Former Alabama recruit compares Dan Lanning to Nick Saban after transferring to Oregon
Comparisons to Nick Saban can be dangerous for his former protégées, but Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has done as well as almost anyone after leaving Alabama. Kirby Smart is the only more accomplished head coach than Lanning in college football right now. One of the most difficult tasks Kalen DeBoer had when taking over […]
Comparisons to Nick Saban can be dangerous for his former protégées, but Oregon head coach Dan Lanning has done as well as almost anyone after leaving Alabama. Kirby Smart is the only more accomplished head coach than Lanning in college football right now.
One of the most difficult tasks Kalen DeBoer had when taking over Alabama from Saban was keeping all of the former elite recruits that came to Tuscaloosa for the legendary coach. DeBoer has recruited well, but Year 1 was a disappointment in its own right.
One of the transfer losses Alabama suffered was to Oregon. Safety Peyton Woodyard joined Alabama in 2023 as a four-star recruit but later left to Lanning's Ducks last year. When Saban retired, Woodyard wasn't sticking around.
But the most interesting part is why he opted for Oregon.
He called his decision "a no-brainer last year because he believed Lanning and defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi were running a 'Saban-style' defense" that he felt like was a perfect fit for him.
Lanning, who was a graduate assistant at Alabama in 2015 and later Smart's defensive coordinator at Georgia from 2019-21, has obvious ties to Saban's scheme and coaching tree. While the Ducks haven't won a National Championship yet, Lanning has clearly improved the program to the point of being a yearly threat to compete for one.
Woodyard is looking to make a bigger impact in 2025. He had nine tackles in 2024.
However, he's slated to be behind star addition Dillon Thieneman from Purdue and second-year safety Kingston Lopa. Even elite five-star freshman Trey McNutt may jump Woodyard on the depth chart.
