We expected to see the team suit out in full pads for their last full contact
practice before Saturday's Spring Game (Friday's practice will be a no-pads
walk-through), but instead saw the team dressed out in shorts and only upper
pads. That meant there was no revealing 11-on-11 "live" scrimmage at the
end of practice, which is 70% of the appeal of a spring practice for fans.
The afternoon still ended with a scrimmage, but without tackling it did not tell
us much new.
That is not to say that Thursday was bereft of information. To the
contrary, we witnessed what may be one of the biggest revelations of the spring.
One of the most important and closely watched position battles for Stanford this
spring was the quarterback competition. Redshirt sophomore Trent Edwards
and redshirt freshman T.C. Ostrander came into this month of practice on equal
footing for what was a wide-open battle. They spent the first three weeks
alternating who worked with the first team and who worked with the second team
offense. As long as the rotation continued, we knew the competition
remained (roughly) even.
I was a little surprised to see on Tuesday that Edwards had the lead with the
first team offense, after he had also run first string under center in
Saturday's scrimmage. But Tuesday was the beginning of a new week, and I
made no conclusions. But on Thursday, Edwards continued to run with the
first team ahead of Ostrander. When I watched individual quarterbacking
drills with head coach and position coach Walt Harris, I noticed that Edwards
was receiving more repetitions.
After three weeks of competition, with a perfect rotation for the two highly
acclaimed signal callers, we now have seen Edwards take the lead for the
quarterback job. Harris explained at the beginning of the spring to The
Bootleg that he could see the merits for naming a starter by the end of
these April practices, as well as the advantages to leaving the competition open
into August camp. An earlier decision would give the team and offense and
more clear identity, while also giving that quarterback greater repetitions and
a better chance to improve his skills and chemistry with the first team offense.
The winning quarterback would also have the entire off-season to establish a
firm leadership role within the offense. A later decision, on the other
hand, would keep the fire lit under both quarterbacks and possibly push both of
them to a higher level come September.
We will see after Saturday's scrimmage if Harris is willing to pronounce that
Edwards is the starter coming out of spring practices, but what we are seeing
this week tells us that the redshirt sophomore has a lead if not the lead.
There has been one other position where a pair of players have rotated
practice to practice - at free safety. Redshirt sophomores Trevor Hooper
and David Lofton have taken turns working with sophomore strong safety Brandon Harrison in the defensive backfield, but Hooper has been seen in both practices
this week taking the lead at free safety. While you might read this to
mean that Hooper has won the battle, defensive coordinator and defensive backs
coach Tom Hayes says it is too early to make such a proclamation. Instead,
we have seen that Lofton has used some of his time this week to also learn the
strong safety position, in addition to his free safety duties. The idea is
that Lofton can get a strong enough handle on both positions so that he can
flexibly play either. Hooper and Harrison have both played the free and
strong safety positions at Stanford, and if Lofton can join them, Hayes will
have a trio of players who he can plug into either position. This reminds
us, in some ways, with how a trio of cornerbacks were used last year effectively
as "co-starters."
One other depth chart note: I noticed this first on Tuesday and it
continued on Thursday that freshman walk-on Brandon Willetts has moved to
outside linebacker while redshirt sophomore Taualai Fonoti has swapped to the
inside linebacker position. Both are running second team on a defense that
has been scorched by injuries.
Thursday may have lacked lower body pads for full contact, but it was not a
boring practice by any stretch of the imagination. I would expect in the
fourth week of the spring to see coaches working with players on the execution
of what they installed in the first three weeks of practices, but there have
been new teachings this week of note. Here are a few that have caught my
eye:
- The receivers, running backs and tight ends have been running through
blocking bags all spring, with an emphasis on a low pad level for ballcarriers
as they hit and run through tacklers. But a new twist this week has
asked the skill players to employ a spin move when they hit the bag. It
is a difficult maneuver, and one I have rarely seen taught so deliberately and
with as much time devoted to it. Many of the players have difficulty
with the move, but it is a skill that will pay off in extra yardage for both
the running and passing games.
- The skill players continue to work with the quarterbacks on the fade
pattern, which has been a strong emphasis throughout the spring. There
is an automatic reaction for a receiver to turn around and leap toward the
high-arcing pass, but Harris is drilling them on moving forward and catching
the ball over their shoulder. Again, a difficult skill, but one that
could clearly pay off in big plays come the fall.
- The entire offense worked Thursday on the "hurry-up" or two-minute drill.
They conducted it early in practice against air, and then later in the
scrimmage they went against the defense. The quarterback calls plays out
to the receivers while the center calls the protections to the offensive line.
I was pleasantly surprised at the crispness and speed which which plays were
conducted, and in the latter session against a defense, the offense moved the
ball quite effectively.
- Another offensive drill focused on the Hail Mary play, with a detailed
prescription for where players stand in and near the endzone for the arriving
long ball from the quarterback. This is a drill I have not often seen in
the fall for a Stanford team, and maybe never in the spring.
- The defense is putting in more time with their nickel packages, and they
are also working on the corner blitz. I would like to see this defense
with a healthy complement of players, but I like the versatility and the
ability to disguise within this defense. The calls and plays are not
identical to last year, but there are a lot of similar reasons to like this
defense once again in 2005.
- The defensive line has started to work more on "line games" - stunts,
slants and twists. With a trio of rising seniors filling the first time
defensive line, these line games are difficult to block. The offensive
line has worked with their defensive counterparts in two-on-two drills, with a
guard and tackle trying to maintain their blocks against the nose tackle and
defensive end. On Tuesday, I saw the most of the offensive line really
struggle in these drills. There were some improvements Thursday, though
there is a lot of room to improve on the "hand off" between the two linemen
against the line games.
A trio of talented recruits were on hand Thursday at practice. The most
renowned was 6'6" tight end Konrad Reuland from Mission Viejo High School
(Mission Viejo, Calif.). He is one of the elite tight ends in the nation,
and he passed the eyeball test with flying colors. He is every bit of 6'6"
and has a fantastic looking frame with broad shoulders. He looks like a
basketball player and has a lot of growing still ahead of him. Reuland's
visit, accompanied by both his parents, is an important one. They flew up
that afternoon and back home that evening - solely for the purpose of seeing the
Stanford practice and coaches. The great Bill Walsh spent a good deal of
time early in the practice speaking with the Reulands upon their arrival, and
Walt Harris had good time with them during and after the practice. It was
a short trip that did not allow the family to stay for any extended time after
the practice, but we will check with the SoCal standout soon to get his take on
the visit. Reuland was offered a scholarship by Stanford earlier this
month.
Also in attendance was wide receiver Daniel Lofton from Westview High School
(San Diego, Calif.). Lofton is the younger brother of David, the redshirt
sophomore safety, and the son of James Lofton, the Cardinal legend and NFL Hall
of Famer. This third Lofton is not on a track for The Farm, however, with
a reported 2.8 GPA. But many players' families arrived in town Thursday to
catch practice for a multi-day stay through Saturday's Spring Game. The
youngest Lofton man was with his sister and mother. A new and unfamiliar
face was quarterback Colin Kaepernick from Pitman High School (Turlock, Calif.).
The 6'5" 190-pounder has enviable size but an equally undeveloped body. He
camped at Stanford last summer and is a name to watch in the coming spring
combine and summer camp season.
Are you fully subscribed to The
Bootleg? If not, then you are missing out on all
the top Cardinal coverage we provide daily on our website, as
well as our full-length feature articles in our glossy magazine.
Sign up today for the biggest and best in Stanford sports
coverage with TheBootleg.com
(sign-up)
and The Bootleg Magazine (sign-up)!