Oregon opened spring practice this week under Dan Lanning, entering his fifth season with a program that has now won 48 games in four years and is the standard-bearer for what success looks like in the modern Big Ten's western flank.

The Ducks lost their most productive offensive player — the receiver who led the team in yards and touchdowns in 2025 — to the NFL Draft, along with two defensive starters who were among the conference's better players at their positions. What they return is a quarterback who entered 2025 as one of the more widely discussed sophomore prospects in the country and ended it as one of the more widely discussed junior prospects in the country: a player whose development trajectory has been consistently upward in a system that Lanning and offensive coordinator Will Stein have built specifically around his skill set.

The spring evaluation for Oregon is primarily defensive. Lanning's defenses have been the organizational constant through the program's run — the offense has been excellent, but the defense has been what separates the Ducks from teams with comparable offensive talent. The two draft departures affect the unit's ceiling heading into fall camp, and the spring is the first opportunity to evaluate whether the depth that was built behind them is ready.

Oregon's spring game is April 19. The program's conference schedule in 2026 includes Ohio State in October and Michigan State in November — the outcomes of those games will say more about where Lanning's program stands than any spring practice evaluation.