College football is certainly much more than meets the eye. It’s not just two teams pushing each other’s buttons on the field to land a victory, it’s not just coaches having microscopic analysis over the other team’s minute sloppy sides. Believe us when we say It’s much more. The emotion, the sentiment behind the hustle, the perpetual team spirit, and the deep-seated brotherhood within a team and beyond ultimately add flavor to the mundane scoreboard. Oregon vs Michigan is underway from Ann Arbor tonight, propelling the Ducks for another long trek before the game kicks off. Remember the old but gold hiking tradition since the last two years in memory of Spencer Webb, the departed Tight End? Well, Dan Lanning made sure we don’t forget.

The team pulled off another iconic tribute to the lost assets, Spencers Webb and Khyree Jackson, before they suited up for the high-stake Michigan clash. The program is still clearly grieving the loss of their boys. ‘‘You can’t get up here without thinking about our fallen brothers Spencer and Kyree,” said Dan Lanning on their way to the quintessential hike.

The Coach never takes the season or the players for granted and he wants the same energy flowing through the entire team’s veins. ”When you’re on top of that, we spend time thinking about the people that aren’t here with us anymore. As we walk down this view, and you start to walk down it, I want you to think about the people you’re going to impact,’‘ the philosopher within Lanning shines in.

Spencer Webb suffered a tragic death back in 2022 while visiting Western Oregon’s Triangle Lake. The entire college football world came down to an unexplainable numb.

Since then, the hike tribute has been an annual ritual for the Ducks, but this time, they add another fallen star, Khyree Jackson, to the memories. Jackson, the former Oregon Defensive back, lost his life earlier this year due to a car crash.

Coach Lanning says the players are a family in the camp, and you see, the Viking knows how to live up to his word. The tribute streak dives deeper than the trek, nonetheless.

Oregon Ducks continues celebrating their lost talents in several ways

The two losses within two years were unsurprisingly too much to bear for the Ducks, and they keep finding ways to immortalize the talent through various gestures. A decal in recognition of Khyree Jackson and tight end Spencer Webb adorns helmets during the Ducks’ fall camp on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. The decal has No. 4 engraved on it.

Webb was a redshirt junior for the Oregon Ducks when he signed off from the team as well as from life. The phenom had a season-ending injury in 2020 and had a solid comeback next season, giving the hope for a paramount future in 2022. But destiny has some other plans. He finished his tenure with the Ducks with four touchdowns, 31 catches, and 296 yards.

As far as Jackson’s loss is concerned, Lanning said, ”Losing a player that meant so much to us, finished his career here at Oregon. Losing Khyree in a car accident this summer hurt. That was one of those things you wake up as a coach and you hope to never see, and I’m feeling for him and his family.”

Breathtaking to watch such deep empathy from a professional sphere! That’s football for you, that’s Lanning for you!