Five questions going into Stanford’s fall camp
Stanford football begins fall camp on Wednesday, July 23rd after one day in Charlotte for ACC Kickoff (Tuesday, July 22nd 10 AM PT on ACC Network). They are starting a week early as they begin their season on August 23rd at Hawaii. In advance, I would like to take a look at five questions surrounding the Cardinal as fall camp beings.
READ: Stanford announces 2025 ACC Kickoff participants
#1. Who will emerge as the starting quarterback? The first question I have as Stanford is set to begin fall camp is how will the quarterback situation shake out? Redshirt freshman Elijah Brown is the consensus front runner to be the starting quarterback, but redshirt sophomore Myles Jackson, redshirt sophomore Dylan Rizk(UCF transfer), and redshirt senior Ben Gulbranson (Oregon State) will also be looking to win the job. Jackson by all accounts looked great during the spring while Rizk and Gulbranson were both brought in to bring some more competition to the room. One thing is for certain: If Elijah Brown is going to be the starter, he’s definitely going to have to earn it now.
#2. How will the offensive line take shape? Aside from Simone Pale, nobody else started all 12 games on the offensive line for Stanford last season. Pale will of course look to anchor things at the right guard spot, but just about every other spot is up for grabs. We know fifth year Jack Leyrer is expected to start, but the question is where he will line up as he is comfortable playing multiple spots. A lot of that will come down to how everyone else performs:
Redshirt junior Fisher Anderson will look to be in the mix to start at one of the tackle spots, sophomore Kahlil House will look to hold onto his starting job at tackle, there will be a fierce competition for the starting center spot, and there is a nice influx of talent coming in with transfers Niki Prongos (UCLA), Kai Greer (Georgia Tech), and Nathan Mejia (Sacramento State).
The bottom line is there is a lot of moving parts on the offensive line and a lot to sort out as fall camp begins. It’ll be interesting to see how head coach Frank Reich and offensive line coach Al Netter figure out the right combination to start for the Hawaii game.
#3. How will the defensive identity be different? More of a big picture question here, but something to look for is how the defensive identity will be different now that Andy Thompson has come in as a co-defensive coordinator alongside Bobby April III. Thompson also works with the inside linebackers while April works with the outside linebackers. Word is Thompson’s scheme is more aggressive and complements April’s blitzing schemes nicely. It’ll be fun to see how all that comes together.
#4. How will Frank Reich place his stamp on the team? In what is expected to be his only year as head coach due to the interim tag that was placed on him, something to look for is how Frank Reich will place his stamp on this Stanford team. How will he mix his NFL expertise and philosophies with the system already in place? How will this become a Frank Reich team? It’s a huge question entering fall camp and one that we’ll hopefully have some answers to in the coming weeks.
#5. How involved will Andrew Luck be? General manager Andrew Luck has been all over the place making things happen for Stanford. He’s been in the call center talking to season ticket holders, he’s been moving the location of the Red Zone (student section), and he’s even been on the field taking snaps in drills. Just how involved will Luck be during fall camp is something to watch for as he begins his first fall camp as general manager.
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