The unofficial count of players held out of practice was 25 -- 26 if you count Mike Williams being limited. Stanford started the practice with nine offensive linemen and four scholarship wide receivers available (Donald Stewart was out and is the fifth). There were several position groups that it was very difficult to judge much of anything given who was out.
I thought Jack Richardson did an admirable job at quarterback and finished the final scrimmage on a high note with a big completion down to about the five yard line that got his offensive teammates hopping. Ryan Burns helped out in individual drill work but did not participate in the scrimmage.
So, the only other healthy quarterback on the field was 2019 four star recruit Jacob Conover, who followed around that position group the whole practice. He got to spend a lot of time talking with Costello.
Joshua Garnett and Kyle Murphy also were at the practice. Branson Bragg (2019 four star OG/OC) spent a lot of time talking with Garnett.
Speaking of offensive linemen, I thought the most interesting development was that Foster Sarell got reps at LG. It's tough to know if that's a likely long-term new home, though. Devery Hamilton was held out of practice and he may also be a candidate to get reps at guard.
The only touchdown I saw in the scrimmage was a long run by Cameron Scarlett up the sideline. Trevor Speights had several good runs. Dorian Maddox is on crutches and Bryce Love isn't participating in the first spring session.
The biggest hit may have been Stuart Head charging down on a run play. But there was some helmet to helmet and Akina pointed him to the sideline. He tried to get back on later but Akina sent him back to be cleared first. Head finished the scrimmage just fine.
Dalyn Wade-Perry flashed a couple times, including going through Brian Chaffin (Jesse Burkett is out) and blowing up the middle of one run play.
David Shaw
How would you describe the first week of spring?
"I give a lot of credit to our coaches. We streamlined a lot. Two new coaches on the offensive side so we have some new things guys are working on. We focused on our effort and technique. Guys have responded and are working extremely hard. We got great leadership right now. Guys are stepping up, being their best and demanding from their teammates. That's all we're asking right now."
Any standouts among the players from the first week for any reason?
"It's too early with this being the first day of pads. The first two practices were really good for learning and teaching technique. But we have one day of pads now. We'll watch the film and see what we did well and what we can improve."
With all the injuries, what are you looking for from the guys who are getting more reps now than they would if everyone was healthy?
"Today's world is so interesting. Everyone wants to blame it on social media, and that's only part of it, but it's the "look at me" generation. But right now we're trying to say we're not worried about the season. You can't think about the season. We have to think about our effort, technique and got to do get better, so at the end of spring every single guy is better. That has to be our focus. We can't focus on anything else. Guys being out is more opportunities for other guys to come in and do it right -- not to come in and show they're a superstar or take over as a starter in the second or third practice of spring. What's important now is everyone on the team has the same mentality of improving."
What have you seen in the interaction between the players and the two new coaches?
"It has been great. The guys know the way I hire people I hire good people that are good football coaches and not the other way around. These guys come in and they care about the young men they coach and they want to get to know them. They want to be part of their lives and guys respond to that."
Diron Reynolds
What would be your takeaway from the first week of spring and the first day of pads?
"We really want to get these guys in functional football positions with their drill work and everything else and see if they can take all the drill work to the field. That's the biggest thing we're trying to get done."
What is the goal you have in mind for Dalyn Wade-Perry of what the spring should look like for him?
"I just want to see him continue to improve. He's doing a better job of staying in his playbook and one of the things is to see him build on the technique -- his hands and his eyes. The biggest thing for guys when they first come here is it's hard to take all the drill work to the field because all of a sudden it's "I'm in the team." And it gets too big for them. We try to get them to continue to make it small, make the game small so they can focus on what they need to focus on."
He flashed a couple times in the scrimmage: "He's kind of a dancing bear. He's going to flash. He's athletic and the guy moves really well."
Are the biggest things holding Ryan Johnson back his weight and strength and conditioning?
"Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing. Anytime your out and you're not around the group doing the things you need to do consistently you just lose time. We have to find a way to keep him healthy and get him strong. Get him caught back up."
What can you see from him that isn't affected by those factors?
"His twitch. He has really good twitch getting off the ball. I think he did a pretty good job today of recognizing going from run to pass, and when he recognizes pass he does a good job of getting skinny, flipping his hips and getting vertical to the quarterback."
Bobby Kennedy
What has stood out to you about getting to know a new group of guys?
"The thing that stood out to me so far is that it's a really healthy room right now in terms of guys effort and attitudes. JJ (Arcega-Whiteside) and Trent (Irwin) have been around for a long time. They're really good leaders not only in the room but on the team. It's a pleasure walking into a group that is eager and wants to learn. Maybe I do some things a little bit different and I'm learning this language. It has been interesting so far, but the good thing with this room is these guys are all really bright. They're helping me through the process."
Connor Wedington came into Stanford with a running back background. He played exclusively at receiver last year, so what is the next step for him?
"Just consistency and continuing to grow in the offense -- being able to move him around to different spots to get him the ball. The thing I've been impressed with him about is he's really bright and is a natural catching the ball. He has really good hand position and he can get in and out of his cuts. I heard the whole running back thing, but I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or not but I'm going to try to keep him at receiver. He's very talented."
Wedington doesn't have the bigger build of many recent Stanford receivers. But he embraces the physicality of the position: "I told him the other day when we met -- and he stood when we were breaking the meeting -- and I grabbed him by the arm and said, 'You got some beef to you. You're a big guy. Don't let people talk to you like you're the small guy who can't do things.' He's a good sized guy and he's got some real muscle on him. He goes and gets it done in blocks and also he's a real treat."
How do you view this spring in terms of what you want to accomplish?
"My main goal is that we continue to get better with technique doing the little things -- getting in and out of our breaks, understanding leverage, recognizing defenses and secondary coverages a little quicker. For me, that's my charge. Then we get into the nuts and bolts of the offense. That stuff is going to come and they're already a sharp group who has been through it all. What we're trying to do is refine the little things."
What do you know about incoming freshmen Simi Fehoko and Michael Wilson?
"I've watched both their tapes and I'm really impressed with both of them. I'm excited to get them here to provide more depth and also they're talented, so they're going to push guys. I've had a chance to meet Michael and to be around him and his family. I'm really excited about that. I'm excited to meet Simi and I can't wait to get them in the group."
I thought Jack Richardson did an admirable job at quarterback and finished the final scrimmage on a high note with a big completion down to about the five yard line that got his offensive teammates hopping. Ryan Burns helped out in individual drill work but did not participate in the scrimmage.
So, the only other healthy quarterback on the field was 2019 four star recruit Jacob Conover, who followed around that position group the whole practice. He got to spend a lot of time talking with Costello.
Joshua Garnett and Kyle Murphy also were at the practice. Branson Bragg (2019 four star OG/OC) spent a lot of time talking with Garnett.
Speaking of offensive linemen, I thought the most interesting development was that Foster Sarell got reps at LG. It's tough to know if that's a likely long-term new home, though. Devery Hamilton was held out of practice and he may also be a candidate to get reps at guard.
The only touchdown I saw in the scrimmage was a long run by Cameron Scarlett up the sideline. Trevor Speights had several good runs. Dorian Maddox is on crutches and Bryce Love isn't participating in the first spring session.
The biggest hit may have been Stuart Head charging down on a run play. But there was some helmet to helmet and Akina pointed him to the sideline. He tried to get back on later but Akina sent him back to be cleared first. Head finished the scrimmage just fine.
Dalyn Wade-Perry flashed a couple times, including going through Brian Chaffin (Jesse Burkett is out) and blowing up the middle of one run play.
David Shaw
How would you describe the first week of spring?
"I give a lot of credit to our coaches. We streamlined a lot. Two new coaches on the offensive side so we have some new things guys are working on. We focused on our effort and technique. Guys have responded and are working extremely hard. We got great leadership right now. Guys are stepping up, being their best and demanding from their teammates. That's all we're asking right now."
Any standouts among the players from the first week for any reason?
"It's too early with this being the first day of pads. The first two practices were really good for learning and teaching technique. But we have one day of pads now. We'll watch the film and see what we did well and what we can improve."
With all the injuries, what are you looking for from the guys who are getting more reps now than they would if everyone was healthy?
"Today's world is so interesting. Everyone wants to blame it on social media, and that's only part of it, but it's the "look at me" generation. But right now we're trying to say we're not worried about the season. You can't think about the season. We have to think about our effort, technique and got to do get better, so at the end of spring every single guy is better. That has to be our focus. We can't focus on anything else. Guys being out is more opportunities for other guys to come in and do it right -- not to come in and show they're a superstar or take over as a starter in the second or third practice of spring. What's important now is everyone on the team has the same mentality of improving."
What have you seen in the interaction between the players and the two new coaches?
"It has been great. The guys know the way I hire people I hire good people that are good football coaches and not the other way around. These guys come in and they care about the young men they coach and they want to get to know them. They want to be part of their lives and guys respond to that."
Diron Reynolds
What would be your takeaway from the first week of spring and the first day of pads?
"We really want to get these guys in functional football positions with their drill work and everything else and see if they can take all the drill work to the field. That's the biggest thing we're trying to get done."
What is the goal you have in mind for Dalyn Wade-Perry of what the spring should look like for him?
"I just want to see him continue to improve. He's doing a better job of staying in his playbook and one of the things is to see him build on the technique -- his hands and his eyes. The biggest thing for guys when they first come here is it's hard to take all the drill work to the field because all of a sudden it's "I'm in the team." And it gets too big for them. We try to get them to continue to make it small, make the game small so they can focus on what they need to focus on."
He flashed a couple times in the scrimmage: "He's kind of a dancing bear. He's going to flash. He's athletic and the guy moves really well."
Are the biggest things holding Ryan Johnson back his weight and strength and conditioning?
"Yeah, I think that's the biggest thing. Anytime your out and you're not around the group doing the things you need to do consistently you just lose time. We have to find a way to keep him healthy and get him strong. Get him caught back up."
What can you see from him that isn't affected by those factors?
"His twitch. He has really good twitch getting off the ball. I think he did a pretty good job today of recognizing going from run to pass, and when he recognizes pass he does a good job of getting skinny, flipping his hips and getting vertical to the quarterback."
Bobby Kennedy
What has stood out to you about getting to know a new group of guys?
"The thing that stood out to me so far is that it's a really healthy room right now in terms of guys effort and attitudes. JJ (Arcega-Whiteside) and Trent (Irwin) have been around for a long time. They're really good leaders not only in the room but on the team. It's a pleasure walking into a group that is eager and wants to learn. Maybe I do some things a little bit different and I'm learning this language. It has been interesting so far, but the good thing with this room is these guys are all really bright. They're helping me through the process."
Connor Wedington came into Stanford with a running back background. He played exclusively at receiver last year, so what is the next step for him?
"Just consistency and continuing to grow in the offense -- being able to move him around to different spots to get him the ball. The thing I've been impressed with him about is he's really bright and is a natural catching the ball. He has really good hand position and he can get in and out of his cuts. I heard the whole running back thing, but I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or not but I'm going to try to keep him at receiver. He's very talented."
Wedington doesn't have the bigger build of many recent Stanford receivers. But he embraces the physicality of the position: "I told him the other day when we met -- and he stood when we were breaking the meeting -- and I grabbed him by the arm and said, 'You got some beef to you. You're a big guy. Don't let people talk to you like you're the small guy who can't do things.' He's a good sized guy and he's got some real muscle on him. He goes and gets it done in blocks and also he's a real treat."
How do you view this spring in terms of what you want to accomplish?
"My main goal is that we continue to get better with technique doing the little things -- getting in and out of our breaks, understanding leverage, recognizing defenses and secondary coverages a little quicker. For me, that's my charge. Then we get into the nuts and bolts of the offense. That stuff is going to come and they're already a sharp group who has been through it all. What we're trying to do is refine the little things."
What do you know about incoming freshmen Simi Fehoko and Michael Wilson?
"I've watched both their tapes and I'm really impressed with both of them. I'm excited to get them here to provide more depth and also they're talented, so they're going to push guys. I've had a chance to meet Michael and to be around him and his family. I'm really excited about that. I'm excited to meet Simi and I can't wait to get them in the group."
