these guys did a good job of it.
Additional add-ons
Question: Do you expect any more additions to the roster after you return after the break?
Lanning: “Yes, we will see a few more. I don’t have an exact number, but we’ll see a few more guys come back after spring break when the next semester starts.”
new normal
Question: Do you think it’s the new normal for guys to come here for the spring prom and sign up early?
Lanning: “This is probably the new normal in college football, right I think this is probably the new normal and college football will continue to change and some guys will come and some will go but we will always do our best to improve our programs.” . You want the guys to come here as soon as possible. This won’t always happen. There are a few guys we would like to invite here early, but the more you can come early. It’s like an extra year in the red shirt for rookies.”
Junior and Jestin
Question: Do you have news about Junior Anguilau and Jestin Jacobs? They both had injuries at the end of the season last year, where are they now?
Lanning: “Junior is limited. Jestin was able to really do everything with us at the Spring Ball.”
Evan Williams
Question: Bennett Williams said he thought Evan Williams would be the leader of the Ducks. Have you seen it so far?
Lanning: “I have been very happy with how it has looked so far. I don’t think he was very noisy, but his actions spoke very loudly and it’s, you know, readiness when he enters the field. He’s ready to ask questions and then eventually runs to the ball really fast and that solves a lot of problems.”
Player Competition
Question: What are you looking for in the ongoing player competition this spring?
Lanning: “Yeah, consistency, and then it’s different when you start noticing some pressure too, right? It’s easier to kick the air than when someone runs into your face. And we have to create some of those moments.”
Workout before break
Q: What is the strategy for having two practices before the team goes on break and then comes back?
Lanning: Distance is important to us, right? You would like to go on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for training, but we don’t want to go in May, because we have a recruitment window in May, and we want to invite our coaches in May, and then, you know, it’s really cute gives extension. I think it gets our players to think about it a bit over spring break instead of winding down and we did a lot of step by step instructions before entering.
Makes visits
Q: What is your philosophy on players committed to Oregon who continue to attend other schools?
Lanning: Yes, there are many… I mean, I think every situation is different. Of course, we like it when dedicated players are loyal to us and don’t travel to other places, but they need to know where they are going when all is said and done, and they need to feel good about it. Our job is to keep recruiting them to be here. You know, like I said, I probably wasn’t my wife’s first choice, but over time, I won her over. We should do the same when it comes to hiring and just keep doing the same.”
Let’s get together
Q: With so many new coaches and players, how did you manage to bring everyone together?
Lanning: It’s a process. It’s over time. You know we’re not there yet. Right? But we have time to get there. And this is an advantage. You know, it’s hard practices that get us there, right. You have to share some difficult moments and then spend time together outside of football.”
Source: sports.yahoo.com
