Stanford WR CJ Williams and DL Zach Buckey look ahead to San Jose State 

Before Stanford’s upcoming home game against San Jose State, senior wide receiver CJ Williams and fifth year defensive lineman Zach Buckey spoke to the media. Below are some thoughts and takeaways. 

VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference | San Jose State Week-CJ Wiliams and Zach Buckey 

Starting with Williams, he provided a nice scouting report of San Jose State’s defense. He said their defensive line is very active and will get after you. They run a lot of stunts. The defensive backs are a younger group with maybe not as much experience. They drop into zone coverage a lot, so probably not a lot of man coverage that they’ll face. He is looking forward to facing them. 

Building off that, they know San Jose State is a rival. That has given them an extra boost of motivation for Saturday. They love rivalry games. They make college football what it is. All about taking pride in that. Especially after losing to San Jose State last year. 

Williams said consistency has been a major focus and then building that rhythm with quarterback Ben Gulbranson. He feels like they’re building momentum and gaining confidence. All about continuing to build on that. 

Williams had nine receptions for over 100 yards against Virginia. He said he’s getting more settled in with each game. He said that’s always the case with each new stop you get to. He feels like he’s fitting into his role nicely and gaining more confidence in the system. 

Williams said it’s nice to be back home. With five of their remaining eight games being at home, it’s going to be nice for them to have more home games. He said it’s important to respect their home field and give it their all in front of their fans. All about winning home games and doing it at a high level. 

Switching gears to Buckey, he said San Jose State has a lot of talent on offense. They have a lot of pieces back from last year’s team that beat them. They’re still upset about that loss. He said they’ll pose a good challenge for their defense in the run and the pass. Their quarterback Walker Eget in particular is strong and is a great leader. 

Buckey said they did not play well defensively against Virginia. They have a chip on their shoulder after watching the film. He said it was not up to their standard. He said they had a lot of introspection after that game and are motivated to improve against San Jose State. 

Defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej is all about getting back to the basics, attacking their gaps, etc. Vertical attack and one-on-one matchup is the big thing they are honing in on. 

Touching more on the rivalry, Buckey is well aware of the legacy Bill Walsh (the namesake of the game) has at both Stanford and San Jose State. He said growing up there was a picture of Walsh in their house and he was a coach he always looked up to. He said it would mean a lot to him and his family to win the Bill Walsh Legacy Game. 

Buckey is excited to have more students in attendance for Saturday. He said it’s nice to have students back on campus and he hopes that is something they can take advantage of. It’s always good to have support from your student body. 

Speaking of their own defensive line, Buckey had great things to say about Clay Patterson. They’re roommates together and he said Patterson does a great job inspiring him to be better. A guy who is always watching film and putting in that extra effort. I thought that was neat to hear. 

Finally, I asked Buckey about another teammate in running back Micah Ford. Buckey praised Ford for how hard he runs and how shifty he is. He said it’s hard to contain him because he shifts so well and also is incredibly physical. A guy who works really hard and takes his craft seriously. I always think it’s interesting to get those kinds of insights from guys who play on the opposite side of the ball. 

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