Stanford announces 2025 ACC Kickoff participants
Stanford football has announced who will be making the trip to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2025 ACC Kickoff, a three-day ACC media event in advance of the season (July 22-24). Stanford is coming off their fourth straight 3-9 season, hoping to finally show some improvement with new leadership.
GoStanford.com: Four-student athletes at 2025 ACC kickoff
theACC.com: Countdown to 2025 ACC Kickoff Begins: Press Conference Schedule Announced
Representing the Cardinal will be head coach Frank Reich, general manager Andrew Luck, senior tight end Sam Roush, junior offensive lineman Simione Pale, senior outside linebacker Tevarua Tafiti, and senior cornerback Collin Wright.
What’s unique right off the bat is the fact that Andrew Luck will be joining the team in Charlotte. It’s not a surprise given how involved he is at his general manager role, but most programs only have the head coach there as the face of the program. In the case of Stanford, both Luck and Reich will be there in that role. It’ll be interesting to get more of an insight into their dynamic and how they anticipate balancing their respective roles.
The lack of a quarterback being at the event points to the fact that Stanford hasn’t yet figured out who their starting quarterback will be. While redshirt freshman Elijah Brown is the consensus frontrunner to be the starter, he’s still going to have to earn the job. Redshirt sophomore Myles Jackson, grad transfer Ben Gulbranson (Oregon State), and redshirt sophomore transfer Dylan Rizk (UCF) will also be vying for the job, so we’ll just have to see how that all shakes out.
As for who will be at the event, Stanford has a nice group to represent them. Starting with Sam Roush, he is coming off a season in which he had 40 receptions for 334 yards and two touchdowns. It’ll be fun to see what he brings as a senior and how much more involved he’ll be in the passing offense. He certainly has all the tools to be one of the top tight ends in the ACC if not the country.
Simione Pale is looking to help anchor Stanford’s offensive line and make his presence felt on the interior at the guard spot. He’s received some preseason buzz from some publications and on paper is the top offensive lineman on the team. He started all 12 games at right guard last season as the only offensive lineman to start every game. Having him back with a full season of starting under his belt is huge as the unit looks to take a major step forward.
Tevarua Tafiti is going to have to step in as the top outside linebacker on the team with David Bailey grad transferring to Texas Tech. Tafiti has played in all 12 games back-to-backs seasons. Last year, he had 41 total tackles (21 solo), seven tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. If Stanford wants to continue to have a strong pass rush, Tafiti is going to have to be a major reason why.
Finally, Collin Wright is looking to have his best season yet on The Farm and prove himself to be one of the top cornerbacks in the ACC. In 11 games played last season, Wright had 45 total tackles (32 solo), three tackles for loss, and three interceptions. If he wants to take his game to the next level, he’s going to have to snag a few more interceptions than he did last year. If he’s able to do that, that would do wonders for the defense.
Overall, ACC Kickoff should be a fun event for Stanford. There are a lot of interesting storylines to follow, starting with the unique set up with Reich and Luck. Up and down the line, all the players should have insightful things to say. I look forward to seeing how the event goes for Stanford and what kind of buzz they can generate for the coming season.
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