Dan Lanning came to Oregon when the transfer portal was in full swing and NIL was in its early years. Unlike many other coaches, he opted to retain most of the Oregon roster he inherited from former head coach Mario Cristobal, though he was aggressive in the transfer portal and not afraid to acquire players who were clearly upgrades to the roster.
Bo Nix, Tez Johnson, Jordan Burch, and Dillon Gabriel are perhaps the four who stand out the most, though the reality is that the list of impactful transfers in the Lanning era is so long that it would take far too much time to name them all. What is evident is that transfers have made up the bulk of Lanning’s starting lineups for the past three years. Mr. FishDuck took a break from his fun at these betting sites to consider the impact of the portal transfers on the Lanning era thus far.
This approach has worked, as Lanning has posted double digit wins in every year of his coaching tenure at Oregon.
However, all his teams have a similar feel to them, where they feel like they don’t quite meet their potential because they feel more like a team of mercenaries rather than a team that has taken years to construct. This is precisely the downside of relying on the transfer portal to the extent the Ducks have.
This is by no means a slight on Lanning; if he had to go the historical route of roster management where there was no transfer portal, he wouldn’t have posted double digit wins in any of his first three seasons. He has used the portal to win immediately, and that has in turn paid dividends on the recruiting trail as recruits can see what he’s capable of in terms of on-field results.
Furthermore, he has proven that he can take transfers with relatively low draft stock and turn them into solid draft picks. Look no further than Nix, who was probably a late-round pick at best at Auburn, but turned into a first-rounder and even finished third in the offensive rookie of the year standings. Lanning has certainly built a reputation that coming to Oregon will do good things to one’s greater aspirations.
Tez Johnson is one of Oregon’s greatest receivers despite his transfer status.
(Photo By: Tom Corno)
But reliance on the portal to the extent Lanning has can’t continue if he wants to win a national championship. Every team that has won it all in this transfer portal era has done so with rosters built of veterans recruited out of high school, with a sprinkling of transfers. This is how Lanning has been building his roster long term — but most of his starters have been transfers, not prep recruits.
So while Lanning has made use of the portal, he has also brought in Top-10 recruiting classes and, more importantly, he has held onto the vast majority of those players even if they haven’t seen the field. Those players are the future of Oregon football and Lanning is gearing up this season for them to make their impact.
Perhaps the biggest sign of what is to come this year is the size of this transfer portal class at 10. This is down from 2024 at 14 and 2023 at 16. The 2025 recruiting class is down on the whole in large part due to Lanning holding onto many of the key players from previous years, but the influx via the transfer portal in 2025 being down is certainly a sign that he expects players already on the roster to step up. Especially considering the amount of departures from the Ducks this year, many of whom have been key starters.
A record number of Ducks (12) have been invited to the NFL combine this year, and those don’t include additional players who are out of eligibility or taking their chances in the draft.
The Ducks’ roster going into 2025 will be full of holes but Lanning has only opted to bring in 10 transfers, of whom some are not even likely starters and look more like depth pieces.
Traeshon Holden (Alabama transfer) makes an incredible catch against MSU.
(Photo By: Craig Strobeck)
The era of Lanning’s mercenary teams is coming to an end, and we should all rejoice because Lanning’s team is about to become his desired team. A team built from within that has taken years to craft.
This is how Georgia, Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State have achieved their dominance — rosters filled with vets that have been years in the making.
The majority of the players who take the field should be experienced in Lanning’s system, and this will allow for Lanning and company to go deeper into the playbooks than they did in 2024.
This is no slight on Gabriel, who finished as a Heisman candidate — but his numbers were lower than Nix’s a year previous. The difference in output feels like Gabriel’s inexperience in the system held him back where Nix, in his second year, was able to elevate the offense to another level.
With next year’s quarterback already on the roster whether it’s Dante Moore or Austin Novosad and a roster of playmakers having been in the system for multiple years now, the offense should be ready to take off.
And perhaps we get to see Lanning’s defense reach his full vision with players who have been steeped in his playbook for years finally taking over the starting roles.
What is clear is that 2025 is going to be an exciting year for us all.
David Marsh
Portland, Oregon
Top Photo By: Naji Saker
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah.
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David Marsh is a high school social studies teacher in Portland, Oregon. As a teacher he is known for telling puns to his students who sometimes laugh out of sympathy, and being both eccentric about history and the Ducks.
David graduated from the University of Oregon in 2012 with Majors in: Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, and Geography. David began following Ducks Football after being in a car accident in 2012; finding football something new and exciting to learn about during this difficult time in his life. Now, he cannot see life without Oregon football.