…is anyone else miffed/annoyed that that vaunted Kal loser Sonny Dykes is coaching the NCG?

No logical reason but eats at me.

Football suffered a body blow this evening. We all hope Hamlin recovers. Some may wonder whether football has been injured, too. Millions watched the event.

Years ago, I suggested on the Bootleg that colleges and pros restrict players to less than 250 pounds. A salubrious result would be that high school players, whose chances of a career in football are zilch, as well as college and pro players, might lead lighter, healthier lives. The response was physics -- you got to love Stanford alums -- force = mass x velocity. Lighter players would be faster players.

What would you suggest?

I feel partial towards the PAC-12 establishing some credibility but it is always fun ti see the Trojans go down!

The PAC-12 is now 3-3 with Utah-Penn St still remaining. Oregon St over Florida and the Washington’s win over Texas were good wins for the conference.

The Tulane turnaround story is one we can hope to replicate!

Read that here.

Read that here. Adam Gorney gave out his grades for all the Pac-12 teams.

Read that here.

Read that here.

Gonna be an interesting game, win or lose.

Who starts?

Well, obviously Jones. And, now, it is also obvious that Lepolo plays. Lepolo had the most minutes of anyone against ASU. But interesting that Nivar played so much and Tara gave her a big shout out. Looks like we are in good shape when Jones leaves.

And, of course, Brink.

But then, who? Down arrows for Belibi and Prechtel. I see the last game as a down arrow for Iriafen as well. Will it be Kiki or Lauren? Dunno.

Pretty sure that Tara is a big Jump fan. And when she's hot, she's awesome. I just worry, as with Prechtel, if they have an off night they can easily shoot us out of the game with misses.

Alrighty, I'm finally getting the men's basketball recruiting notes up for December! The November thread is here.


@SamuelMcF posted this at the end of the November thread, but just to lead things off in here, Stanford offered a scholarship to 2025 point guard JJ Mandaquit out of Real Salt Lake Academy in Herriman, UT. He also balls for Utah Prospects, who tweeted out his offer on Friday.

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Published earlier this month was my breakdown of the 2023 signings of Kanaan Carlyle & Andrej Stojakovic. Check that out if you haven't already done so.


Just touching quickly on the 2024 class, one of the first big things to look for is what 5-star center Yves Missi out of Prolific Prep does. He's visited and Stanford is definitely in the mix. However, latest I heard, Stanford wasn't sure where things sit with him in terms of their chances. So, work still needs to be done to reel him in. He's also hoping to have a decision soon. If they could land him, especially if he were to reclassify, that would be massive. But as of now, hard to read Stanford's odds.

4-star shooting guards Gicarri Harris, Sir Mohammad, and Kon Knueppel are guys who visited in the fall, so they're key targets at the moment. I'll see if I can learn more about where things sit with them.

And then Harvard-Westlake point guard Trent Perry I feel they have really good odds with. He's visited, he seems to like the academics, and then they have also been on him for a while, one of the first if not the first high major offer he landed.

There's others they're on as well, but those are the ones standing out at the moment from the 2024 class. Check out the full offers list here.


For 2025, Mandaquit is the 5th offer they've put out. To refresh yourself on who the other four are, check that out here.

Or at least his mantra from yesteryear?


I admit to not "getting" virtual real estate companies and the like; regardless, it sounds like one messed up company. . .

Read that here.

Read that here.

Read that here.

In another thread I had occasion to draw on my research on the evolution of skill position usage under Shaw. Since I updated that research this morning and like having a place on the board I can reference via the search function, I'm sharing the data for anybody who's interested:

2011: 30 percent of snaps to TEs (Fleener, Toilolo, Ertz, Dudchock, Gottfried), 28 percent of snaps to WRs (Whalen, Montgomery, C. Owusu, Terrell, Patterson, Roberts), 22 percent of snaps to RBs (Taylor, Stewart, Gaffney, Wilkerson, Seale), 20 percent of snaps to FBs (Hewitt, Meinken, Ward) - 342 snaps per game total

2012: data not available

2013: data not available

2014: 43 percent of snaps to WRs (Cajuste, Montgomery, Rector, F. Owusu, Pratt, Trojan, Stallworth, Crane, Jordan, G. Krishnamurthi), 25 percent of snaps to TEs snaps (Hooper, Cotton, Taboada, Hopkins), 20 percent of snaps to RBs (Wright, Young, McCaffrey, Sanders, Seale), 11 percent of snaps to FBs snaps (Ward, Skov, Marx, Plantaric) - 324 snaps per game total

2015: 38 percent of snaps to WRs (Rector, Cajuste, F. Owusu, Stallworth, Irwin, Brandt-Sims, Jordan, Crane), 27 percent of snaps to TEs (Hooper, Schultz, Taboada), 25 percent of snaps to RBs (McCaffrey, Wright, Love, Sanders, McFadden), 10 percent of snaps to FBs (Marx, Harrell) - 316 snaps per game total

2016: 46 percent of snaps to WRs (Irwin, Rector, Arcega-Whiteside, F. Owusu, Thomas, Stewart, Tyler, Brandt-Sims, Foster), 23 percent of snaps to RBs (McCaffrey, Love, Scarlett, McFadden), 21 percent of snaps to TEs (Schultz, Taboada, Snyder), 10 percent of snaps to FBs (Marx, Williams, Harrell) - 313 snaps per game total

2017: 38 percent of snaps to WRs (Arcega-Whiteside, Irwin, Wedington, Stewart, Tyler, Brandt-Sims, Schwartz, S. Krishnamurthi), 34 percent of snaps to TEs (Schultz, Smith, Harrington, Parkinson), 20 percent of snaps to RBs (Love, Scarlett, Speights, Maddox), 9 percent of snaps to FBs (Marx, Williams, Snyder) [Note: PFF classified Parkinson as a WR but I reclassified for our purposes] - 301 snaps per game total

2018: 39 percent of snaps to WRs (Arcega-Whiteside, Irwin, Wilson, St. Brown, Wedington, Fehoko, Stewart, Schwartz, S. Krishnamurthi, Buzzell), 37 percent of snaps to TEs (Smith, Parkinson, Harrington, Fisk, McCombs), 21 percent of snaps to RBs (Love, Speights, Scarlett, Maddox, Woods, McFarlane), 3 percent of snaps to FBs (Williams, Heimuli, Snyder) - 324 snaps per game total

2019: 47 percent of snaps to WRs (Wilson, Wedington, Fehoko, St. Brown, Tremayne, Higgins, Stewart, Schwartz, Brandt-Sims), 30 percent of snaps to TEs (Parkinson, Fisk, Harrington, McCombs, Archer, Le), 20 percent of snaps to RBs (Scarlett, Jones, Maddox, Peat), 2 percent of snaps to FBs (Heimuli, Symonds) [Note: PFF classified Heimuli and Symonds as RBs but I reclassified for our purposes] - 342 snaps per game total

2020: 48 percent of snaps to WRs (Fehoko, Tremayne, Wilson, Higgins, Wedington, Humphreys, Farrell, St. Brown), 25 percent of snaps to TEs (Harrington, Fisk, Yurosek, Archer, McCombs), 21 percent of snaps to RBs (Jones, Peat, Woods, Smith, Filkins), 6 percent of snaps to FBs (Heimuli, Symonds) - 354 snaps per game total

2021: 46 percent of snaps to WRs (Higgins, Humphreys, Starr, Farrell, Tremayne, Wilson, Bowman, Raines), 27 percent of snaps to TEs (Yurosek, Archer, Fisk, Ungar), 22 percent of snaps to RBs (Jones, Peat, Smith, Filkins), 5 percent of snaps to FBs (Heimuli, Symonds, Taylor) - 296 snaps per game total

2022: 56 percent of snaps to WRs (Higgins, Tremayne, Humphreys, Wilson, Reuben, Starr, Bowman, Raines, Thompson, Farrell), 23 percent of snaps to TEs (Yurosek, Roush, Archer, Hawkins, Ungar), 19 percent of snaps to RBs (Filkins, Leigber, Robinson, Smith, Barrow, Harris), 3 percent of snaps to FBs (Taylor, Symonds, Lowe) - 353 snaps per game total

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In addition to the Stanford data, I'd like a point of comparison with Troy Taylor's teams at Sacramento State. Here's that data (no names as I assume they won't be meaningful to folks here):

2019 (only seven games of data so not full sample but maybe meaningful): 54 percent of snaps to WRs, 25 percent of snaps to RBs, 22 percent of snaps to TEs, 0 percent of snaps to FBs - 377 snaps per game total

2020: No season

2021: 51 percent of snaps to WRs, 26 percent of snaps to RBs, 23 percent of snaps to TEs, 0 percent of snaps to FBs - 378 snaps per game total

2022: 51 percent of snaps to WRs, 26 percent of snaps to RBs, 23 percent of snaps to TEs, 0 percent of snaps to FBs - 403 snaps per game total

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I'll likely return to this periodically and won't share too many observations now. I'll just say a) Stanford's offense evolved over time to be more WR-centric, b) Taylor's offenses are WR and RB-centric in a way Stanford has practically never seen (notwithstanding 2015 RB usage), c) Taylor's offenses have been quite consistent in their usage and thus probably do say something about his philosophy, and d) while Stanford offenses picked up the pace a bit starting in 2019 they have nothing on Taylor's tempo, which is blistering by comparison. Surveying this, I think we need to give a lot of thought to how the WR and RB rooms can give Taylor what he needs.

1. This game perfectly encapsulated the Haase Era: team plays hard, is scrappy, has moments of really good play . . . and loses.

2. For the love of God, Ben, please STOP opining that Stanford men's hoops team (or football team, for that matter) "should" win any game. You are the ultimate cooler on that front. Plus, you have no institutional history/understanding of what has been going on in the program(s) for the last several years, and thus, very little credibility when you make those ill-founded statements. It may sound harsh, but really, this paid subscriber is tired of your impeccable Cooler Effect.

3. Can someone explain to me why Michael Jones played as much as he did in the 2H? What game was Haase watching?

4. This L will be incredibly tough to come back from, especially for those who played many minutes and are thus drained physically and emotionally. My inclination would be more minutes for players who did not get a ton of run tonight (specifically my boys Murrell and Agarwal).

5. I'm frustrated (can only imagine players' and staff's frustration level). But on the bright side, the emotional detachment perfected under the Shaw regime is making it much easier from a fan standpoint to shrug shoulders over the hoops "just good enough to lose" play.

Cal did beat Colorado 80-76 at Haas yesterday afternoon.
Newson got off.
Just sayin'

Nobody in Stanford's QB room will start for the Cardinal in '23 if the staff has anything to say about it. Led by Mike Eubanks and Tavita Pritchard, the Cardinal is now at least 0-2 on its attempts to lure a transfer QB from the portal. Both Drew Pyne (ASU) and Luke Altmyer (Illinois) went in a preferred direction after getting the "hard sell" from Eubanks and Pritchard.

Please DM me if have tix. Thanks

Alrighty, the football recruiting notes thread for December is here! I'm taking a bit of a different approach with this thread since Stanford has not yet named a new head coach with David Shaw stepping down. We're sort of in a weird recruiting limbo right now, though coaches are still going in to see commits, Lance Anderson is offering scholarships, etc. Make sure to check out the November recruiting notes thread in case you missed any of that recent action. @SamuelMcF posted a bunch of info in that fourth page on visits that happened earlier this week. Also an offer that was put out.


At this point, the big focus is on getting a new head coach and then having that head coach keep the 2023 commits in the fold and then also keep other guys from transferring and hopefully pulling some guys back in from the portal while also adding a few as well. That's really the goal and that process can't start until a new head coach has been named.

On that, Stanford has lost one commit during this transition period in 2023 4-star tight end Walker Lyons, though he remains open to recommitting pending who the new head coach is. I'll be honest, I'd be surprised if Lyons re-committed. He already seemed to have one foot out the door anyways. I think he was honestly looking for a reason to leave and Shaw stepping down made that decision easy for him. 2023 4-star defensive end Hunter Clegg is hard to read right now. He took an official visit to UCLA last weekend, but then also tweeted enthusiasm when a teammate of his got a Stanford offer (Davis Andrews, mentioned in the November thread). I could see Clegg going either way, but I think given he said he's staying committed for now tells me I think he's much more likely to stick than it is that Lyons re-commits. It helps that he has a closer relationship with Lance Anderson being a defensive guy. But, it's possible Clegg goes elsewhere. We're just gonna have to wait and see how that all unfolds once a new coach is hired.

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Stanford also added a 2023 commit in wide receiver Jackson Harris, who now has 3-stars after committing. Funny how that often happens. The fact that he committed despite not knowing who the head coach will be obviously is a strong sign that he's just all in on the school, which is great. And the same goes for 3-star defensive back Jamir Benjamin, the first commit for Stanford in the 2024 class. He's all in on the school as well and is excited to help recruit others to The Farm. So, there has been some positive recruiting developments during this time as well. Benjamin committing the week of the BYU game but strongly affirming after Shaw stepped down that he's still all in.

Finally, signing day is December 15th. I'm sure that's why Muir is telling the team he wants a hire done by the end of the week. He really doesn't want to have signing day come without a head coach in place. That would just be really weird. So, that's where things sit at the moment in a nut shell. In case you need a refresher on who is coming on board in the 2023 class, click here. Stanford has 14 commits at the moment and the 36th ranked class in Rivals. And then if you need a refresher on who has transferred out, all the information is being kept up to date in the transfer portal thread that was set up by @boomboom2000. Check that out here.

Read that here.

Read that here.

Just wanted to say Happy New Year to all and your families. Be safe out there, it's amateur night on the roads tonight so be careful, remember we all want you younguns to reach retirement age 😜.

Looking forward to 2023, I'm thinking it'll be a better year for Stanford football and basketball.

Happy New Year🍾🥂🥂🍾🍾🎉🎉

1) surprised stanford didn't roll the dice and commit to double team kj simpson.

2) lineup on the floor down 70-71 was MOC... two jones... keefe and angel. wow.

I went to the men’s basketball game vs Colorado which, evidently, qualifies me for an athletic department survey. Among the questions is - what other sports interest you? Of course, men’s basketball is an option.

Does anyone pay attention in the AD?

their schedule results better than ours thus far:

Oscar's brother now one of their top players