Oregon's Dan Lanning Gives Injury Update on Noah Whittington Before Penn State Game

“Certainly, excited for this one. I know you guys have been thinking about this one for a long time, and now we finally can focus on it as well. I mean, Penn State is extremely talented team. They do it well in all three phases. Coach (James) Franklin runs a great organization, and they present a ton of challenges. I've said it before, but defensively, there's multiple and disruptive as anybody will play,” Lanning said.

"They got great edge play. (Dani) Dennis-Sutton is one of the better defensive edge players in the league and in the nation. They got good play in the back end as well. They do a great job overlapping and have a lot of variety of schemes. Offensively, they're really tough to prepare for because they're moving almost every play,” he continued.

“So, it just presents real challenges, just the shifts and movements and motions that they do. And have great running backs, you know, good quarterback and their wide receiver plays really stands out this year. They have some speed on the field, and then special teams are really sound, so excited for that environment. It's one that I haven't been to before, but that we've heard a lot about," Lanning said.

Running Back Noah Whittington, Wide Receiver Dillon Gresham’s Availability:

“Yeah, I think, I think we'll be able to have those guys with us. We probably could have pushed it this past week.”

On Playing In The "White Out:"

“Yeah, I mean, we played in good environments before. They've described it as, it's a good one, right? And that's part of what makes college football fun, is it's, it's a real one to get to get to go play in, and like, we've got a great atmosphere here, it's been an asset for us. I'm sure they're counting on it being an asset for them. But again, play the game, not the occasion," Lanning said.

Thoughts On Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles’ System:

“A lot of scheme variation, which he had, you know, at Ohio State, but it's a lot of the similar scheme that they carried at Ohio State. And he always has a new wrinkle. Every week you see something new that you haven't necessarily seen on film, that he's able to pull from, that he thinks defends you well. And that's always going to present a good challenge.”

Balancing Last Season Matchup With Personnel Changes:

“Just that you assess what was good and bad from last season. You recognize where they've changed and what they've adjusted, knowing that they've made some changes. They have different personnel in some spots. And then, you know, same with us, but it's a combination of both," Lanning said.

How Rotating Players May Limit Them:

“I think the strength of numbers is going to be a huge asset for us as we go throughout the season. And again, you know how many people you see, what you see is going to be based on performance throughout practice and what that looks like. But if we have guys that can play winning football, we're going to utilize them, and that's going to pay off in the long run for us.”

The Growth Of His Cornerbacks:

“I think just the experience develops confidence, and confidence is going to lead to good execution and the ability to take risks at times when it's needed, you know attack welcome make plays on the ball like all those things are going to develop over time so the more snaps they get the better they've gotten.”

The Challenge Of Keeping The Focus One Game At A Time:

“I think our guys are mature, and they've been able to handle that well that, you know, that hasn't been mentioned in our program. You know, in my role, at times, you have to look long, big picture. You have to look down the road, not just necessarily this game, but a lot of games, but within the week, the prep for our players has been really focused and done a good job handling that.”