Dan Lanning has made his philosophy pretty clear since arriving at Oregon: if a player can handle the moment, age doesn’t matter. And after the Ducks’ 34-27 season-opening win over Boise State, true freshman cornerback Davon Benjamin looks like the latest example of that belief in action.
Benjamin’s first college game didn’t jump off the stat sheet - he finished with one solo tackle - but his presence showed up in a much bigger way for Oregon’s defense. He entered at nickel and helped deliver a key third-down stop with tight coverage, one of the cleaner moments for a Ducks secondary that had plenty to sort through in a game that also featured 10 penalties.
After the game, Lanning was direct about why Benjamin was on the field and what stood out to him.
“Yeah, same thing we always say. There's no such thing as old enough as it's good enough, and he's got skill set.
He's really instinctual as a player, right? And I think those moments that that really showed up today, right?
He could be tight in coverage.”
Lanning also pointed to Benjamin’s background as part of the reason he’s been able to make an early impression.
“He's played a variety of positions in high school. That's really carried over and helped him be able to be a guy that can impact us here.
But looking for him to continue to grow. Whatever he did today, there should be some moments I know that he can do better, right?”
And the Oregon coach made it clear the freshman’s playing time won’t be handed out just because he’s young. It has to be earned, and Benjamin has already done enough to get a real look.
“On the same note, I think he had an energy and focus on what he had to attack and improve, and there's going to be some moments growing from that. But if you play winning football for us, he's going to be out there in the field, and we'll definitely take a hard look at today and see what we can attack and improve. But Davon’s earned those opportunities because of what he's done throughout fall camp.”
That early trust isn’t happening in a vacuum. Oregon did something similar last season with another true freshman corner, Brandon Finney Jr., who won a starting job in the opener against Montana State and kept building from there.
Finney’s rise became a template: stay locked in, keep studying, keep working, and the production follows. By the time the Ducks were in marquee matchups later in the year, he had become one of the most impressive players in the secondary.
Benjamin arrived with a strong resume of his own. A four-star recruit out of Oaks Christian High School in California, he moved around the secondary in high school and finished his senior year with 27 tackles, four interceptions and three tackles for a loss.
He also showed up in Oregon’s fall camp clips, where the Ducks’ social media team highlighted him breaking up and intercepting a pass in coverage alongside cornerback Na’eem Offord. Another clip showed him blanketing a receiver in the end zone, and he was also seen bringing down running back Jordon Davison.
Lanning had already been talking about Benjamin well before Week 1, too.
“I'll say this: The guy's really hungry to learn. He spends every minute - extra meetings, extra time,” Lanning said during fall camp.
“Again, he's one of those guys that's obsessed with football and has a great skill set. He's definitely going to be able to help us.
As he continues to learn more and more, the more he grows, the more he'll be able to help this team."
So the question now is simple: after one strong debut, does Benjamin have enough momentum to push past the veterans and earn a starting role in Week 2?
In Other News...
Boise States Brutal Travel Day Raises A Bigger Concern Before Kickoff
Boise States trip to Eugene turned into a long day of delays before the Broncos even got to think about kickoff, with weather and runway conditions at Eugene Airport forcing the charter to abort its landing attempts. The flight was diverted to Portland instead, and the team had to regroup there before continuing on by bus to Eugene, a detour that pushed arrival back nearly seven hours from what had been planned.
The travel hiccup added an unwelcome layer to a game week that already carried enough moving parts on its own. Between the aborted landing, the bus ride and the extra time spent huddled in meetings at the Portland airport, Boise State lost more than just hours on the clock, and the bigger concern now is how much a disrupted arrival can affect everything that follows once the Broncos finally settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Hijacked Oregons Tradition And Ducks Players Clearly Felt It
During Boise States game against Oregon, the Broncos added an extra layer of edge to a matchup already full of emotion by making a point of dancing to the Ducks longtime fourth-quarter song, Shout. Oregon has used the tune as a tradition since 2010, so seeing a visiting team turn it into its own sideline celebration was bound to get attention, especially in a game where the atmosphere already had a little bite.
Oregon players reacted in different ways, with some clearly taking it as disrespect and others viewing it as the kind of move a team uses to spark itself late in a game. Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said the idea had been planned during fall camp as a way to keep the group joyful and focused in the fourth quarter, which only adds another layer to a moment that clearly landed with both teams. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Just Exposed A Real Concern For No. 2 Oregon
Boise State walked into Eugene and left with a 34-27 loss, but it also left Oregon with a fair bit to clean up after a season-opening game that looked a lot tighter than the Ducks probably wanted. There were flashes of the upside that has made Oregon a national contender, including Dakorien Moores explosive 62-yard touchdown, yet the overall performance was uneven enough to make the margin feel more revealing than reassuring.
The bigger concern for Oregon was how often the offense stalled and how little disruption the defense created against a Boise State team that kept hanging around. With both coordinators replaced and several new faces along the offensive line, some early-season inconsistency was understandable, but it also showed up in the kinds of situations that usually decide games for a playoff-caliber team. The Ducks escaped with a win, though the opener suggested the road to smoother football may take longer than expected. [Read more 🡒]