Blogging with the Enemy: Stanford

Here are Hank’s answers to your questions.

Q: I feel like we ask this every year, but is Shaw is starting to get a little bit on the hot seat at Stanford?

A: Things are different at Stanford, so this is really a two-part question. First, fans are definitely upset. I still support Coach Shaw, but this mainly because I value past performance. Stanford won only three games last season, but even if they were to go 3-9 for each of the next five years, the Rose Bowls would still outweigh that in my mind. I was able to go the Rose Bowl and watch my team three times in four years, and I have Shaw to thank for that. Additionally, I like that he is the face of the program. That being said, that opinion puts me in a rapidly dwindling minority. Most fans aren’t just tired of Shaw, and they’re past the point of being concerned. They want him fired, and they want him fired today. I’m not blind. There are clear problems, and I wish Shaw would bring in new coordinators on both sides of the ball, specifically an offensive coordinator who would be more than just a figurehead, as Tavita Pritchard appears to be. This team is stagnant in its thinking, its scheme, its game planning, and its play calling.

But even considering all of that, I don’t think Shaw’s on the hot seat. If Stanford were to right the ship, win eight straight games by an average of 25 points, win the Pac-12 Championship game, and then beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, I would be less surprised than I would be if Shaw were fired during the off-season.Athletic director Bernard Muir has a track record of patience (look at the ineptitude of the men’s basketball team in recent years. Jarrod Haase deserves firing more than Shaw, in my opinion, but Shaw needn’t worry. If I do have a concern regarding Shaw it’s that he might leave on his own accord. He’s clearly aware of the changing landscape of college football, and he voiced some concerns in the aftermath of the loss to USC, a team with a brand new staff and more than 25 incoming transfer students. Essentially said, (paraphrasing) “They’re gonna do what they do, but we’re gonna keep doing what we do — recruit players and develop them. So Shaw could get frustrated and leave, but he’ll never be fired.

Q: Which CB/DB is your best defender/ball hawk to where the QB’s should not throw in the vicinity when passing to our WR’s?

A: Kyu Blu Kelly is the best cornerback, and one of the best in the conference, but picked up an undisclosed injury during last week’s game, and he won’t be playing this week. That’s definitely an area of concern.

Q: Is the fullback no longer being used?

A: There was a small change in the Stanford offense, and the fullback is no longer as significant, although there are still fullbacks on the roster. Stanford has included a slow mesh read-option game inspired by Wake Forest. In a nutshell, it looks like a standard RPO, where the quarterback puts the ball in his running back’s arms but sometimes pulls it back and keeps it. In the slow mesh the quarterback and running back stay connected for longer, as the quarterback waits to see if the linebackers are going to come up for run support or drop into coverage. The idea is that the quarterback forces the linebackers to make a decision, and then he takes what they give him. The scheme worked beautifully against USC, but we haven’t seen it as much in subsequent games against Washington and Oregon. Who knows what will happen on Saturday.

Q: Does Stanford have any big TE targets like they have in the past?

A: Ben Yurosek is the next great Stanford tight end. He’s big and fast, though not quite as fast as Coby Fleener. He’s got great hands, but he’s athletic enough that he can find his way into the gameplay in surprising ways. Earlier this year they gave him the ball on a reverse, and he rambled for fifty yards. But Tanner McKee has a lot of targets this year, so Yurosek hasn’t been the focus.

Q: Stanford has continued to recruit well in recent years, but seems to be way underperforming the talent they’re bringing in. Is there a certain unit that has underwhelmed, or have the issues been across the board?

A: They’ve had trouble in the two most important areas, in my opinion — offensive and defensive lines. There has been some underachieving, particularly on the offensive line, but there have also been injury issues over the past five years, a long enough stretch that some are wondering if it’s a strength and conditioning problem. We’re only four games into the season, and already it’s a shambles. Branson Bragg, the projected starting right guard, missed the opener with an undisclosed injury, then announced his retirement from football a few days later, citing concussions as well as other mental health issues. Left tackle Walter Rouse and right tackle Myles Hinton have both missed time, and for a long stretch of the USC game both tackles were out. During Shaw’s weekly presser yesterday he listed Hinton and lineman Barrett Miller as questionable. There have been no updates on that but in Shawspeak, “questionable” almost always means “out.”

As for the defensive line, you’ll see the problem immediately. They’re woefully small. They’ve tried to make up for that deficiency by switching from the 3-4 scheme Stanford has run for years and employing a 4-3, and there have been times when they’ve tried to take advantage of athleticism (since there is no brute strength) by playing only down lineman alongside three standing rushers. The most talented player on the defensive line is true freshman David Bailey. He’s a future star, but unless we’re talking about Jadaveon Clowney, you don’t want a true freshman to be your best lineman.

Q: Stanford has played possibly the toughest schedule in the country so far. Are they better than their record indicates?

A: That’s also part of the problem. Yes, Stanford has multiple issues as detailed above, but I also believe that the Pac-12 is rising. USC, Washington, and Oregon could up being three of the four best teams in the conference along with Utah. (I know that UCLA beat Washington, but I’m not sure I believe in the Bruins just yet; it will like me a while to forget that they needed a late field goal to beat South Alabama.) Stanford has been improving over the past three games, but a three game stretch in which you host USC and then travel to Seattle and Eugene in consecutive weeks would be difficult for anyone in the conference.

Q: How has the transfer portal, and NIL, affected Stanford?

A: The transfer portal has affected Stanford solely because they can’t take advantage of it. For most schools it’s a revolving door, but at Stanford it’s a one-way exit. They have exactly one transfer player this year, safety Patrick Fields, but even he didn’t come in a conventional way. He finished his career at Oklahoma, then applied to a Stanford graduate program on his own merit, the same way any graduating senior would. The Stanford coaching staff had no idea about this until Fields was accepted and then called Shaw to let him know he’d be on campus as a student and was interested in playing. Meanwhile, Stanford’s last three opponents welcomed arguably the three best quarterbacks in the conference along with several other incoming transfers (two dozen in the case of USC). The college football landscape has changed dramatically in just the last two years, and more and more people are beginning to wonder if Stanford can compete.

As for NIL, you’d think there would be some wealthy Stanford donors willing to drop some money to help entice recruits, but that hasn’t happened. I’m not sure why, but it could be that the University doesn’t want to be seen as buying players. There are already those who question the high percentage of athletes in each Stanford admissions class, and high profile NIL deals would only exacerbate that issue. But this is purely speculation on my part.

Q: What should be made of Michael Wilson only getting one reception vs Oregon? How often is he being used as a decoy?

A: Michael Wilson is the Cardinal’s top receiver, and he had a huge game the week before against Washington, but for some reason the Stanford offense has never been able to highlight on particular receiver. He wasn’t used as a decoy last week, he just wasn’t used. Part of the problem was that McKee rarely had much time to throw. As I alluded to above, the wide receiver unit is the deepest and most talented group on the team, with Elijah Higgins and Brycen Tremayne also getting a fair amount of targets. Even if the offense were humming along smoothly without any issues, there would still games where one guy or another would be left out in the cold.