Dan Lanning loves his loyal ‘loud’ playmaker who followed him to Oregon instead of staying closer to home

When Dan Lanning was the defensive coordinator at Georgia, he was involved in the recruiting process for a running back named Jordan James. When Lanning left Georgia to take the head coaching job at Oregon, James decommitted and followed him to Eugene.

The backfield now belongs to James, and Lanning is a big fan of what he brings.

Dan Lanning compliments James' "loud" energy

Following Tuesday's fall camp practice, Lanning spoke on several players, James being one of them.

"He plays really loud, and I appreciate a guy who plays loud, brings the energy every single day, runs hard, runs tough. You know, he's that guy that has toughness," Lanning said. "I thought he's been really strong on the ball this year, done a good job snatching it and attacking it, and then when he's had opportunities to block, he's blocked hard."

Those sentiments continue a strong offseason of compliments from Lanning about his new lead running back.

"I think Jordan is running like an angry guy, which is exactly how you want your running back to run. He's out here improving in the spring," he said back in April. "I'm really proud of Jordan's development and where he's headed."

James continues to develop into a multi-faceted back capable of running hard, pass protection, and catching the ball out of the backfield. He has every opportunity in 2024 for a breakout season with the Ducks as part of a new-look offense .

James' path took from from Tennessee to Oregon

Originally from the Nashville area, James was a 4-star running back recruit that was ranked as the No. 6 player in Tennessee. His home state University of Tennessee was the first team to offer him before he ended up receiving offers from other schools like Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, and Penn State. Eventually, it was Lanning and Georgia that won out.

Lanning took the head coaching position at Oregon in December of 2021. A month later, Oregon got heavily interested in James, bringing him in for an official visit on January 14 and making him an offer that same day. A week later, On January 21, James returned for another official visit.

Florida was also in the running late, with James taking an official visit, but when he decommitted from Georgia on February 2, he committed to the Ducks on the same day.

James had a great year last year as a true sophomore, backing up Bucky Irving who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year. As the second back out of the backfield, James racked up 795 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground on only 107 carries. This year, James has the making of a workhorse back that could put up some monster stats and earn NFL buzz of his own.

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