Notable quotes from Dan Lanning as No. 13 Ducks dial up preparation for No. 10 Utah
This current Oregon Ducks’ coaching staff was not around to experience the absolute destruction that was felt at the hands of Utah near the end of the 2021 season, as the Utes laid waste to Oregon’s College Football Playoff and Rose Bowl hopes.
That doesn’t mean that this new team is unaware of the feelings of revenge.
“I think they all have a taste in their mouth from last season,” Lanning said on Monday night. “You know, some of the guys weren’t here and some guys were, but they want to go perform. They want to go perform to their ability.”
While Oregon’s CFP chances went up in flames with the loss to the Washington Huskies last weekend, they still have a spot in the Pac-12 Championship to play for, and a win over Utah will go a long way in securing the Ducks’ place in Las Vegas.
They’re going to be put to the test, though, with Utah representing what Lanning said is probably the most complete team they’ve seen this season. Oregon has been hard at work preparing all week, and Lanning met with media members one final time ahead of the game on Saturday. Here are some of the most notable quotes from that press conference:
Week of Practice
Lanning: “Today we got an opportunity to recreate some some moments that we could get a little bit better from this past weekend and able to build off of that and then also prep for a really good team in Utah.”
Clark Phillips
Question: What type of challenge does a dynamic cornerback like Clark Phillips present to your offense?
Lanning: “Yeah, I mean, obviously dynamic, you know, and, you know, we’re gonna match up well, at times, but you always have to be conscious of where he’s at.”
Dalton Kincaid
Question: They’re without one of the main pass-catchers in Kuithe, but what does Dalton Kincaid do that makes him so hard to defend?
Lanning: “You know, he catches contested plays, you know, plays that are supposed to be 50-50 balls aren’t 50-50 balls with him. He has a big catch radius and obviously when they’re matched up, you know, they find they’ll throw the ball to him even in traffic and he’ll still get it.”
Kick-Offs
Question: What went wrong on a couple of those kick-offs that went out of bounds last week?
Lanning: “Just bad kicks. They were just poor kicks. And, you know, we try to recreate that same sort of thing. Today, we had a pressure kick. We had some really good kicks today. So gotta be consistent, got to be consistent in the kicking game. Didn’t do that on Saturday, hoping to see that on Saturday.”
Secondary
Question: How have you seen the secondary step up this week knowing that they have a lot to prove after the Washington game?
Lanning: “Yeah, they just worked. You know, they’ve embraced the dark, hard, dirty work, right? That’s what it takes. And they’ve recognized opportunities to, you know, compete in practice, make sure they get really good looks, so they can go do a better job.”
Tavion Thomas
Question: Have you guys really seen an RB like Tavion Thomas so far this year?
Lanning: “I don’t know if we have you know. He’s different. He’s big. He’s a big back. He runs hard. It’s not gonna go down on first contact. This is gonna be a knockback tackle game, right? It’s really important. Run your feet a lot of contact surface area on these tackles. He’s obviously a different one.”
Pac-12 Feedback
Question: Did you receive any Pac-12 feedback for the targeting no-call on the hit to Bo Nix?
Lanning: “Yeah, we were told that’s not, you know. We got some feedback on some other things in the game that were interesting. But yeah, that was not.”
Question: Do you care to elaborate?
Lanning: “Yes, but I’m not going to.”
Senior Night
Question: With senior night on Saturday, what does that mean for some of these players who could be seeing their last college football action?
Lanning: “Yeah, I think you know, this is one of those ones where you finally feel it. You see it, you know, you kind of wait for this moment all year and I know this game means a lot to those guys. It means a lot to our team to send those guys out on the right foot.”
Chase Cota Update
Question: Do you have an update on Chase Cota and his availability going forward?
Lanning: “He’s been practicing this week. We’ll see, you know, how he feels.”
Backup QB
Question: How do you keep your backups ready in case of an injury to your starting QB?
Lanning: “I think you always have prep and you have a good feel for what guys are best at. We prep year-round for those situations. That’s why you get reps with the twos, reps with the threes, and develop them in groups for throughout the season for situations like that. We’ve had guys step up all year and we always want to be prepared for those moments.”
Ty Thompson
Question: Is Ty Thompson the definitive No. 2 QB on the roster?
Lanning: “Ty’s consistently been that right there for us. He’s been that guy. Jay’s done a really great job too and everyone on our team has confidence in Jay. He throws a really good ball and he does a good job. Anybody that’s numbers called, I think will be ready.”
