What college did Dan Lanning go to? 

Oregon coach Dan Lanning (Oregon IG handle)
Oregon coach Dan Lanning (Oregon IG handle)

Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning is one of the rising stars of college football after establishing his team as a powerhouse football program. The Ducks were ranked No. 3 in the latest AP preseason poll ahead of a season where they're expected to make a splash in both the Big Ten and the college football playoff picture.

Lanning attended William Jewell College, Missouri, between 2004 and 2007, playing linebacker for the Cardinals, before embarking on his coaching career, which has led him to Eugene.

Rise of Dan Lanning in college football

Dan Lanning started his coaching career at Park Hill South High School, Missouri, in 2008 as the special teams coordinator, defensive backs coach and wide receivers coach.

In 2011, he became a graduate assistant for the Pittsburgh Panthers under coach Todd Graham before following him to the Arizona State Sun Devils in the same capacity between 2012 and 2013.

In an interview with ESPN, Graham revealed that he regretted letting Lanning leave for the defensive backs and co-recruiting coordinator jobs for the Sam Houston State Bearkats.

"Dumbest thing I ever did was let him do that (leave)," Graham said. "I should have fired someone and hired him.”

Lanning has worked with some of the best coaches the game has ever seen and in 2015, he worked as a graduate assistant for the Alabama Crimson Tide under retired coach Nick Saban.

During the "Pat McAfee Show" in Dublin, Ireland, the former Bama coach spoke about wanting to hire Dan Lanning to his staff before he left for the recruitment coordinator and linebackers coach for the Memphis Tigers under coach Mike Norvell in 2016.

"You know, Dan Lanning's a really good coach," Saban said. "I actually wanted to hire him.
"You know, my theory of having all these young guys on the staff and developing them was to get them a job at Memphis State and then be able to hire them when all of these guys started coaching. Kirby, Pruitt, Billy Napier, Mike Lockley ... They all hired him before I could hire him."

Lanning took the defensive coordinator's job at Georgia under charismatic coach Kirby Smart and helped to mold one of the best defensive units in the country in 2021 en route to their first of two consecutive national championships.

Dan Lanning has come a long way from William Jewell College to being one of the most revered up-and-coming coaches in the country.

Edited by Krutik Jain
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