It’s hard not to be in a good mood when the sun is shining and football is being played.
That was the general mood of Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning Saturday afternoon after the second spring practice session of Team of the Year. The Ducks came after that, once again without pads, and worked to create consistency and develop good habits ahead of the regular season.
Lanning spoke about what he expects from his team when they go on spring break and have a few weeks off, and how they can do better when they come back. He also addressed the recruits in town and what he has liked about the first two days of practice so far.
Here are some of Lanning’s most notable quotes on Saturday.
opening statement
Lanning: “Good second day. You know, we got more reps today, we upped the pace a bit and some fatigue showed up, but you should do that today before you take a little break because we’ll have some time soon. So you really want to push the guys’ bodies and you saw our guys respond to fatigue. It was a good day at work. The guys worked really hard. And it was certainly positive.”
Interior DL
Ask: This year you have a lot more depth in the central defense line than a year ago. How does this affect the way you can practice?
Lanning: “I mean, really similar to what I said last practice, we can do two spot workouts now, we can basically train on two fields, get a lot of reps from guys and be ready. And that’s what it takes. To get better at soccer, you have to play soccer. So to have people out there who can rotate, where it’s not just about condition, but also about the technique, which is slowly showing.”
Spring break mentality
Ask: What’s your take on these guys in terms of mindset over the next few weeks outside of training?
Lanning: “You have to be disciplined, don’t you? They must be great decision makers. Be mindful of what you are doing and how you are attacking it. We have a plan for these guys over the next two weeks. You have to execute the plan, right? This is where ownership happens.”
early bird
Ask: How are some of the new enrollers faring so far?
Lanning: “Yes, I think they handle it really well. I think we also had a great transition team when it comes to school and football preparation. We have a great group of coaches. We have a detailed plan with what we’re doing, so these guys have handled it well.
More additions
Ask: Do you expect more additions to the squad when you come back from the break?
Lanning: “Yeah, we’ll see a few more. I don’t have an exact number, but we’ll see a few more people come back after spring break when the next semester starts.”
new normal
Ask: Do you feel like having guys coming here for the spring prom and signing up early is a new normal?
Lanning: “It’s probably the new norm in college football, right, I think it’s probably the new norm and college football, it’s going to keep changing and some people will come and some people will go, but we’ll always do whatever it takes to improve our program. They want the boys here as soon as possible. That won’t always happen. There are some people we would like to have here sooner but the more you can get here sooner. It’s like having an extra redshirt year for brand new guys.”
Junior and Jestin
Ask: Do you have an update on Junior Angilau and Jestin Jacobs? You both had end-of-season injuries last year, where do you stand now?
Lanning: “Young talent is limited. Jestin really could do anything with us at the Spring Ball.”
Eva Williams
Ask: Bennett Williams said he believes Evan Williams will have a leadership role with the Ducks. Have you seen this so far?
Lanning: “I’ve been very happy with how he looks so far. I don’t think he was extremely boisterous but his actions really spoke loud and you know it’s the readiness when he comes on the field. He’s ready to ask questions and at the end he runs really hard to the ball and that solves a lot of problems.”
punter competition
Ask: What are you looking for in ongoing punter competition this spring?
Lanning: “Yeah, consistency and then it’s different when you start to see some pressure, right? It’s easier to kick the air than it is to kick when someone’s running in your face. And we need to create some of those moments.”
exercises before the break
Question: What is the strategy behind two training sessions before the team goes into the break and then comes back?
Lanning: “For us it’s about distance, right? They want to go to practice Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday but we don’t want to go in May because we have a recruitment window in May where we want to get our trainers out in May and then you know it’s really nice of there’s one Construction. I think it gets our players to think a little bit about spring break instead of rolling and we did a lot of walkthroughs. But yes, more than anything, timing is where the recruitment windows lie.
Commits to making visits
Question: What is your philosophy as players who commit to Oregon continue to attend other schools?
Lanning: “Yeah, there’s a lot… I mean, I think every situation is different. Of course we love to keep dedicated players with us and not travel to other places, but they need to know where they’re going when all is said and done and they need to have a good sense of where they’re going. It’s our job to keep winning them over. You know, like I said, I probably wasn’t my wife’s first choice, but over time I’ve won her over. We have to do the same when it comes to recruitment and just keep going.”
getting together
Question: With so many new coaches and players, how have you seen everyone come together so far?
Lanning: “It’s a process. It’s over time. You know we’re not there yet. To the right? But we have time to get there. And that’s the benefit. You know, it’s difficult practices that get us there, right. You have to share some tough moments and then spend time together outside of football.
Source : sports.yahoo.com