UO release – LOS ANGELES — A week before Dan Lanning ascended to the stage at The Novo for Pac-12 Media Day on Friday, he ascended a much higher, much more meaningful summit with the program he now leads. Lanning opens his first preseason camp as head coach of the Oregon football team on Friday, Aug. 5. Practice that afternoon will be held one week after Lanning met with media covering the conference Friday, and two weeks after the start of what Lanning said will be a new annual tradition for his program. On Friday, July 22, the Ducks gathered as a team, after holding a celebration of life for teammate Spencer Webb the night before. Webb, who was entering his fifth season as a tight end for Oregon, passed away July 13 in an accident at a local swimming hole. Nine days later, the Ducks as a team ascended to the top of a landmark in south Eugene, Spencer Butte. The origin story of the name of the butte, which ascends over 2,000 feet high, is murkky. For the Ducks, it has taken on a whole new meaning that is crystal clear. “Our team has a void,” Lanning said Friday from the stage at The Novo during conference media day. “We’re missing a brother.” Preseason camp begins next Friday with all the usual storylines facing the Ducks. There’s a starting quarterback to identify. Prominent players looking to re-emerge after recovering from injury. Elite recruits hoping to making an early impact now that they’re in college. One change the Ducks will make under Lanning is to their practice schedule in-season. In recent years, Oregon returned to practice the day after games, and scheduled its weekly off-day for Monday. This season, the UO program program will be off on Sunday, and will return to practice Monday. Those practices will be all about improvement, whether Saturday brought a win or a loss for the Ducks.
