Everything Dan Lanning said from the podium at Big Ten Media Days

Dan Lanning is getting the hang of Big Ten Media Days.

Lanning is entering Year 5 at Oregon. It’s his third season coaching the Ducks in the Big Ten following their move from the Pac-12.

The Oregon Ducks were up on Wednesday, Day 2 of Big Ten Media Days from Chicago. Here’s everything Lanning had to say in his televised “podium” press conference, via the official ASAP Sports transcript:

DAN LANNING: Truly an honor to be here today. You fast forward, year five for us here at Oregon, year three in the Big Ten. Being a part of this conference has been unbelievable. I told our players the other day, I want you to think back to 365 days ago, what’s different about you today than where you are at today.

Right now in this moment, what is different than 365 days ago. I think you see a lot of differences in our team, a lot of differences we get to be a part of.

First I want to thank you guys for the job you do covering our conference, our team. It’s certainly an honor to get to be at a place like Oregon. A lot of that starts with our administration, President Scholz. It starts with Rob Mullens, and our relationship together. It’s been a lot of fun working with Tony Petitti, seeing the work he does for our conference. He’s a guy that really shares a voice for our conference. I think that’s obviously shown over time here with how the Big Ten has competed over time.

Very excited about this season. I really like the work that our guys have put in. Walking in this year, what’s different from last year, obviously we have some great returning players that have been big contributors to our program.

One thing I recognize is last year I felt like we had a team that had a ton of talent. This year we have a team that has a lot of experience returning. A lot of those young guys that played are guys that have great experience. I am excited to see what that looks like.

I was really honored today to get to bring three players with me.

I’ll start talking about our quarterback, Dante Moore. Obviously a guy that I feel like has been around almost as long as I’ve been around Oregon. Took a little pit stop somewhere else, then came back and joined us. Had an unbelievable year last year. Is really obviously a special quarterback. What makes Dante so special is who he is as a person, seeing the community outreach he does, the leader he is for his teammates, the work he’s that done.

Obviously a guy that can make a mature decision about what’s best for his future, where he’s headed, what he wants it to look like, how he has some business he wants to complete. So really excited he gets to be somebody that’s showcasing Oregon this week and here at the Big Ten meetings.

Also for the opportunity to bring Jamari Johnson. Last year I sat up her talked about a tight end at Oregon and how special he was in Kenyon Sadiq. Jamari is also that special. He was a guy that we recruited out of high school. Actually he’s a guy that used to play quarterback. He just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. He can run, he can block, he can catch.

If you have seen Jamari today, that means you also have seen his smile. He’s guy that makes you feel special every time he steps in the room. I’m certainly excited to see what he can accomplish this year in our offense.

Teitum Tuioti, this is a guy that has been along our journey, son of our defensive line coach, Tony Tuioti. A guy that came in at 215 pounds, now 265 pounds. One of the best players in our league. Certainly a dynamic piece of our front. I remember looking out the window when Teitum first joined us. He’s out there on the sled, striking the sled. I think that speaks volumes about his work ethic, the time he’s put in and what he’s created.

Coach love has done an unbelievable job with our players this off-season. I’ve said it already here, we’re returning a lot of experience. What’s really been impressive is the work that our guys have done. I think this will be the most player-led team that we’ve had so far in my time here at Oregon. With that experience comes new leadership roles. A lot of guys have really rolled into those roles.

We also have a couple new leaders on both sides of the ball. Our four years we have had three head coaches go on to become Power Four head coaches. We’re certainly excited for Coach Stein and Lupoi and their new opportunities.

That creates new opportunities for guys in our building in Chris Hampton and Drew Mehringer. Both All-Stars in our profession, do a good job of developing players, understand scheme, good at connecting.

They’ve created some great memories in their position rooms. Done an unbelievable job hitting the ground running this off-season, having guys in our program that understand your culture, what you want to create. Those guys have been home run so far and I’m really excited to see what they’ll accomplish this year.

Couple fun facts in the off-season. Got to spend some unbelievable time with my family. We took seven players to Tokyo, Japan. If you haven’t been there, I encourage you to go there. I don’t know if all our players enjoyed the sushi, but we certainly enjoyed the people.

An unbelievable opportunity to showcase our football team, do a kids camp, coaches clinic. Really expose our players to a culture that we grew to love and really understand.

The thing I always love about media days, this is a great indicator of what’s next. We are about to hop right into the middle of football season. I can’t wait for it. We have a coaches retreat. When I get back this weekend we’ll have our coaches retreat in central Oregon, then hit the ground running as we attack fall camp.

I’ll go ahead and open it up for questions.

Q. You’ve achieved the task of winning the Big Ten. You’ve achieved the task of making the College Football Playoff. What have you and your staff learned about playing teams a second time?

DAN LANNING: Yeah, great question.

Obviously it’s a tough league. I think that speaks volumes about our league, especially when you’re talking about repeat games within our league. We have some unbelievable coaches, great teams. There’s a lot of things we studied with ourselves in this off-season.

Sometimes the ball has to bounce the right way. Sometimes you can do something schematically. I think we will take all those notes, some of the things we have studied about ourselves.

We have studied other teams that have won games in their second opportunity. We’re looking for our opportunity to be a team like that. Means you have to be clicking on all cylinders at the end of the year.

Obviously Indiana had an unbelievable team last year. I think everybody that played them got to see that, everybody that watched. Ohio State the year before.

I’m excited about this group. Different level of experience we have going into this year, a different coaching group as well. Should be a lot of fun.

Q. You land Dylan Raiola out of the transfer portal, the return of Dante Moore. The talks have been to develop Dylan with Dante. Do you think there’s a possibility of him hitting the portal in the off season?

DAN LANNING: I think there’s always a looming threat. But not with Dylan. I believe Dylan chose Oregon knowing in advance what it looks like at Oregon. He wanted to sign up for an opportunity to be with us. We were transparent throughout the process that there’s a great chance that Dante could be back. Dylan has done an unbelievable job changing his body, working really hard. He has unbelievable talent, a smart player, that has the opportunity to get exposed to our system.

You’re only as strong as all your players. You need everybody to be a part of that. Dylan is a big part of the success we’ll have this season as well as every other quarterback in that room.

Q. Pursuant to that, there are no redshirts anymore. This includes Dylan. Also a ton of your talented freshmen. How does somebody with a really talented roster navigate that? Is there a new freedom that you now have to play guys that you may not have been able to before?

DAN LANNING: I think we’ve always said the conversation, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough for us. If guys are playing above the line, we want to find roles for them on our team.

As you play in those roles, your role grows if you perform. Jordon Davis is a great example of that. Carried a ball a lot for us. That’s what we’re looking for. How can we expose them to that.

Now there is that decision that no longer has to be made, do you preserve this guy’s redshirt or play him. Now we have an opportunity to play them and they have an opportunity to help their team.

Q. When you get a slew of returners like your team has and the defense, Dante Moore, for us on the outside it raises expectations for your team. When you learned that all of those guys were coming back, how did it land for you?

DAN LANNING: I was pretty excited. Nobody’s going to have higher expectations for our team than us. We’re the guys in the building doing the work every single day.

Certainly really proud of the team and the work they’ve put in. We have high expectations. We’ve got a lot that we want to accomplish. Having players like that only helps you.

I think it speaks volumes of what they think of the culture at Oregon, what they want to be a part of. A great recognition of: I have an opportunity to improve and grow. That’s one of our DNA traits, we’re about growth.

Q. You coached Bryce Boettcher. With roster construction changing each year, how do you see the role of a walk-on?

DAN LANNING: I think for us, it will always be a big part. Like I said, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. Same goes with doesn’t matter where you come from. Nothing is handed out to you at Oregon.

You see a guy like Bryce, started off playing baseball. Played centerfield. Started for us as a safety. Was an okay cover guy. All of a sudden he’s a guy making a tackle all over the field. We’ll find a role for that guy.

Every year we’ve had walk-ons that have been put on scholarships for us. I hope that continues to be a big dynamic piece of our team and certainly the lifeblood of our program because those guys play really hard.

Q. How have you all been able to build that chemistry to fight for the guy next to you in this NIL, portal world we’re living in? On a lighter note, you have a Chick-Fil-A out there, what would a Waffle House do for recruiting?

DAN LANNING: Oh, my gosh, Waffle House sounds great, sounds fantastic.

Really for us, football is a piece of it. But I hope the guys that walk into our program, they walk away with lifelong lessons. I think the world thinks that everything is really transactional right now when it comes to college football. There’s certainly a piece of that.

I think what we have been able to win is the things that aren’t transactional, the relationships outside of the building. The trip to the beach for workouts, the climb up Spencer’s Butte, the fellowship at my house. The time away from ball I think is something that’s really been a separator for us, something we’ll always continue to do. Maybe at some point we even take a trip down to the southeast and visit a Waffle House.

Q. With Dante coming back, he could have been a first round pick this year, what is the next step you want him to add to his game so he’ll be as ready as possible for the next level?

DAN LANNING: I have the same expectation for Dante that I have for every player on our team: It’s to grow and continue to get better. Dante understands the specifics of that. I won’t get into the specifics of that. This is a guy that’s worn a lot of hats in our program. He came and watched Dillon Gabriel for a year. Sat in that seat as our starting quarterback this past season. Now this is the opportunity to see that all mature and grow.

Where he’s really grown as a leader. That’s really shown up this off-season. What he’s been able to do away, off the field, is extremely impressive. The impact he’s made on the community, his teammates. I’d love to see it all come together.

I think we go as our quarterback goes, right? He is certainly in a special position to help create that and make us a special team this year.