Kyle Whittingham’s comments about Oregon’s recruiting pitch and spending power didn’t sit well with Dan Lanning.
After Michigan’s 15-6 loss to Michigan State, Whittingham used his weekly radio spot to size up Oregon and its head coach, calling Lanning an “Outstanding football coach, defensive-minded coach,” and adding, “That’s his background, but tireless recruiter. He really does a great job recruiting.
It doesn’t hurt that you have $50-plus million at your disposal to, in essence, outbid everybody. Not everybody, but a lot of people.
But that’s not his fault. That’s a credit.
I mean, that’s a credit to their program and their dedication and desire to win and the support they have.”
Whittingham also pointed to how the recruiting game has changed, saying, “NIL is really the name of the game in recruiting these days,” and later adding, “I mean, it’s shifted so much. It used to be the facilities you had and the tradition and all these other things, and now it’s well, this is all great, but these guys got $100,000 more for me. That’s a little bit of a factor, to say the least.
Lanning was asked about the remarks and pushed back on the idea that Oregon’s success is simply a matter of money.
“I’ve got nothing to say to Coach Whit other than I think he’s an unbelievable coach,” Lanning said. “I get it, they’re spending more of their money right now on their coaches that they’re letting go so maybe it makes it hard to sign players.
But I know they’ve signed a couple of guys that we weren’t able to compete with what they decided to do and maybe a lot of that money is tied up for them in another player I don’t know. But Coach Whittingham is an unbelievable coach.
He’s a Hall of Fame coach. I’ve got nothing but respect for him.”
What player Lanning was referring to wasn’t clear.
The exchange comes as Whittingham’s media comments have drawn attention again, including his recent jab at Michigan State last week when he said the rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State was not the most important to Michigan, but was “the Super Bowl” for the Spartans.
That kind of talk can come back around fast, especially when a team isn’t in position to absorb the blowback. The source story pointed out that Michigan has been dealing with turmoil tied to coaching buyouts, most recently with offensive coordinator Jason Beck, and that the Wolverines have not been strong enough to back up the extra noise.
Now Whittingham has taken aim at Oregon, a team that has looked like a national title contender over the last couple of weeks, including its win over Ohio State in Columbus last Saturday. The concern, as framed in the source, is simple: if Oregon comes out with extra edge in Eugene on Saturday, the game could get out of hand quickly.
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