Malik Benson has seen two of college football’s biggest coaching personalities up close, and he’s not shy about what separated Dan Lanning and Nick Saban.
Benson, now with the Las Vegas Raiders after being selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, spent time at both Alabama and Oregon. That gives him a rare window into how Lanning and Saban operate, and in a recent interview with Oregon Ducks on SI reporter Bri Amaranthus, he opened up about both.
The biggest takeaway from Benson’s view of Lanning is that the Oregon coach’s culture is built on more than slogans. Benson pointed to Lanning’s four pillars - connection, growth, toughness and sacrifice - and said the emphasis on connection shows up in the details. He described leadership retreat work, new players singing in front of the team during fall camp, and Wednesday “get real” sessions where players tell their stories.
“The difference is just little things to get to know about your teammates. The biggest thing for me on Wednesdays, we had what we call a 'get real.'
Where we would learn about somebody - would get up there and tell their story. When I know our backup offensive lineman's whole story, then he knows I really care for him.
Like if something ever happens, he could always reach out.”
For Benson, that kind of buy-in changes the feel of practice.
“(Lanning) really emphasizing that connection, I feel like that's why when we were at practice, everybody's just having fun. Cause it's like, the guy to my left, I know everything about him.
So if I know everything about him, I'm going to go super hard for him. And he's going to go super hard for me just because we've already sat down and built a relationship outside of football.
So football is just going to come easy for us.”
He also said Lanning’s style makes room for a little edge and a little trash talk.
“(Lanning) is a young coach too. He likes to crack jokes.
My favorite thing is - I like to talk a lot of crap… Coach Lanning, he's a defensive guy. So when I make a big play, I'm gonna let him hear it.
When the defense makes a big play on me, he's going to let me hear it. So just that competitive edge that, I can have with him, it just makes practice fun.”
That’s part of why Benson believes Oregon is on the verge of something bigger.
“So I feel like that's why Oregon is always going to be Oregon. That's why a national championship will be coming through Oregon very soon.”
Benson also said some of what he saw at Oregon reminded him of Alabama. He noted that the Ducks’ good-on-good periods felt familiar because they were the kind of work Alabama did, too, and he credited Lanning’s intensity to lessons that clearly trace back to Saban.
“Yeah, for sure. That's one of the reasons why I went to Oregon - becausethe good-on-good periods that we do in practice - that were things that we were doing at Alabama. The intensity that coach Lanning has, you could tell, he got some of his ways from coach Saban, and obviously, it's working.”
Benson played for Saban in 2023, the final season of the coach’s 17-year run at Alabama. That stretch included six national championships and nine SEC championships. Benson said Alabama taught him what high-level practice is supposed to look like.
“Going to Alabama, getting coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time (Nick Saban), I really learned that's how you're supposed to practice. If you want the game to look a certain type of way, you’ve got to do it every day in practice.”
He also shared a story from early in his Alabama stint that showed him exactly what kind of coach Saban was.
“I think it was probably my third practice. It was full pads and I didn't have my knee pads in and (Nick Saban) gave me a little chewing and I had to go back inside and change my change into the right pants.
So that's when I realized, he's not going to sugarcoat, he's going to be a hard coach on me. But that's the reason why I went to Alabama.”
Benson said that moment stuck with him.
“It was my first time ever really getting chewed out like that. So, like my heart dropped.
But then it's just like funny now because later on in the season, he would just make jokes. Getting to play with him and just getting to see how he moves and then having that relationship with him… If I ever need anything, he always extended out to me… It's just good to always know I got someone like that on my side.”
Even in just one season with Oregon, Benson left a mark. He helped the Ducks reach their second straight College Football Playoff in 2025, led the team in receiving with 719 yards on 43 catches, and became a fan favorite thanks to his outgoing personality and juggling ability.
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