There is a reason Dan Lanning more than tripled his salary in three years as Georgia. Namely, the Bulldogs’ defense just keeps getting better.
Lanning was hired as outside linebackers coach for $325,000 when he left Memphis to join Kirby Smart’s Georgia staff in 2018. Smart saw something in Lanning right away. When Mel Tucker abandoned the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator position, he tabbed Lanning as defensive coordinator and doubled his salary.
In his first season in the position, Georgia’s defense led the nation in points allowed at 12.6 per game and rushing defense at 74.6 yards. Meanwhile, Lanning developed a system that allowed the Bulldogs to spread the wealth among numerous players. More than 30 defensive players logged 100 snaps or more last season.
Lanning now is Georgia’s highest-paid assistant coach, at $1.25 million, after getting yet another raise and having his three-year contract extended in December. So, things are going well for this still-young-at-33 assistant coach.
“I’ve got three kids, my wife Sophia and I, and you talk about being in a place you would love to raise your family,” Lanning said in a video-conference call with reporters Friday. “Athens truly (has) been that place. Three years, for me in college football this will be the longest I’ve been anywhere. Sometimes it takes that progression to get you there in your career, and I am very fortunate to be in a place where I could see myself for a long time.”
The best thing for Georgia is its defense ought to be good again. The Bulldogs return nine starters and the majority of its lettermen from last year’s unit and add a slew of elite recruits, who signed with the intention of getting on the field.
Even Lanning can’t squash the lofty expectations for his defense.
“By no means are we the ’85 Bears,” Lanning said of the great Super Bowl-winning Chicago defense of the 1985 season. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. But our guys are embracing the challenge of getting better and focusing on that.”
Lanning hasn’t visited with the media since last December before the Sugar Bowl. On Friday he answered reporters’ questions for nearly a half-hour on a Zoom call. Following are some of his insights:
On improvements to be made …
“The biggest thing I think we’ve emphasized so far this offseason is the finish. You know, we’ve talked about havoc plays on here a lot in the past, and that is still definitely a big focus for us. But we want to get the ball out. We want to finish. We want to impact the game by having some game-changing plays that we can create, and our players have really embraced that so far.”
On all the returning talent …
“Ultimately for us it’s about wins. That was 2019; this is 2020. It really has no correlation. We have to start from scratch. By no means are we the ’85 Bears. We got a lot of work to do, but our guys are embracing the challenge of getting better and focusing on that. It starts with the details, right? It starts with today, not tomorrow, not the first game. We got to really focus on today first.”
About that havoc rate …
“You know, football is such a unique sport and a standpoint in that you can win 90% of the play, and if the last 10% of the play the wide receiver catches the ball, you didn’t do your part. If you don’t get to the quarterback, you might have a great pass-rush move, but if you don’t finish on the quarterback, it doesn’t matter. If you cover somebody perfectly or fit a gap perfectly, but you don’t make the tackle or get the ball out—it doesn’t matter. So, the key to us is we are finishing 100% of the play, and even if we are behind in the first 80%, how we finish that play can be a key to success.”
On his relationship with Kirby Smart …
“I have learned a lot from Coach Smart. I know we have a lot of fun on our side of the ball. I love coaching with the guys that we coach with. I know Coach Smart really enjoys coaching with our staff and our players. This is a really fun group of players to coach. So, I think we have a great time. We work really hard and push our guys to excel.”
On how his relationship with co-defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann has evolved …
“Glenn and I have been close, you know, really since 2015 when we both work together at Alabama, and he’s a guy I really lean on a lot with everything we do. He’s really critical to our organization, as well as the rest of our defensive coaches, but I’m very fortunate to get to coach with Glenn, as well as coach (Charlton) Warren, coach (Tray) Scott and our crew. We mend really well together, we know each other well just because the amount of time. We have some familiarity. Keeping that group together on our side of the ball was really big for us.”
On defending Todd Monken’s offense ...
“One thing I think that’s unique about Todd — I’m not going to tell you what plays we’re running, right? -- but what’s really fun is he’s the definition of a coach. He obviously has a lot of experience, knows exactly what he wants from his product. He is very demanding of his guys and what right execution looks like. But he is also very adaptable to change. The game has changed over the years, and I think you see a lot of pieces of that in his offensive game plan.”
On DBs Tyrique Stevenson and Eric Stokes …
“I think Eric (Stokes) and Tyrique (Stevenson) have both done a good job. Tyrique is not the only person who gets multiple positions, we work with almost all of our guys when we cross train. There is going to be change, this is where the mental agility is going to come in. We have to be prepared to work in several different spots.”
On the maturity of senior safety Richard LeCounte …
“Richard (LeCounte) is a player that plays with instincts and that shows up. What he has learned over the years is to play with those same instincts within the framework of our defense and our system. I think every single one of our players still needs to be coached, but Richard’s production, a lot of it comes from those instincts. He’s done a good job of honing that in to fit the system where he’s able to make plays. That’s what we’ve focused on with him and he’s done a really good job with that.”
On addressing the offensive exploitation by LSU in SEC Championship game. …
“That was a big study piece for us this offseason. I think we’re going to see more and more of that in our league. The SEC has always been on the front end of development when it comes to the game. I think there’s a lot of pieces that are going to be carried over. We’re going to see a lot of ‘copycat’ plays and we have put a lot of focus on how we defend that the best moving forward.”
On UGA’s reputation as a ‘No Name Defense’ …
“(That) might have been taken the wrong way. A lot of times when I say that I mean we have a lot of unselfish players, a lot of guys want the ball in their hands at the end of the game. They want to be on the field on fourth down. There’s a lot of guys on our defense I would go to war with right now. I don’t know if I would pick one alpha dog, but we’ve got a really good group of guys.”
On whether defensive tackle Jordan Davis can become a stand-out player …
“I have really high expectations for Jordan. He has worked really hard. Tray Scott and coach (Nick) Williams have done a great job with his development. I think Jordan is really hungry and there’s just not a lot of people born in this world that look like him. So, when you look like him, there’s an expectation and I expect him to really achieve the highest level this year, have a phenomenal season and to really help our team and our defense.”
On expectations for No. 1 recruit MJ Sherman …
“MJ is a tremendous person. He’s got a great mind-set, he’s hungry, comes from a really good family, works really hard and he’s conscientious. He’s got all of those things and then he’s got strength, power and agility, which we think can be a good asset for him moving forward. I’m excited about his development and to see what he can do.”
On redshirted defensive linemen Zion Logue, Tymon Mitchell and Bill Norton …
“The Tennessee crew! You know, it’s always fun to see (development from) Year 1, Year 2. I give coach Scott credit. You know, he’s done a good job with their development from a standpoint of technique. It’s a lot cleaner. We actually did a player-development piece yesterday in our defensive meeting where we’re kind of highlighting where guys have improved, and we’re able to show some film of time and early in practice and how he’s doing something wrong, something fixed and adjusted and then really a perfect rep in a team-run setting. So, it’s fun seeing those guys come along.
On 5-star defensive line signee Jalen Carter …
“Jalen Carter has to learn to play. But he’s very strong, he’s an explosive athlete. We definitely think he can make an impact for us. It’s good to see his technique continuing to get better day in and day out. He definitely makes the guys across the ball better.”
On sophomore safety Lewis Cine getting to start the Sugar Bowl …
“I think Lewis did a phenomenal job of taking all those reps leading into last year. Then, when he hit the field, he was ready for his opportunity and did a great job with it. So, you can’t put a value on game reps because that’s completely different. But, you know, Lewis is a guy that comes up and studies, he does extra, and I think that’s paid off for him in creating opportunities for him moving forward.”
On second-year edge rushers Nolan Smith and Travon Walker …
“You know, I just want to see them maximize the opportunities they get on the field. Both of them are dynamic players. Both of them are very explosive and do a great job there. I think they create issues for the offense with their suddenness, but probably more importantly they finish. Those guys run to the ball. They finish twice, they work really hard on their craft. So just seeing them expand their role as they move forward, I’m excited to see what they do.”
On freshman DB Jalen Kimber …
“Jalen has done a really good job you know, from an agility standpoint. He’s still got a build some bulk and get in the weight room and work hard, but he is conscientious, he’s really pays attention to detail. In fact, he’s also on that list of guys we talked about player improvement he did something wrong early in camp, we identified it, coach Warren worked on it in drills. Then the next day he makes a phenomenal play by executing the proper technique. So, I’m excited to see what he does moving forward.”
On freshman DT Warren Brinson …
“You know, the biggest thing that I was looking for early in Warren was effort, and he has done a really good job. The other day we’re able to point out in practice him finishing twice. The balls thrown down the field and he’s hauling butt from the line of scrimmage to finish and get in position to make a play on a wide receiver down the field. His technique still has some cleaning up to do, we’d love to see him strike with those hands and continue to develop them from a target standpoint, but he is definitely working hard to do that.”
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