🏈 🔵 How Oregon's 'DNA Traits' Will Translate Into Big Ten Success
🏈 🔵 How Oregon's 'DNA Traits' Will Translate Into Big Ten Success
In two years with Oregon, Dan Lanning has cultivated a stellar 22-5 record, including a Pac-12 Championship appearance. Don't expect the Ducks to cool off in the Big Ten.
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How Oregon’s ‘DNA Traits’ Will Translate Into Big Ten Success
Hey friends,
Between the six teams joining either the Big Ten or SEC this fall as focal points of conference realignment, no unit is better poised to compete for a league title than Oregon.
In two campaigns under Dan Lanning, the head coach has compiled a stellar 22-5 record highlighted by five ranked wins.
The former Georgia defensive coordinator improved his win total from 10 to 12 from year one to two, and will likely extend the clip again during his third go-around.
I sat down with Lanning last fall, and my favorite takeaway from our conversation dealt with his program’s “DNA traits.”
“We talk about our DNA traits a lot,” Lanning told me. “… We took four months of sitting back, and saying, ‘Ok, what are our strengths, what are our weaknesses, what matters, and what’s going to equate to wins and success here at Oregon?’ Those DNA traits are connection, growth, toughness, and sacrifice.”
Oregon will play Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Washington in highly-anticipated regular season affairs this fall.
Let’s take a look at how Lanning’s DNA traits will impact Oregon’s future success entering Big Ten play:
Connection 🔒
10 years ago, year-to-year coaching stability in college football seemed to be a norm.
Now, it’s an irregularity.
Entering this fall, Oregon stands as one of few Power Four programs retaining its head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator.
When I sat down with Dan Lanning last fall, he attributed his unit’s cohesiveness to his first DNA trait — connection.
“Connection is one of the biggest pieces for us,” Lanning told me. “You’re going to do more for a guy that you know.”
Following the Ducks’ 12-win campaign, it was widely speculated that play-caller Will Stein would leave his post as Lanning’s right-hand man to take over Arizona, Houston, or even Texas A&M as a head coach.
But, after leading the nation’s No. 2 scoring offense, No. 2 passing attack, No. 2 total offense, No. 1 first-down unit, No. 3 third-down conversion cohort, and No. 1 team in completion percentage, Stein elected to remain with Oregon for at least another season.
Aside from fostering coach-to-coach connectivity, Lanning has cultivated a locker room that’s rooted deeper than on-field success.
“Sitting in this room, in this team room, we had guys in the front of this room that cry in front of each other because they’re sharing stories that they’ve never shared with anybody,” Lanning explained to me. “You’ll never do that unless you take the time to peel back the layers and talk about something else besides football.”
Despite initially choosing UCLA after his long-winded high school recruitment, prized gunslinger Dante Moore elected to trade in the blue and gold for Oregon’s flashy appeal due to Lanning’s personability.
“We’ve proven to be a great second home for guys, too,” Lanning said about the transfer portal. “Where it shows up now is finishing second in recruiting sometimes isn’t a bad thing anymore because you can end up getting guys on the rebound. On the same note, you want to develop your roster from the bottom up.”
While proven Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel will likely start under center initially for the Ducks, Moore’s 6’3”, 210-pound pro-style frame makes him a tough weapon to stockpile on the sidelines.
Growth 📈
Since inheriting the Oregon brand from now-Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, Lanning has continued to build the Ducks into one of the country’s most formidable brands.
In his first go-around at the helm, Lanning led his squad to a 10-3 record marked by three ranked victories over BYU, UCLA, and Utah.
Despite edging out the Utes on the road in late November two years ago, Oregon dropped a late-season affair to Oregon State, keeping Lanning’s crew out of the Pac-12 Championship game.
After capping off the 2022 season with a one-point Holiday Bowl win over North Carolina, Lanning knew his roster had to capitalize on the opportunity for postseason growth to spur further success.
“Growth’s about we’re not going to stay the same,” Lanning told me.
The Ducks drastically changed for the better from year one to two under Lanning.
Stein’s high-flying attack posted over 44 points per game and threw for 4,857 yards largely under quarterback Bo Nix’s historic run.
During Oregon’s bye week last season, Lanning told me this:
“You’ve probably heard me say this week, ‘It’s not bye week, it’s growth week.’ How are we getting better? What are we improving on? And, hopefully, those are the traits that show up in our culture.”
From there, his team ripped off quality wins over Utah and Oregon State, despite falling twice to Washington as Ducks’ only two blunders.
With the 12-team playoff looming, Lanning’s group should be pegged as a shoo-in for a high-ranking postseason position.
Moreover, his roster is only trending upwards in talent.
Since taking over in Eugene, here’s how Lanning’s recruiting classes have fared nationally:
2022: No. 16
2023: No. 9
2024: No. 4
His transfer portal collection also ranks No. 3 nationally.
Between all of Lanning’s DNA traits, arguably none have been more evident and concrete than growth.
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Toughness 💪
When Lanning took over for Oregon two off-seasons ago, many wondered how the patented spread, West Coast program would fare with a defensive head coach.
But, with mentorship from Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, Lanning has brought a new sense of toughness to the Ducks’ historically savvy brand.
While Lanning was used to installing his own brand of toughness as Georgia’s former defensive coordinator, he’s appointed Tosh Lupoi to become Oregon’s new face of hostility.
Lanning hired Lupoi on his initial staff as the head of Oregon’s defense after serving as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive line coach.
With three years of experience at the NFL level and a five-year stint at Alabama under his belt, Lupoi has undoubtedly heightened the resolve of Oregon’s trenches.
“When the ball is snapped, we call it six seconds of hell,” Lupoi told me. “We want to play from point A to point B as fast and as violently as possible, and we want to have every single play with a plus-two finish. So, if I’m in the weight room, and the strength coach tells me to do six reps, I’m trying to do eight. If I’m supposed to run through a line of 10 yards, I’m going to get two additional steps.”
Lupoi’s hard-nosed defense will only be tougher this fall with the services of Jordan Burch returning for another campaign.
Last season, the former South Carolina defensive end exploded for a career-defining spurt.
In 14 contests, Burch compiled 34 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, and three sacks.
Heading into Oregon’s initial Big Ten campaign, many insiders believe Burch’s toughness on the defensive line could be a pivotal difference-maker.
“Burch’s decision to return probably makes him the most talented player on this side of the ball for Oregon in 2024,” Max Torres of Ducks Digest wrote last month. “Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi have clearly been able to tap into an element of his game that wasn’t popping quite as much when he was at South Carolina.”
Sacrifice 🗣️
Last year, Oregon traveled 4,509 miles across five road matchups, with its furthest away destination being Texas Tech.
Now, the Ducks are preparing to endure a taxing Big Ten travel lineup, with trips to Michigan and Wisconsin.
According to the Daily Emerald, Lanning’s squad will travel more than 12,000 miles this fall in preparation for its first year in the Midwest-heavy league.
With the increase in travel time, Lanning and company will be forced to make unforeseen sacrifices from weekly routines to time change adjustments.
Still, Lanning thinks the Big Ten needs to be prepared for Oregon — not the other way around.
“I know there’s some big boy ball in the Big Ten, but we see some big boy ball out here, too,” Lanning said. “I think our approach will stay really consistent… I think the Big Ten’s approach might have to change some for what Oregon’s bringing as well.”
Internally, Lanning has stockpiled the Ducks’ roster with talent.
Per 247Sports, Oregon possesses over a 62% blue-chip ratio.
In simpler terms, 53 of 85 scholarship components were either four or five-star prospects out of high school.
With so many quality pieces in the same position rooms. It’s hard to guarantee weekly touches or production quotas.
That’s where Oregon’s sense of sacrifice separates itself from the rest, according to Lanning.
“I hope you see a team, you know, when it comes to sacrifice, that’s probably one of the hardest ones for people in today’s day in age about [saying] ‘You know what, I’m ok with us winning even though I didn’t have 10 catches.,’” Lanning told me. “That’s something you see show up every single day.”
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