FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted Wednesday at 10:05 AM 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 ... Is 2025 The End of Lanning’s Mercenary Teams? | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM 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... 2 1 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smith72 Moderator No. 2 Share Posted Wednesday at 01:44 PM Great food for thought, David, thanks for today's article! Even though I'm thankful that Mari(noO) Cristobol showed he could recruit top talent to Oregon, Dan Lanning has done better. His on field coaching is visible to recruits. I agree with your statement, "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. Thanks again for being a FishDuck writer! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 3 Share Posted Wednesday at 06:28 PM Thanks, DM. In 2025, Dan Lanning has his Oregon team ranked in the Top 5 in recruiting and portal picking, the only team to be in the top 5 in both rankings. This is the way championship teams are built today. No matter how efficient your recruiting is, there will be holes to be filled every season. I have a problem with the term, 'mercenary', to wit, were draft-eligible guys on the Ohio State roster who were paid to play one more season in Columbus, Jack Sawyer, Emeka Egbuka, Trevon Henderson, etc., any less 'mercenary' than QB Howard, DB Downs, and Center McLaughlin? Same question for the draft-eligible returning players on the Michigan team that won the 2023-24 championship. Top players including top recruits signed out of high school are going to be paid. There are millions of reasons why Arch Manning has waited his turn at Texas. Would Evan Stewart return without appropriate NIL money? As you so noted in your excellent article, the number of transfers signed by Dan is decreasing. This is not the case with Kiffin at Ole Miss and Prime at CU. Why Dan has OBD headed for a title and the other two do not. To your list of OBD impact transfer players, I'd add Gabe, Harmon, Cornelius, Muhammad, and others who started elsewhere, transferred to Oregon, and will play in the NFL. Until college football transfers are regulated, portal picking and successfully integrating transfers onto the team will be essential for success. I do agree with the excellent point you made. As evidenced by the last two champions, developing your recruits is the best way to go. But like transfers, those who stay will also be paid. Thanks again. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 4 Share Posted Wednesday at 06:57 PM On 2/19/2025 at 10:28 AM, Jon Joseph said: I have a problem with the term, 'mercenary', to wit, were draft-eligible guys on the Ohio State roster who were paid to play one more season in Columbus, Jack Sawyer, Emeka Egbuka, Trevon Henderson, etc., any less 'mercenary' than QB Howard, DB Downs, and Center McLaughlin? Same question for the draft-eligible returning players on the Michigan team that won the 2023-24 championship. I'd agree with that sentiment. But the title "Is 2025 the End of Lanning's transfer portal dependent teams" doesn't have the same ring to it. Lanning this time around has gone big in the portal for offensive linemen. The line is going to be a point of concern to get them all on the same page this year I feel. However, I also wouldn't be at all surprised if some of those linemen were brought in as insurance policies for the current roster and are rotational pieces rather than pure starters. We'll have to wait and see. What is clear this year is that Lanning didn't cast nearly as wide a net for position players this off season as he had in the past. He definitely went after certain positions and didn't just try to grab a bit of everything. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 5 Share Posted Wednesday at 07:34 PM While I squirm at the term, "mercenary," like Jon, I like how your article defined the strategy, the weakness, and the huge upside the portal transfers brought us. In particular I have enjoyed how Lanning's staff has developed transfers into better players, and that has helped the recruiting as well. Lanning has built a Blue-Chip roster from high school recruits, and this year we begin to see the fruits of that, with even more kicking in for the 2026 season. B1G is not thrilled with their new Daddy... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 6 Share Posted Wednesday at 09:52 PM Dabo didn't use the portal at all, and Clemson has fallen off, looks like they'll be more active now. "Google Me, I win" Cig built his winning team on a SOFT schedule and transfers, we'll see how the "emerging superpower" does in 2025. As Jon noted, Lanning has the Ducks at the top of recruiting and Portal, and fewer portal this coming season. This is what OBD needs to compete with osu2 and Georgia. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted Thursday at 05:29 PM Let's Hear It For: OBD Man David Marsh Up on Yardbarker! Is 2025 The End of Lanning’s Mercenary Teams? | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM 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… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
