Notable quotes from Dan Lanning as Ducks prepare for first scrimmage

The Oregon Ducks annual Spring Football game is just a little under three weeks away and head coach Dan Lanning met with the local media to discuss his team's progress, both as a team and individually. From the sounds of it, the fifth-year coach sounds pleased at where his team is right now, but that first game is still months away.

But when you have a quarterback as experienced as the Ducks have in Dante Moore , it goes a long way to feeling good about the product that will be on the field for the 2026 season. Lanning also discussed what his somewhat inexperienced offensive line looks like up against one of the best defensive lines in the country and he admitted that is still a work in progress.

Oregon is also relatively healthy, including an Evan Stewart who is at 100 percent and the Ducks hope to keep it that way. They missed him on the field in 2025 and having an experienced and talented receiver on the field will go a long way towards Moore's success at quarterback.

Here's what Lanning had to say Tuesday morning.

Opening Statement

Dan Lanning:We go back and forth this spring. You know, overall, as far as offense wins one day. One day, the defense wins the next. It's probably a defensive day-to-day. We have to clean up some of our execution and focus. But overall, good work from these guys.

Evan Stewart's progress

Question:What have you made of the journey that Evan Stewart's been on over this last year plus, and how he's been looking as spring started?

DL:Yeah, spring has been really good. You know, I think even more than his play making abilities, leadership, is starting to show up. I want to see more of that. We talked about him as a pass catcher, and continue to challenge him to let that focus show up. Is how he blocks, right for love of his teammates. But Evan's had a really good spring so far, and he's looking really good.

Quarterbacks coach Koa Ka'ai's adjustment to his new position

Q:What have you seen from this offseason from Koa Ka'ai? He's got big shoes to fill. Step in and after will and Kenny were there, how have you kind of seen him embrace that this offseason?

DL:He's grown a ton in my time here. He's always been an extremely intelligent player, and then obviously a coach as well, and he's worked with every position, really for us on offense, he's been an integral part of what we've done and really coached our quarterbacks last year, right and allowed will be in somewhat of that OC role. So he's worn that hat every single day. This really is a new territory for him, maybe new territory by title, but this is something he's done at a really high level already, and excited about his growth.

Offensive line vs. defensive line

Q:You mentioned kind of the push, pull offense, defense. I'm curious on the offensive line, going against a really established defensive line, kind of, where you've seen some of the younger guys kind of in those battles how they handle themselves?

DL:Yeah, I think, you know, right now, we're a better run passing or run blocking offensive unit than, you know, pass at times, and we mix the groups up quite a bit here in spring ball, just so we can see a lot of different matchups and guys in different positions for versatility. But I'm excited about the size of those guys. I think they can cover people up, and I'm excited about their athleticism. So it's going to be continued progress and continued work, and even going against the defensive line, those guys are mixed up groups as well.

So you got to be a team that can run the ball. It starts there for us, we've always been able to do that, and then we have to be able to protect the quarterback, and we've been really good at that as well. So it'll be be fun to see that group continue to shape up. I think we got a lot of guys in the mix. You talk about above the line play and below the line play. I think we got a lot of guys that can be above the line for us.

Jeremiah McClellan's progress

Q:Coach with someone like Jeremiah McClellan, who red shirted and last year got a bigger role. Now he's going to Year 3. What have you seen from him? And do you expect even more?

DL:Yeah, I always expect more from from Jay Mac. I mean, he had an unbelievable jump last year, and I think he's a guy that's become really self aware. For you watching him out there on the field today, and compared to when he first got here, it's not the same guy, right? He has some of the same traits, but he's been so much stronger with the ball, his intellect and where to run routes, how to run him, what to do. You know, it's really leveled up. And he's physical at the point of attack. You know, he catches the ball strong. The quarterbacks trust him. I think that's a big piece, but I expect Jay Mac to take a huge jump again this year.

Managing Dylan Raiola

Q:What lessons do you feel like you learned from Dante's year behind Dillon Gabriel to be able to apply that once again right away, Dylan Raiola got here in the transfer portal and his year will be sitting behind Dante, probably?

DL:Yeah, there's a formula, right? And we've had a lot of guys come here and be able to execute that formula. So, you know, I think it's a great learning experience for both those guys. And in our league, you never know when you need another quarterback, right? You always have to have somebody up and ready. And there's been a lot of guys in that room that are performing really well, but it's been good growth for Dylan.

We're asking to do things that he's never been asked to do. He has the talent to do it all. He's a very intelligent player. You got other guys in that room that are operating a really high level as well, with Brock (Thomas) and Mark (Riepert) and some guys coming along. So think it's a really good room, and excited about the growth opportunities there.

Relationship between Dante Moore and QB coach Koa Ka'ai

Q:What's the relationship between Dante and Koa looks like from your perspective? Obviously, with Dante coming back, there's got to be a level of trust there that he's getting the development that he wants, that he needs. So what does that look like from your spot?

DL:Very similar to what it looked like last year. Like I said, Koa was really coaching the quarterbacks last year, so I think there is a lot of comfortability there. You know, we also have Jay Johnson on staff that's really able to help and see if another lens has been a coordinator in the past and done a great job in there also. So our guys are looking for information at all times, and our coaches have to do a good job of breaking down information and delivering to players. And Koa does a great job of that. Jay does a great job of that drew does. So we have an offensive staff that's built around teaching, and we have players that are really receptive to coaching.

Iverson Hooks' progress

Q:When you guys were looking to bring in Iverson hooks, did you see a little bit of Tez Johnson in his game, given his size and traits. And then what does he look like in the spring so far?

DL:Yeah, I think we saw some of this, the traits that we love to see in the slot. And obviously Tez is a slot that did really well for us, you know, here, you know. And immediately, I think it's easy to say, Okay, this is there's some similarities there. And there certainly is. But what the similarities are is the speed, the twitch, the in and out of breaks, the ability to win on option routes. The more that we call him Strap, the more the Strap gets comfortable, right, going out there to win routes, the more that we're going to have an opportunity for him to have success, right? Has to continue to get physical at the point of attack. That's somewhere that he can improve for us. But overall, he's a playmaker. He's dynamic ability, similar to Tez.

Spring practice vs. game prep

Q:scrimmage is your weeks away from a game, your game planning, you're prepping for plays, what works and whatnot. In spring, how does that change when you're prepping for scrimmage, and what you're looking for in that, in that scrimmage? Because there's not a game in the immediate future.

DL:Yeah, I think that's the biggest challenge as a coach, is you want to challenge your players from stimulating a lot of plays, how much can they handle? Throw the kitchen sink at them and see what they can do. Continue to install and challenge yourself, because it's going to make it that much cleaner in the fall. But really, we want to identify who can play football, right? So we're spending all of our time trying to figure out a lineup in a play or execute a play, and that means we're not figuring out who can play ball.

So it's that that give and take a little bit making sure we work a lot of situations. But ultimately I want to figure out who can run, who can tackle, who can block, who can get off blocks. Those are, those are the traits that we want to ID the quickest.

Akili Smith Jr's progress

Q:Wanted to ask you about (Akili Smith Jr.) and just kind of the growth there. And obviously the physical tools are pretty immense. But where have you maybe seen the most from last year to now?

DL:I think just the mental game, and there's still, you know, big strides to take there. You know, he's a big, strong player. I think he's getting more and more comfortable in the pocket, but there's a lot that we ask our quarterbacks to do, you know, a lot more than what he was asked to do at times and in his offense. So it's a lot to absorb, and it's not easy just to pick up, but he's definitely grown mentally, probably the most.

Dante Moore's mastery of the offense

Q:Your prior two quarterbacks played six year, fifth year, fourth year, and clearly had a mental mastery of the plan was evident. How much closer has Dante gotten to that level now going into Year 3, in terms of just picking up nuances that those guys mastered?

DL:Yeah, he's there. He's there. I'm very confident. You know, he checked to play today and practice that we didn't even have tagged with with a potential check because of the look that he saw. So it's great to see from him that he's really out there operating as a coach on the field, right? We just gotta get everybody else operating at that same level.

Fox Crader's progress on the offensive line

Q:John, have you seen the reps that guys like Fox Crater got on the line last year, stepping into feeling for injuries just translate to more comfortability as he steps into the spring this year.

DL:I think anytime you can play a young guy prepares him for an opportunity to go make an impact. And you know, Fox is certainly a guy that went in there and played games for us, played a lot of reps for us last year, but there's a lot of other guys in that room that are, you know, in the similar situation. So this spring is really vital for him. Fall camp will be really vital in the summer workout. All those things will really pay off for Fox, but certainly that experience that he got last year is going to be huge.

Jerry Mixon becoming a leader

Q:Just a couple weeks into spring, Jerry Mixon talked the other day about accepting leadership role. How have you seen that continue to grow?

DL:I think you know, a linebacker similar to quarterback, it's like, how do the 11 people around you play right? What do you? What do you? How are you making somebody around you play better? And linebacker is very similar. In that position, you can't play good quarterback unless somebody at white out playing well, unless the old line is playing well. And linebacker, your first job is to get everybody aligned and assigned right. And that starts with leadership, communication style. You know, I think Jerry's communication style has really improved in his time here. His production to the ball, you know, has been always a weapon that he's had, so continue to look for that to show up here.

Devon Jackson being healthy

Q:When (Coach) Hampton spoke, he talked about having a healthy Devon Jackson the first time in a long time, just you speak to his just development and the opportunity that this spring presents for him, and just how he's handling it.

DL:I think Devon a great job, you know, and he's, he has some freaky traits, right? Devin's, you know, fastest linebacker that I've probably ever been around. So it's about now utilizing those traits. You know, 4.4, or 4.3 in the right direction, is a lot faster than four three in the wrong direction. And you know, part of that's him being healthy, being able to push, you know, I think this spring ball has been really, really big for him. And again, similar to Jerry, he's communicating, helping other people get lined up, becoming more instinctual there on the field, but it's been good to see them out there running around healthy.

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Dan Lanning breaks down Ducks preparation for first spring scrimmage