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Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is proud of himself for slowly building the ranks and establishing himself as a QB producer in NFL circles. Over the last three years at Eugene, the coach has completely revamped the program.
Despite the conference realignment forcing them to transition from the Pac-12 to the highly competitive Big Ten, Lanning remained unshakable and finished the 2024 season with a 13-1 record at the top of the leaderboard. While speaking to the "First Things First" panelists on Wednesday from Sun City, the Ducks coach raved about budding NFL stars Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel.
Nix, who played for two years at Eugene, significantly climbed the ranks at Denver. One of his remarkable achievements was replacing Russell Wilson in the starting role in his rookie season.
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He made sure to defy all the odds and lead the team to its first-ever playoff appearance since 2015. Coach Lanning is not surprised at all because he believes Nix is on a whole different level.
“No surprise to me. He's a professional when he was in college,” Lanning said about the Broncos QB on Wednesday. [Timestamp - 2:00]
“He's professional now. Obviously he comes from a family of a coach, unbelievable family, but this guy came to work every single day. I feel like he treated the last two years here to organ like he was already in the NFL. As far as preparation, he's an unbelievable person, and I'm just glad to see the success coming his way, because he's sharp.
"He's talented. I don't think people realize how athletic Bo is. I think some of the people are starting to recognize that now, and any questions that surrounded Bo that they should be leaving the door soon,” he added.
Dan Lanning keeps expectations high from Dillon Gabriel
The 2025 NFL draft had plenty of surprises, where top-tier QBs like Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel fell significantly.
The former Oregon QB was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the draft. Dan Lanning, who happens to know a thing or two about Gabriel, mentioned that he is a super dynamic athlete.
“Dillon has been a winner everywhere he's been and has unbelievable poise and confidence,” Lanning said. "I think he's in a unique situation where there's a lot, there's a lot going on, and the thing that I know about Dillon is he's going to win the hearts of the people in that locker room."
While Joe Flacco is expected to take the reins as the starting QB for the team, expect Gabriel to be the backup unless Shedeur Sanders finds his way to make the cut. This year's action will see both QBs potentially starting for the franchise at least once in the entire season.
