Elijah Brown named the starting QB for Stanford
On Monday, Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich announced that redshirt freshman Elijah Brown will be the starting quarterback for this week’s game at North Carolina and presumably the rest of the season. The news comes after grad transfer Ben Gulbranson had a rough outing in which he went 17-30 for 228 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions against Pitt for a 111.5 passer rating. Brown came in to finish the game and went 10-14 for 108 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions for a 159.8 passer rating. Stanford lost the game 35-20.
VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference: UNC Week-Frank Reich
“Yeah, have decided that we are gonna make a change at quarterback,” Reich said. “Obviously, a tough decision because Ben has done some really good things this year and we know that some of the struggles that we’ve had certainly not all on the quarterback, but not by any respect. But this decision, thought through, talked it through with the staff, and you know, really, obviously my decision at the end of the day, but we are gonna make that transition and Elijah will be the starter.”
For Stanford, this feels like news that was a long time coming. Gulbranson’s leadership and veteran experience have played a legit role in the three wins they have over Boston College, San Jose State, and Florida State. It’s just that as of late, he’s been trending in the wrong direction and when you have a four-star redshirt freshman waiting in the wings in Brown, it just makes sense to give him the keys to the car and see what he can do. Brown has had plenty of time to sit and observe from the sidelines and get a feel for the offense, so while it might feel overdue to make a quarterback change, this could also be good timing with three games left.
From what I’ve observed, going back to fall camp, Brown clearly has the most upside of any quarterback on the roster. When you watch him throw the ball, it’s easy to see why he was rated a 4-star talent. He looks like a legit prospect and certainly passes the eye test. He puts good zip on the ball and seems to have a calm demeanor when he’s under center.
“I mean, I think Elijah is very instinctive at the position,” Reich said of Brown. “Very accurate passer. You know, I like the whole quarterback room, they’ve just, that room is very close and I’m really proud of how that room has operated together so that the support that they’ve given each other, embracing the offense and all that we put on the quarterback being able to manage the things that we have them manage in the run game, in the pass game, in protection schemes and Elijah like all the guys in that room has just demonstrated, you know, an ability to do that.”
Looking ahead, Stanford has three games left on their schedule. At North Carolina on Saturday, November 8th; vs. Cal on Saturday, November 22nd, and vs. Notre Dame on Saturday, November 29th. It’ll be interesting to see how Brown performs in those final three games. Especially with North Carolina and Cal being very beatable.
Note: Cardinal Sports Report has you covered for all the latest news on Stanford as they begin the Andrew Luck era.
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