Oregon Ducks College Football Pregame Quote, 09/23/2024

Opening statement:

Lanning: “All right, glad to be back playing football. Excited. Obviously, first Big 10 matchup for us. Get the opportunity to travel to Rose Bowl, always an iconic place to play, and certainly, a team that we’re excited to go out there and play against. So we can open it.”

Q: Why was the bye week a success for your operation?

Lanning: “Yeah, just ultimately we got better. Right? You’re looking for opportunities to get better. Challenge your team to find areas for improvement. I thought our guys did a good job of that.”

Q: Do you have a relationship with Eric Bieniemy and what have you seen from him at UCLA?

Lanning: “Yeah, obviously, a great offensive mind. I don’t have a relationship more than other than I know who he is and then the job that he’s done for a really long time. Obviously, a really successful coordinator, for a reason, was a successful player too. So it’s been fun to watch what he’s done in his career.”

Q: What have you seen from Ethan Garbers this season?

Lanning: “I think he’s very athletic. He’s a guy that when he does scramble, he scrambles and looks to throw. I think that’s something he’s had some success in each of his games. I think he’s getting more and more comfortable. But he throws a good ball, you know, he’s able to really attack in soft zone, you know, really well, and is getting more and more comfortable in their system.”

Q: Has there been anything through three games that’s been a pleasant surprise about this team?

Lanning: “Just their willingness to work. Our guys come out here and work every single week. Sometimes bye week can be a lull for teams. I thought our guys have attacked it with the proper approach of finding ways to continue to improve and get better. We talk about having a player led team. I think that’s really shown up for our guys over the last several weeks, and it’s certainly shown up throughout the season so far.”

Q: What gives you the confidence that this will be two weeks in a row to have a clean offensive game plan?

Lanning: “Well, just, it’s really about the body work we do this week, in practice. What’s going to show up in practice for it to show up in the games. But I think what’s been proven is when we play clean, we play well. So that’s something we have to challenge ourselves to do, especially when you go in on the road. You know, there can be a loss of focus. That’s something we have to maintain throughout the game.”

‚ÄåQ: How does the familiarity with former players on both teams help or hurt your team?

Lanning: “It’s been a while since either one of those guys were with and there’s new coaching staffs and some changes on, you know, both sides. So certainly, there’s some advantages on the same note, you know, I think there’s a lot that’s different. You look at both these teams, you know, both of us I would call game plan teams. We play different based on the opponent we’re playing each week. So you’ll see some different wrinkles, probably from their side as well as our side. So I don’t know how much that’ll carry over.”

Q: Has there been something about this team that’s led to more success on special teams?

Lanning: “No, I mean, I think they take a lot of pride in it. I think the execution has been a lot better. And there were times in previous years we were really close to having a big play, and maybe we don’t create it because we’re one block away or one play away. I’ll say this, whatever guys step on the field, all 11 of those guys have a clear focus on accomplishing their job for their team.”

Q: What have you seen on film from UCLA where you think you can take advantage of?

Lanning: “I don’t know if I’ll speak to that more than just speaking to a team that I think has been resilient. Going into halftime a tie game with LSU, they’ve been able to play in some type battles and showing an ability to play with any team that they line up against. So certainly, they’ve had, you know, areas where they can grow, and so have we. So I see it as a great challenge, a team that has some talent on the roster, some guys that play really well, that we have to be aware of and ready to adapt to.”

Q: What do you see from them on defense?

Lanning: “I mean, they do a good job of changing it up. The front moves a lot, a lot of stim operation, where they do a lot of different things with their defensive line. They line up in multiple fronts, so can be three down, four down. Do a good job disguising zone and making it look like man. So they’ll pitch a lot of different things at you, and it’s, you know, at times can be hard to calm them down and figure out exactly what they’re in. So we’ll have to be really aware of what they are in. And then, on the same note, have good answers for whatever that might be.”

Q: What’s made Kain Medrano more disruptive this season?

Lanning: “When he pulls the trigger, he ends up in the backfield quickly. He’s got good stop and go. He’s a knock back tackler. So he’s, you know, he’s able to get guys on the ground, but he shows up in special teams. It’s kind of like the kind of guy when he plays with his hair on fire when he’s on the field.”

Q: How do you work around an 8 PM kickoff?

Lanning: “What an opportunity. That means more time for us to prepare, more time for us to get ready. We’re excited about the challenge and what that provides.”

Q: How is Matthew Bedford progressing?

Lanning: “Yeah, he actually got dinged the other day in practice. So, just trying to be aware of where he’s at. If he’s able to help us this week, we will. But always will put our players first and see where they’re at in that process.”

Q: Is there an update on Jahlil Florence? And at what point would you have a redshirt discussion for him?

Lanning: “Yeah, whenever it needs to happen. At this point doesn’t need to happen. You get four games to play. Once Jahlil is ready, we’ll be able to utilize him. But right now he’s not at that point yet.”

‚ÄåQ: What has been your philosophy on bringing in transfer quarterbacks while also trying to develop quarterbacks?

Lanning: “I think that’s part of the culture of our team. We talk about connections, a big piece of our team. Obviously, we want to be a team that develops guys within our roster. I think you’ll see a lot of guys playing for us on Saturday that have grown up in this program, but we always want to be competitive and make sure we have the best advantage when we step on the field on Saturday. So continue to find guys that can make our program better. And luckily, there’s a lot of different roads to get here, but there’s a lot of people can make our team better throughout that process.”