Connection’ evident as Oregon Ducks players gather at Hayward Field

When Dan Lanning came to the Oregon Ducks in the winter of 2021, he established four pillars of the program that the team's philosophy would be built from.

Connection. Growth. Toughness. Sacrifice.

If you follow the Ducks, then you've undoubtedly heard these words preached endlessly over the years, and in looking at the team's success, you've seen them each display themselves in different ways, typically on the field. This past weekend, though, one of Lanning's biggest pillars, connection, showed itself off the field for his players.

On Friday afternoon, Oregon star wide receiver Dakorien Moore lined up at Hayward Field, taking part in the long jump for the first time since his junior year in high school as part of the Oregon Team Invitational. He made it to the finals and finished sixth in the event — not bad for someone who hasn't competed in three years and has a different primary sport.

While the result was impressive, what was more notable to Lanning and fans in attendance was the large contingent of Oregon football players in the stands cheering their brother on.

"It's just the connection is something we talk about," Lanning said on Saturday.

Almost two-dozen of Moore's teammates were in the stands, from Dante Moore and Dierre Hill to Ify Obidegwu and Jeremiah McClellan. While they were there to root on their teammate, tight end Jamari Johnson says that it was just as important to show love to the rest of the Oregon student athletes as well. In general, Johnson found himself moved by the occurence.

“Yesterday touched my heart, man, just all of us going out there," Johnson said on Saturday. "And it wasn't even just for ‘Kori. It was really for Oregon, you know. But it was just more for ‘Kori, because we see him every day, you know. So that really touched my heart, and the connection is just unbelievable. I don't think many other teams are doing that for their teammates."

While Lanning has said throughout his time at Oregon that he encourages two-sport athletes — Bryce Boettcher starred on the baseball diamond, while several other players have competed in track events as well — it does take some effort to make sure that the player in question is staying up on his football workload, and not over-straining. This is something that they've been very conscious of over the past couple of weeks, with Dakorien preparing for the long jump.

"We've modified a little bit of his load work," Lanning said on Saturday. "We were really close with the track staff on what we want this to look like for him to be able to compete at a high level and still get the work that he has to get in from a football standpoint for us."