Stanford Football 2013 – Are the Cardinal SEC worthy?

Spring summary – best OL in the country

Stanford’s team identity over the past several years has always been tied to the offensive line. Even though the line was effective last season, it was far from stable, so I think the coaches went into this spring wanting to solidify that unit. Mission accomplished.

The key has been sophomore Andrus Peat, a kid whose talent and physical size match the wave of hype he rode in from high school. He’s currently listed at 6’7″ and 310 pounds, and he’s been given the left tackle position. Expect him to dominate that spot for the next two seasons before being selected near the top of the 2015 NFL draft.

All-America senior David Yankey jumped back and forth between left tackle and left guard, sometimes in the same series, but he was still talented enough to win the Pac-12’s Morris Trophy, an award given to the conference’s top offensive lineman as voted on by the league’s defensive linemen.

With Peat’s emergence, Yankey will be able to focus on his natural left guard position, and the running game will benefit tremendously.

There’s still a three-man battle at the center spot, but I’m hoping that Kevin Danser will win the job, because that will allow sophomore Josh Garnett (along with Peat, another member of Stanford’s historic 2012 signing class) to claim the right guard position.

Returning at right tackle will be All-Pac-12 senior Cameron Fleming.

Here’s what that line would look like from tackle to tackle: 6’7″ 310, 6’5″ 311, 6’6″ 290, 6’5″ 317, 6’6″ 318. When you add athleticism and intelligence to all that size, you get the best offensive line in America.

Potential breakout players 

Just like last year, the defense will be the strength of this team, but I don’t necessarily expect any surprises on that side of the ball. We kind of already know who the stars are going to be on that unit.

On offense, though, I think there will be a running back who will break out. The Stanford offense under David Shaw (and Jim Harbaugh before him) has always been run oriented, even when Andrew Luck was in the huddle. This won’t change in 2013, especially given the strength of the offensive line and the expected development of quarterback Kevin Hogan.

With the departure of Stepfan Taylor, the school’s all-time leading rusher, there’s a void to fill, and I have no doubt that someone will rise to the occasion. The flashy pick would be Barry J. Sanders, a redshirt freshman whose game matches his famous name, but I think there are still too many backs ahead of him on the depth chart.

Sanders will get some carries, but I expect senior Anthony Wilkerson to develop into the lead back. He was a highly recruited tailback coming out of high school, but he spent his first three years at Stanford backing up Taylor and fighting for leftover carries.

Wilkerson is a big, bruising runner, which fits perfectly with Stanford’s tackle-to-tackle zone running scheme, so I expect him to do well this season. The Cardinal offense has featured a thousand-yard runner in each of the last five years, and I don’t see any reason for that streak to end. It’ll be Wilkerson this year.

Positional grades 

Quarterback: B

Kevin Hogan energized the offense last year in less than half a season. I can’t wait to see what he does over a full fourteen-game schedule.

Running backs: B

Even without Taylor, there’s still lots of depth here. Even if Wilkerson doesn’t establish himself as the primary option, this group is deep enough that even a rotation system will be highly productive.

Wide Receivers: C

The good news, though, is that there’s lots of potential. Junior Ty Montgomery seems ready to have a breakout season, and sophomore Michael Rector has the speed to stretch defenses. This position was a glaring weakness last season, so there’s really no where for it to go but up.

Tight Ends: Incomplete

Sophomore Luke Kaumatule was signed as defensive end, but his size (6’7″ 260) and athleticism led the coaches to switch him to the other side of the ball. He and senior David Dudchock will both get time at tight end, but both are essentially unknown quantities.

Offensive line: A+

See above.

Defensive line: A

People know about Ben Gardner, but this could be the year that five-star recruit sophomore Aziz Shittu has an impact. Also, sophomore Ikenna Nwafor could develop into a pass-rushing threat at defensive end.

Linebackers: A+

Stanford currently lists nine linebackers on their post-spring depth chart, and all nine of them are good enough to start at most schools in the country, even those in the SEC. Senior inside linebacker Shayne Skov is the emotional leader of the team, and he’s hugely talented as well. He’ll be completely healthy for the first time since early 2012, and he’ll spend this season punishing offenses up and down the conference.

Defensive backs: A

Sophomore cornerback Alex Carter is a physical defender who could develop into a lockdown corner this year. Junior Wayne Lyons occupies the opposite corner, and Coach Shaw has been raving about him since Signing Day 2011. This could be the year he breaks out. The safety spots are manned by junior Jordan Richards and senior Ed Reynolds, whose 301 interception return yards came up six inches short of the NCAA single-season record.

Will a National Championship be a surprise?

It looks like people around the nation — fans, coaches, media — have finally accepted that Stanford has become an elite football program. Ever since this run of success began, there have been doubters predicting a return to mediocrity.

First, they wouldn’t be able to win after Toby Gerhart left, then they’d fade away after Harbaugh moved on, and finally, they’d surely regress without Andrew Luck.

None of that happened. In fact, the team has actually improved. So it’s interesting that even though the team has to replace three players lost to last week’s NFL draft (Zach Ertz, Levine Toilolo, and Taylor), most early rankings have Stanford slotted somewhere in the top five.

But here’s the surprise — this team could actually make a run at a national championship. The defense will likely be just as good or better than it was last year, and the offensive line should develop into one of the best units in the country.

The true x-factor, though, is Kevin Hogan. He completely changed the direction of last season when he was inserted into the lineup in early November and rattled off four straight wins over ranked opponents. With a full off-season of work, he should be even better.

If the offense can be above average — and I think they can definitely be that — this team has the horses to win the Pac-12 North, defeat UCLA again in the conference championship game**, and beat an SEC team in Pasadena on January 7th.

** Pezgordo note: I’m pretty sure Hank meant to say “Arizona State” … LOL!

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Hank Waddles of Go Mighty Card provided the information for our Stanford Football 2013 Spring Wrap Up. For moreCardinal  football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Hank on Twitter @GoMightyCard.

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