Stanford 2014 Spring Football Wrap Up

Strengths & question marks coming out of spring

Defense is still clearly Stanford’s strong suit. Despite losing Trent Murphy, Ben Gardner, and Josh Mauro, this team is still sturdy up front. They can rush the quarterback, and their defensive line plays with great hunger thanks to Henry Anderson, David Parry, and Blake Lueders.

Offensively, the team must replace four of five starting offensive linemen. Though there’s some touted talent waiting in the wings, the experience level up front inevitably creates question marks. If the Cardinal hogs can gel, they have a deep, veteran receiving corps that can complement the rushing attack and form a truly dangerous offense.

Name a few breakout players to keep an eye on in 2014

Barry Sanders (yes, the Hall of Famer’s son) showed that he may be ready to splash onto the scene with a team-leading performance at last Saturday’s spring game. Don’t sleep on Kelsey Young and Ricky Seale at running back, either.

Defensively, Kevin Anderson has some freaky physical skills that make him the leading candidate to replace Trent Murphy at outside linebacker. There will be at least one new body in the secondary since Ed Reynolds declared for the NFL Draft. The early leader at free safety is fifth year senior Kyle Olugbode, who has a chance to really surprise people.

Grade each position group 

QB Grade: C  Since the quarterback isn’t live during spring ball, it was impossible to get a firm gauge on Kevin Hogan’s performance. The guy is an absolute gamer, so it’s almost as if he needs to be involved in contact so that he’s in his own comfortable game flow. The Stanford defense was also considerably ahead of the offense as far as playbook installation goes (typical for spring ball), so the Cardinal’s attack did not impress. At the end of the day, though, David Shaw is confident that Hogan will deliver enough for the offense to produce, so there’s not tremendous worry here.

RB Grade: B-  Sanders, Young, Seale, and Remound Wright are all duking it out to replace Tyler Gaffney. Stanford may resort to the committee approach this season, but all of the backs must continue to improve in pass protection.

WR/TE: A  Shaw has said that he thinks Stanford has the deepest receiving corps in the nation, and he may be right. Ty Montgomery, Devon Cajuste, and Michael Rector are all studs. Plus, the Cardinal should be able to reintroduce the tight end position in 2014: Eric Cotton, Austin Hooper, and Dalton Schultz are all promising names.

OL: TBD  It’s way too early to grade this rebuilt unit. If center Graham Shuler and right guard Johnny Caspers both blossom, Stanford will be excellent again up front.

DL: A  Lueders, Parry, and Anderson all had excellent springs, and Parry is finally fully healthy again. Quality of depth here is on the rise: Luke Kaumatule, Aziz Shittu, and Jordan Watkins have all shown significant improvement.

LB: A-  Kevin Anderson is a budding star, while Stanford must find a way to replace Shayne Skov on the inside. Blake Martinez and Joe Hemschoot are the leading candidates. Don’t forget A.J. Tarpley: He’s a stud.

Secondary: TBD  It’s also too early to grade this position since several players will battle to fill Ed Reynolds’ former free safety spot well into August. Wayne Lyons, though, looks very improved at cornerback (he’ll take over for Usua Amanam at nickel, too) while star Alex Carter should be back in time for the season after missing spring ball.

Special Teams: A  Jordan Williamson kicked well in spring, while fellow fifth year senior Ben Rhyne punted the ball effectively. Montgomery should return kicks again come the regular season, while Sanders is favored to run back punts.

What can we expect from Stanford in 2014?

The defense will likely take a small step back. The key word there is likely, because the Stanford defense has defied expectations the past two years. If that happens, the Cardinal will have to rely on a more consistent offensive attack to pick up the slack.

I do think they’ll find more offensive consistency because of their new tight ends, who should be able to shore up serious shortcomings in the intermediate passing game. Much will depend on the development of the offensive line, but coach Mike Bloomgren’s track record up front is excellent, so there is every reason to believe Stanford will be in good position to win behind a stronger offense in 2014.

The schedule, though, is brutal. The Cardinal may well be very good again, but there are plenty of treacherous road obstacles awaiting them. A 9-3 final record seems like a reasonable prediction.

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David Lombardi, the Stanford Football Insider for The Bootleg provided the information for our Stanford 2014 Spring Wrap Up. For more Stanford football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow David on Twitter @DavidMLombardi. 

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