Despite my feelings toward this coaching staff, 2020 has a chance to be very good - I would be surprised if they weren't playing in Las Vegas for the conference championship.
The North will return 1 starting QB - Chase Garbers CAL. Stanford will also face first-year starters at UofA and home against COL. So I like how that sets up.
The second reason for optimism is DAVIS MILLS. I was more convinced than others he would be healthy to play this season. I am going to continue to believe that the farther away he gets from his last surgery, having to miss games because of his knee will be a thing of the past.
Here is how Mills has stacked up, not taking into consideration any other variables (OL health, time spent away from game action) but QBRating.
USC
Huntley UTAH 143.1 (BTW the most underrated QB in America)
Wilson BYU 141.9
MILLS 120.0 (first start)
Eason UW 119.7
Reyna FRES ST 115.7
Book ND 106.8
Tate UofA 99.5
OREGON ST
Huntley UTAH 243.2
MILLS 193.9
Sanders OKL ST 191.5
McDonald HAW 147.2
Burton UCLA 122.3
Modster CAL 103.6
UW
MILLS 163.0
Herbert ORE 159.8
Wilson BYU 120.4
Tate UofA 119.0
McDonald HAW 107.5
Fink USC 93.7
Mills is a special talent who is going to get BETTER. He masks coaching and personnel issues. He will be the best player on the field every time Stanford kicks it off in 2020.
DEPARTURES THAT IN NO WAY CHANGE THE OUTLOOK
Robinson
Antoine
Costello- Ok, it would be nice to have him as QB2
Parson - btw, what happened to him?
Butler
Stewart
Eboh
Pryts
Maddox
Harrington
Schaffer
Peek
WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THESE GUYS BACK FOR DEPTH
J. Fox
Speights - 3rd down role
Swann
Hamilton
Hattis
NEED THESE GUYS BACK
M. Williams
Adebo
Little
Parkinson
Mills is going to have a serviceable to very good OL in front of him with a more likely than not chance that Little comes back. Hopefully everyone appreciates his massive talent after watching this team in '19. Sarell has developed and will continue to improve. Dalman will be in year four which you ideally want from your starting center. Bragg is going to be a star. And the 5th spot will go to the next best player who should have to win a good competition for that last spot. Hattis would be option 1A but is there enough motivation for the player to go through an extensive rehab to come back for 1 season without much potential for a career in the sport after that? Regardless, that spot is not a dealbreaker.
The receiving weapons will have experience and Mills will increase their value. I have a feeling Park will come back to combine with Fisk (who btw did not have 1 target against UCLA - the guy is a tone setter and I could think of nothing more needed in the 2nd Q of that game). I have no problem with the 4 returners at WR - we are talking about being in Las Vegas next year, not the 4-team playoff.
I am a big fan of Austin Jones - tough, vision, fast enough. Would love Speights to come back, the guy is a winning player.
The defense will be thin but competitive. And remember, they will be playing a lot of games against a first year QB.
The Adebo situation is hard to read. The player is clearly not the best CB in college football as stated by some before the season and his tape will be hard to justify as a high round pick. But, he will be on every team's draft board if he decides to go. Wouldn't blame him if he did.
Kelly and McGill are gaining valuable reps. McGill sure does have a lot of MT3 in him - I love Texas guys. Williamson is a good player. Don’t know enough about Head yet but he will be replacing the weakest link in this defense so the whole addition by subtraction thing. Guys like Manley, Toomer and Turner-Muhammad all compete for depth and it might be ok even without Adebo.
I’m excited about the ILB group. Again, addition by subtraction, but from what little we have seen, Miezan, JMF and Sinclair look like players. I can't wait to watch Sinclair after a solid year of s/c. That guy flashed at UCF and COMPETED. And who knows what they have in DiCosmo?
At OLB, you would imagine Reid returns. But he will probably be 23 next season and if he is on track to graduate early who knows? And he's just a guy. J. Fox is a guy I would like to see back, but not going to cry if he doesn't. Development has to occur with A. Fox, Umerah and Herron. I'm betting it does because Lance is a damn good position coach. There are a lot of bodies in the back 8 to make it work.
Of all the 5th year players, Mike Williams is the #1 recruit. I love his story and love how he plays. He's not an SEC mutant or even a future NFL player, but he is so solid for Stanford. No idea why he would return, all things considered, but it sure would be great if big Uncle Julio could endure the grind for 1 more year. If Swann doesn't come back so be it. If he does that's ok too but, who knows, maybe Pakola is a better player than him already? There is the rising Booker and still untapped potential of DWP. Johnson is ideally a scout team DL. You only need 3 solid guys in this position group.
There has been a lot of talk about how many first-year players have been on the field a lot in '19.
The only guys I would feel really good about at this point
A. Jones
Bragg
Kelly
On the level below that - guys who could easily be recruited over
Miller
Peat
McGill
ST guys like Jorgensen, B. Jones and Higgins speak more to the absurd lack of depth than what kind of players they are.
And speaking of lack of depth, there is no way Rouse, Miller and Hornibrook see the field in year 1 on a normal roster.
Sinclair has barely played and Pakola hasn't at all but who doesn't feel better about them than most of these guys mentioned above?
KINGS OF THE NORTH IN 2020 but after that? Good luck!
The North will return 1 starting QB - Chase Garbers CAL. Stanford will also face first-year starters at UofA and home against COL. So I like how that sets up.
The second reason for optimism is DAVIS MILLS. I was more convinced than others he would be healthy to play this season. I am going to continue to believe that the farther away he gets from his last surgery, having to miss games because of his knee will be a thing of the past.
Here is how Mills has stacked up, not taking into consideration any other variables (OL health, time spent away from game action) but QBRating.
USC
Huntley UTAH 143.1 (BTW the most underrated QB in America)
Wilson BYU 141.9
MILLS 120.0 (first start)
Eason UW 119.7
Reyna FRES ST 115.7
Book ND 106.8
Tate UofA 99.5
OREGON ST
Huntley UTAH 243.2
MILLS 193.9
Sanders OKL ST 191.5
McDonald HAW 147.2
Burton UCLA 122.3
Modster CAL 103.6
UW
MILLS 163.0
Herbert ORE 159.8
Wilson BYU 120.4
Tate UofA 119.0
McDonald HAW 107.5
Fink USC 93.7
Mills is a special talent who is going to get BETTER. He masks coaching and personnel issues. He will be the best player on the field every time Stanford kicks it off in 2020.
DEPARTURES THAT IN NO WAY CHANGE THE OUTLOOK
Robinson
Antoine
Costello- Ok, it would be nice to have him as QB2
Parson - btw, what happened to him?
Butler
Stewart
Eboh
Pryts
Maddox
Harrington
Schaffer
Peek
WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THESE GUYS BACK FOR DEPTH
J. Fox
Speights - 3rd down role
Swann
Hamilton
Hattis
NEED THESE GUYS BACK
M. Williams
Adebo
Little
Parkinson
Mills is going to have a serviceable to very good OL in front of him with a more likely than not chance that Little comes back. Hopefully everyone appreciates his massive talent after watching this team in '19. Sarell has developed and will continue to improve. Dalman will be in year four which you ideally want from your starting center. Bragg is going to be a star. And the 5th spot will go to the next best player who should have to win a good competition for that last spot. Hattis would be option 1A but is there enough motivation for the player to go through an extensive rehab to come back for 1 season without much potential for a career in the sport after that? Regardless, that spot is not a dealbreaker.
The receiving weapons will have experience and Mills will increase their value. I have a feeling Park will come back to combine with Fisk (who btw did not have 1 target against UCLA - the guy is a tone setter and I could think of nothing more needed in the 2nd Q of that game). I have no problem with the 4 returners at WR - we are talking about being in Las Vegas next year, not the 4-team playoff.
I am a big fan of Austin Jones - tough, vision, fast enough. Would love Speights to come back, the guy is a winning player.
The defense will be thin but competitive. And remember, they will be playing a lot of games against a first year QB.
The Adebo situation is hard to read. The player is clearly not the best CB in college football as stated by some before the season and his tape will be hard to justify as a high round pick. But, he will be on every team's draft board if he decides to go. Wouldn't blame him if he did.
Kelly and McGill are gaining valuable reps. McGill sure does have a lot of MT3 in him - I love Texas guys. Williamson is a good player. Don’t know enough about Head yet but he will be replacing the weakest link in this defense so the whole addition by subtraction thing. Guys like Manley, Toomer and Turner-Muhammad all compete for depth and it might be ok even without Adebo.
I’m excited about the ILB group. Again, addition by subtraction, but from what little we have seen, Miezan, JMF and Sinclair look like players. I can't wait to watch Sinclair after a solid year of s/c. That guy flashed at UCF and COMPETED. And who knows what they have in DiCosmo?
At OLB, you would imagine Reid returns. But he will probably be 23 next season and if he is on track to graduate early who knows? And he's just a guy. J. Fox is a guy I would like to see back, but not going to cry if he doesn't. Development has to occur with A. Fox, Umerah and Herron. I'm betting it does because Lance is a damn good position coach. There are a lot of bodies in the back 8 to make it work.
Of all the 5th year players, Mike Williams is the #1 recruit. I love his story and love how he plays. He's not an SEC mutant or even a future NFL player, but he is so solid for Stanford. No idea why he would return, all things considered, but it sure would be great if big Uncle Julio could endure the grind for 1 more year. If Swann doesn't come back so be it. If he does that's ok too but, who knows, maybe Pakola is a better player than him already? There is the rising Booker and still untapped potential of DWP. Johnson is ideally a scout team DL. You only need 3 solid guys in this position group.
There has been a lot of talk about how many first-year players have been on the field a lot in '19.
The only guys I would feel really good about at this point
A. Jones
Bragg
Kelly
On the level below that - guys who could easily be recruited over
Miller
Peat
McGill
ST guys like Jorgensen, B. Jones and Higgins speak more to the absurd lack of depth than what kind of players they are.
And speaking of lack of depth, there is no way Rouse, Miller and Hornibrook see the field in year 1 on a normal roster.
Sinclair has barely played and Pakola hasn't at all but who doesn't feel better about them than most of these guys mentioned above?
KINGS OF THE NORTH IN 2020 but after that? Good luck!
Last edited:
