Everything Oregon Ducks’ Dan Lanning Said On Last Day Of Fall Football Practice

It is the last week without college football on the television until January. Today, the University of Oregon football team wrapped up their final day of fall camp. For some, the feeling of anticipation for the season is like that of Christmas Eve or the day before a trip. For the Oregon Ducks, there’s still work to be done.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning spoke on this topic during the last fall camp media availability on Wednesday.

“Our goal is to improve every single day,” Lanning said. “Did we improve this fall camp? Absolutely. Are we where we want to be yet? No. Definitely not. We’re taking steps, there hasn’t been a day where we come out here and I didn’t feel like our guys didn’t want to work. So, I appreciate that.”

One area that Oregon needs to iron out is their interior offensive line. Currently, there’s no official announcements for starters at center and right guard. This is a total contrast to the exterior spots, as the starting right tackle job for Oregon is claimed by senior and Associated Press preseason All-American Ajani Cornelius and starting left tackle is claimed by junior Josh Connerly Jr. 

Lanning’s response on the potential depth for the line was also not very illuminating.

“What our best group is. Which goes out there and has the most efficiency and performs the best. Whoever performs the best – that’s who’s going to be out there,” Lanning said.

Looking to center, it seems junior walk-on Charlie Pickard has taken the most reps for the position. According to a previous interview with senior offensive lineman Nishad Strother, Pickard has become a leader in the o-line room. He also spoke to the other linemen taking reps for the position.

“Charlie Pickard, Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu, Kanen Rossi even. Yeah, I’m comfortable with all those guys [who] are really smart. Know the playbook in and out. So I think we’re solid at center as well,” Strother said.

Laloulu played the most snaps out of the three last year playing in all fourteen games with one start during the VRBO Fiesta Bowl versus Liberty. The now Sophomore played 111 snaps at center with a little over 300 snaps at both guard positions as well in 2023.

Lanning spoke specifically on Pickard attending the O-Line Masterminds camp in Frisco, Texas during the first weekend in July. Typically, athletes that have attended the camp on behalf of Oregon go on to play significant roles in the trenches. Though he didn’t decide for Pickard to attend, he spoke to the work ethic Pickard has displayed throughout his tenure with Oregon.

“I don’t really decide who goes there and doesn’t go there,” Lanning said. “But Charlie is a guy that does absolutely everything right in our program. He’s worked his tail off for every opportunity he’s gotten.”

“I think Charlie’s the leader of our room, honestly,” Strother said. “He’s been here for a long time. He runs a lot of our player-led stuff. I love Charlie to death. I think he’s really the backbone of our room. So Charlie is that guy for me, for sure. He’s a walk on, you know? So, I mean, he deserves everything he’s getting now. the recognition, you know, the rotations, Charlie, deserves it all.”

There’s also the question of who will pick up the right guard position left open by senior starter Matthew Bedford who suffered a left knee injury with no return time stated and back-up junior Dave Iuli undergoing toe surgery during the off season. Senior Marcus Harper II seems like the go-to for left guard, as he started all fourteen games last season at the position. He’s also gone through a physical transformation over the off-season, something Lanning spoke on.

 “I just think ultimately what our players are recognizing is at the end of the day you don’t want to get ready for the combine three months out from the combine,” Lanning said. “Your best resume is your film. What’s your film say about you as a player and you’ve got this window of opportunity to put yourself in the best position to be a great player now. Why wait? It’s your film that’s going to determine your success at the next level.”

Given Oregon’s tendency to prep their offensive linemen in several different positions, it’s not irregular for athletes to shift to different positions based on team need. That means other candidates in the offensive line room have yet to be confirmed for the right guard spot. A few weeks ago before Bedford’s injury, we reported on Duck offensive line coach A’lique Terry’s thoughts regarding the position battle.

“You still got Matthew Bedford, you still got Nishad Strother, you still got Iapani Laloulu. You got even Gernorris Wilson. So a ton of guys there that are still competing for that right guard spot. And the beautiful part is that we still got two weeks left in camp. Those guys compete their tail off, may the best man win,” Terry said.

Though right guard and center are still two question marks for the Ducks, one of Lanning’s quotes from this last fall camp media availability gave some perspective to the team as a whole.

“Still evaluating who we are,” Lanning said.

That includes still evaluating the inside offensive line, as the Ducks hope to improve on the previous season, where only five sacks were allowed.

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