From pointing at crowds to wearing provocative t-shirts, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has been known to be a motivational trainer. Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon said so best during his media availability session on the Wednesday following ducks practice.

“He cares about his players, that’s the main thing,” Harmon noted.

Harmon and the Ducks have reeled off eight straight wins as Oregon has put itself in a position to hold on to its No. 1 ranking at the end of the season. Harmon added that he tries not to focus on all the extracurriculars that surround the team, as he leaves that up to his coaches, and instead focuses on his play on the field.

“I’m just playing ball. I’m in season playing ball, just trying to get paid. That’s it,” Harmon said.

In the 2023 season, Lanning went viral for his locker room speech before the Ducks game against Colorado, where he called out the buffalo for their viral antics. Oregon would go on to defeat the Buffs 42-6 to hand Colorado coach Deion Sanders his first loss at the FBS level.

This season, Lanning is up to his usual good looks, which included calling a timeout during the Michigan game so his players could gather and watch as the crowd went during the Ducks’ 38-17 win over the Wolverines.

Lanning himself said there is a method to his madness.

“The mundane is really important in our sport. You have to be able to do the simple things consistently over and over and over again. I think the challenge for you as a coach is how can you keep the mundane interesting. How can you continue to say that we will drive and do things that are very simple, but keep it fresh for our players, so that’s always our challenge,” Lanning said.

The third-year head coach said he draws inspiration from anywhere and everywhere regarding how to motivate his players.

“We’re going to pull from anything and everything you see and try to use that as motivation,” Lanning added.

Lanning has been one of the more interesting coaches in college football. The way he can get more out of his players has been something to watch as he has brought the Ducks’ program back into the national spotlight.

Oregon will look to remain undefeated when they travel Wisconsin for Saturday’s showdown with the Badgers. The game will be broadcast NBC. Kick-off is 16:30