Take Two: Messages, Margins and the Fourth Phase

Take One: Sometimes the message is meant for the players

In 2022, we heard throughout fall camp that there was a real competition between Bo Nix and Ty Thompson for the starting quarterback job in Dan Lanning’s first season at Oregon. Looking back, it seems pretty clear that competition probably was not nearly as close as it was presented publicly, and I think that experience is worth remembering when we try to interpret everything coaches tell us during August.

That does not mean Lanning or his staff are being dishonest. I think it means press conferences serve more than one purpose, and sometimes the answer to a question is intended just as much for the players standing inside the building as it is for those of us trying to write about them. After three weeks of listening to Oregon coaches and players, I am starting to wonder if some of the messaging around competition, roles and even how far this team still has to go is designed to keep everyone from getting too comfortable.

The expectations around this team are enormous. Oregon is being picked by multiple national writers and analysts to win the national championship, the defensive line has been described as potentially elite, the receiver room may be as deep as any in the country and the roster is loaded with players who arrived with significant recruiting reputations. There is nothing wrong with any of that, but there is always some danger when players begin hearing more about what they are supposed to become than what they still have to do.

That may help explain why the language from inside the program has been so consistent. Mehringer has talked about meritocracy and said nobody owns a job. Lanning has repeatedly come back to whether players are accountable and capable. We have heard “good enough is old enough,” “reset and refocus,” “be where your feet are,” and Monday Mehringer added another simple answer when discussing how a player earns playing time: play well.

None of those messages are especially complicated, and I think that is probably the point.