As Oregon gets ready for its 2026 season opener against Boise State, Dan Lanning is carrying something far heavier than football on his mind.
The Ducks coach said Wednesday that he’s thinking about his alma mater, William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, after the program lost running back MicahJo Barnett last week. Barnett scored a touchdown on Saturday, then collapsed on the sideline moments later.
Emergency personnel tried to resuscitate him, but he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. He was 20.
Lanning played linebacker at William Jewell in the 2000s, and the news hit him hard.
“You put things in perspective that there’s a lot of things bigger than football,” Lanning said Wednesday. “I’m sure he was on the field doing the thing that he loved, but you never know when that last moment is gonna be. So, really feel for the Jewell community and feel for his family.”
The tragedy also connects to a painful thread in Lanning’s own program history. Oregon tight end Spencer Webb died in 2022 after a tragic accident near Triangle Lake, and former Ducks cornerback Khyree Jackson died in a car crash in Maryland in 2024.
Because of those losses, Lanning starts every team meeting by chanting “four, five” with claps in between, a tribute to the former players’ numbers.
“Sad moment that I hope nobody has to experience, but obviously it’s happened now,” Lanning said. “So, just praying for that group, and that they have strength in this moment, and they can fulfill and live their lives out in Micah’s honor.”
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