Some notes/thoughts from this morning's practice. 100-200 or so fans were in attendance on a gorgeous, sunny March morning.
Like always, feel free to chime in/start another thread if you attended.
In contrast to many of Stanford's open practices over the past few years, Stanford's offense had the clear upper hand in this morning's scrimmage. The offense scored touchdowns on four of its first five drives, and save for a few turnovers, got the better of the defense.
Whether that's a sign of things to come for the offense or more an indication of injuries/the defense's depth issues remains to be seen (or perhaps some of the both), but certainly an efficient practice for the offensive side.
First, the following players were held out of the practice due to injury:
Nick Davidson (on crutches; return for second session is uncertain)
Daniel Marx (undisclosed)
Greg Taboada (illness)
Ronnie Harris (unspecified)
Patrick Skov (knee)
Jesse Burkett (illness)
Sam Yules (undisclosed)
Aziz Shittu (knee)
Solomon Thomas (toe)
Kevin Anderson (hand)
Brendon Austin (undisclosed)
Dallas Lloyd (was dressed but didn't participate in the scrimmage)
As a result of the absences and the already limited numbers at some positions, there wasn't necessarily a clear cut first-team defense. Guys rotated through pretty frequently, different personnel groups played with different personnel groups. As Lance Anderson mentioned in our interview from earlier this week, Stanford really is rolling through a number of options at the inside LB spot opposite Blake Martinez (Jordan Perez got the start today, Okereke did last weekend), and the secondary, so no need to analyze that stuff too closely. .
Here's the offensive depth from today:
First-team: Murphy (LT), Garnett (LG), Shuler (C), Bright (RG), Tucker (RT)
Second-team: Murphy (LT), Hall (LG), Caspers (C), Fanaika (RG), Tucker (RT)
(Interestingly, Josh Garnett worked at left tackle for a few series - that's not indicative of any long-term plans, but was done out of necessity. Though he seemed to hold his own. Lucas Hinds rotated in at left tackle for a few series at the end of the practice.)
Barry Sanders and Christian McCaffrey each got a ton of reps with the first team. Pat McFadden got a few at the end with the reserves.
With no Daniel Marx or Patrick Skov, Chris Harrell got more playing time than he has in previous scrimmages.
All three tight ends worked with the first team, and a number of receivers rotated through with the first and second team offenses.
Kevin Hogan got the most series at quarterback, then Ryan Burns, then Keller Chryst.
-I thought Francis Owusu, Barry Sanders, Ryan Burns, Kevin Hogan, Dalton Schultz and Dontonio Jordan were among the offensive standouts. Terrence Alexander (interception, pass breakup) and Blake Martinez (pick six) were among the defenders were impressed.
-This was easily the best I've seen Burns. He did throw a bad pick (he was looking for Francis Owusu over the middle but either underthrew the pass or just didn't see Terrence Alexander), but he generally threw the ball with zip and was accurate. Since QB's are off limits to would-be tacklers it's always a little bit hard to gauge pocket presence in these situations - i.e., was he holding on to the ball too long, or was he doing a good job of being patient and surveying his options - but Burns looked comfortable.
Some of his highlights included a a pair of first down completions to Francis Owusu and a TD on a fade to Owusu, who recorded the highlight of the scrimmage with a leaping one-handed touchdown grab on a fade route.
-Francis Owusu was terrific. I don't have the stats in front of me (will update the post if/when Stanford releases official stats from the scrimmage), but he must have caught 4/5 passes for maybe 80 yards. Made several trick passes, gained yards after the catch, and was generally the big, physical, athletic receiver Stanford hopes will be.
-In the department of now knowing how much weight to place into today's scrimmage given the defense's issues: Dontonio Jordan actually had a pretty productive day. He was among the team's leading receivers, made a few guys miss, made a nice one-handed catch on a crossing route over the middle (which he proceeded to fumble, but the catch was nice.) In any event, he's clearly behind a number of other wide receivers, and it would probably be a bit of a surprise if he contributes much this year, but he had a nice day.
-With the same caveat that the defense was nowhere close to full strength, Barry Sanders broke more tackles/was more productive and appeared more decisive than he's been in the past. Again, hard to know how much weight to place in individual offensive performances from today, however.
The Stanford touchdowns:
-Michael Rector from Hogan (beat Terrence Alexander).
-Dalton Schultz from Hogan (I believe a slant; not sure which DB was in coverage)
-Owusu on a fade from Burns (believe Terrence Alexander was in coverage, but not totall
-Devon Cajuste on a 10 yard catch + 50 or so yard run from Hogan. A missed tackle in the back end and none of the defensive backs in pursuit could catch him
-Rollins Stallworth on a fade from Chryst. Alijah Holder in coverage.
-Blake Martinez pick six off Hogan. Pass intended for Michael Rector on a crossing route.
-Austin Hooper from Hogan. Bust in coverage - Hooper was wide open.
-Conrad Ukropina was 6-8 on field goals. He missed from 38 yards(ish) and 47. Connected from 42, 25 on the left has, was 1/2 from (I believe 38), and 3/3 from shorter distance. (Not exactly sure, but perhaps in the 30 to 35 yard range.) Like I mentioned last week, Conrad looks like he has a bit more pop on his kicks this spring than he did last fall. Will be an interesting competition with Charlie Beall and Jake Bailey.
##########
-A number of former Stanford players were on hand for the practice: Jordan Richards, Austin Tubbs, Gautum Krishnamurthi, David Yankey, Conor McFadden, Chris Owusu, Jeff Trojan, Cameron Fleming.
-I don't believe there were any big-name recruits in attendance (local OL Matthew Gutwald told me a week or so ago he was planning to attend) but between 6-8 members of the Santa Margarita High School (K.J. Costello, Dylan Crawford, Austin Maihen), were on hand observing. It's fairly common for high school staffs to visit with colleges to absorb knowledge, but it can't hurt the long-term relationship between the Cardinal and Santa Margarita.
This post was edited on 3/7 12:55 PM by Andy Drukarev
Like always, feel free to chime in/start another thread if you attended.
In contrast to many of Stanford's open practices over the past few years, Stanford's offense had the clear upper hand in this morning's scrimmage. The offense scored touchdowns on four of its first five drives, and save for a few turnovers, got the better of the defense.
Whether that's a sign of things to come for the offense or more an indication of injuries/the defense's depth issues remains to be seen (or perhaps some of the both), but certainly an efficient practice for the offensive side.
First, the following players were held out of the practice due to injury:
Nick Davidson (on crutches; return for second session is uncertain)
Daniel Marx (undisclosed)
Greg Taboada (illness)
Ronnie Harris (unspecified)
Patrick Skov (knee)
Jesse Burkett (illness)
Sam Yules (undisclosed)
Aziz Shittu (knee)
Solomon Thomas (toe)
Kevin Anderson (hand)
Brendon Austin (undisclosed)
Dallas Lloyd (was dressed but didn't participate in the scrimmage)
As a result of the absences and the already limited numbers at some positions, there wasn't necessarily a clear cut first-team defense. Guys rotated through pretty frequently, different personnel groups played with different personnel groups. As Lance Anderson mentioned in our interview from earlier this week, Stanford really is rolling through a number of options at the inside LB spot opposite Blake Martinez (Jordan Perez got the start today, Okereke did last weekend), and the secondary, so no need to analyze that stuff too closely. .
Here's the offensive depth from today:
First-team: Murphy (LT), Garnett (LG), Shuler (C), Bright (RG), Tucker (RT)
Second-team: Murphy (LT), Hall (LG), Caspers (C), Fanaika (RG), Tucker (RT)
(Interestingly, Josh Garnett worked at left tackle for a few series - that's not indicative of any long-term plans, but was done out of necessity. Though he seemed to hold his own. Lucas Hinds rotated in at left tackle for a few series at the end of the practice.)
Barry Sanders and Christian McCaffrey each got a ton of reps with the first team. Pat McFadden got a few at the end with the reserves.
With no Daniel Marx or Patrick Skov, Chris Harrell got more playing time than he has in previous scrimmages.
All three tight ends worked with the first team, and a number of receivers rotated through with the first and second team offenses.
Kevin Hogan got the most series at quarterback, then Ryan Burns, then Keller Chryst.
-I thought Francis Owusu, Barry Sanders, Ryan Burns, Kevin Hogan, Dalton Schultz and Dontonio Jordan were among the offensive standouts. Terrence Alexander (interception, pass breakup) and Blake Martinez (pick six) were among the defenders were impressed.
-This was easily the best I've seen Burns. He did throw a bad pick (he was looking for Francis Owusu over the middle but either underthrew the pass or just didn't see Terrence Alexander), but he generally threw the ball with zip and was accurate. Since QB's are off limits to would-be tacklers it's always a little bit hard to gauge pocket presence in these situations - i.e., was he holding on to the ball too long, or was he doing a good job of being patient and surveying his options - but Burns looked comfortable.
Some of his highlights included a a pair of first down completions to Francis Owusu and a TD on a fade to Owusu, who recorded the highlight of the scrimmage with a leaping one-handed touchdown grab on a fade route.
-Francis Owusu was terrific. I don't have the stats in front of me (will update the post if/when Stanford releases official stats from the scrimmage), but he must have caught 4/5 passes for maybe 80 yards. Made several trick passes, gained yards after the catch, and was generally the big, physical, athletic receiver Stanford hopes will be.
-In the department of now knowing how much weight to place into today's scrimmage given the defense's issues: Dontonio Jordan actually had a pretty productive day. He was among the team's leading receivers, made a few guys miss, made a nice one-handed catch on a crossing route over the middle (which he proceeded to fumble, but the catch was nice.) In any event, he's clearly behind a number of other wide receivers, and it would probably be a bit of a surprise if he contributes much this year, but he had a nice day.
-With the same caveat that the defense was nowhere close to full strength, Barry Sanders broke more tackles/was more productive and appeared more decisive than he's been in the past. Again, hard to know how much weight to place in individual offensive performances from today, however.
The Stanford touchdowns:
-Michael Rector from Hogan (beat Terrence Alexander).
-Dalton Schultz from Hogan (I believe a slant; not sure which DB was in coverage)
-Owusu on a fade from Burns (believe Terrence Alexander was in coverage, but not totall
-Devon Cajuste on a 10 yard catch + 50 or so yard run from Hogan. A missed tackle in the back end and none of the defensive backs in pursuit could catch him
-Rollins Stallworth on a fade from Chryst. Alijah Holder in coverage.
-Blake Martinez pick six off Hogan. Pass intended for Michael Rector on a crossing route.
-Austin Hooper from Hogan. Bust in coverage - Hooper was wide open.
-Conrad Ukropina was 6-8 on field goals. He missed from 38 yards(ish) and 47. Connected from 42, 25 on the left has, was 1/2 from (I believe 38), and 3/3 from shorter distance. (Not exactly sure, but perhaps in the 30 to 35 yard range.) Like I mentioned last week, Conrad looks like he has a bit more pop on his kicks this spring than he did last fall. Will be an interesting competition with Charlie Beall and Jake Bailey.
##########
-A number of former Stanford players were on hand for the practice: Jordan Richards, Austin Tubbs, Gautum Krishnamurthi, David Yankey, Conor McFadden, Chris Owusu, Jeff Trojan, Cameron Fleming.
-I don't believe there were any big-name recruits in attendance (local OL Matthew Gutwald told me a week or so ago he was planning to attend) but between 6-8 members of the Santa Margarita High School (K.J. Costello, Dylan Crawford, Austin Maihen), were on hand observing. It's fairly common for high school staffs to visit with colleges to absorb knowledge, but it can't hurt the long-term relationship between the Cardinal and Santa Margarita.
This post was edited on 3/7 12:55 PM by Andy Drukarev
