The post Freshman Oregon football starter earns Dan Lanning stamp of approval appeared first on ClutchPoints.
After a stellar 2024 season, Oregon football has not yet been tested in the 2025 season but it has still looked very formidable through two games.
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The Ducks took on Montana State, one of the best FCS programs in the nation, and crushed them 59-13. Then, Lanning and company took on Oklahoma State, which has been on the decline in the last few seasons. After Mike Gundy added a little fuel to the fire for the Ducks, Oregon routed the Cowboys 69-3 in Eugene.
Oregon is relying on some veterans, both from in-house and the transfer portal, to keep the standard going from last season’s team that won the Big Ten Championship. However, it is also using some youngsters to fill in the gaps, including a number of freshmen. One of those players is starting cornerback Brandon Finney, who became the first true freshman to start at corner for the Ducks since 2017.
Ahead of Oregon’s Big Ten opener against Northwestern on Saturday, Lanning talked about what makes Finney ready for such a big role, via Erik Skopil of 247 Sports.
“He probably takes the work necessary to be good as serious as anybody. This guy grinds,” Lanning said. “He’s mature beyond his years.
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“As far as how much time does it take to be great, he puts in the time. He’s one of the first in the building every morning. He’s watching extra film. He’s early to practice to get a warm up. He’s gonna do the extra, and because he does the extra and then executes at a high level, it’s allowed him to be successful out there.”
Finney was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025 and was apart of a monster haul for the Ducks both in the high school ranks and the transfer portal. As a result, they should be set in the back end for the foreseeable future.
Finney doesn’t get the same level of press and attention as former five-star recruit and current star wide receiver Dakorien Moore, who is already showing why he was one of the top players in his class as a true freshman. However, Finney’s solid play so far this season has made the Ducks very difficult to move the football on.
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