Oregon Ducks can ‘get any player in the nation’ in recruiting, Dan Lanning says

© Sean Meagher/The Oregonian Dan Lanning is introduced as the 35th head football coach of the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021.

EUGENE — Dan Lanning intends for Oregon to remain a national recruiting power.

The new Ducks head coach shared his recruiting philosophy during his introductory news conference on Monday, two days before the start of the Early Signing Period.

“The brand of Oregon has never been stronger,” Lanning said. “We can go in any home and we can go attack and sign the best players here at the University of Oregon. That approach is not going to be a fast approach. That approach doesn’t just happen on Wednesday. It’s going to start with the players on this team currently; it starts with the guys that are here.”

Oregon lost seven verbal commitments from its 2022 recruiting class last week in the aftermath of Mario Cristobal’s departure to Miami, and several of the 12 players still committed to the Ducks have said they don’t intend to sign on Wednesday.

Keeping the rest of the class, which plummeted from No. 9 to No. 22 due to the attrition, has fallen largely on the outgoing coaching staff, who will coach Oregon in the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma on Dec. 29

“What I would say to any recruit is this is a great institution with incredible student-athlete support,” UO athletic director Rob Mullens said. “Your experience here is going to be at the center of every single decision we make. That’s the message that we relay. Obviously style of play is an important piece in that. But our priorities and our values aren’t going to change one bit no matter who the leader is of the football program.”

Lanning, 35, is No. 8 in the 247Sports recruiter rankings for this year’s class. He said his cell phone would be in constant use through signing day and efforts on the recruiting trail will be paramount for future classes.

“I’m looking forward to connecting with every single person associated with our recruiting class,” Lanning said. “I know there’s some really strong players in here that I’m extremely excited about and that communication has definitely already started, but looking forward to building and strengthening those relationships.

“But we can go get any player in the nation with this place, with our resources. So I’m excited for that. That’ll be our approach. If the best player is five minutes away, then we’re going to go get the best player that’s five minutes away. If the best player is 13 hours away, then we’re going to go 13 hours away to get the best player.”