The Georgia defensive coordinator could bring a skill set that Castiglione is betting will complement an Oklahoma team that has long been loaded with offensive talent. The 2022 Georgia recruiting class is rated as one of the top five in the country, and Lanning is personally responsible for earning the commitments of five defensive prospects rated in the top 100 in the country, according to 247Sports. Lanning also built a reputation at Georgia as one of the most effective recruiters in the country. Lanning served as linebacker coach at Alabama for two more seasons, 20, before coming to Georgia in 2018. He spent a year at Sam Houston State as defensive backs coach in 2014 before moving to Alabama as a graduate assistant in 2015. Graham, who originally hails from the Kansas City, Mo., area, spent one season as a graduate assistant in 2011 under head coach Todd Graham at Pittsburgh and followed Graham to Arizona State for the next two seasons.
Like Riley before him as an offensive wunderkind, Lanning, 35, is touted as one of the brightest young defensive minds in college football today. Lanning comes from the SEC, which would be a beneficial factor as Oklahoma transitions to the SEC. The possible hiring of Lanning follows the mold that Castiglione has followed in the hiring of Bob Stoops in 1999 and Lincoln Riley, both assistant coaches (Stoops as a defensive coordinator and Riley as an offensive coordinator) before landing the head coach’s job for the Sooners. Before losing to Alabama in the SEC championship game on Saturday, the Georgia defense led all FBS teams, allowing just 6.92 points a game and 230.8 yards per game in total defense.
Lanning led the country’s best defense this season at Georgia.