Stanford’s Sam Roush & Jay Green look ahead to Virginia 

In advance of Stanford’s road game at Virginia on Saturday, tight end Sam Roush and safety Jay Green spoke to the media. Below are some thoughts and key takeaways. 

VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference | Virginia Week-Sam Roush and Jay Green 

Starting with their defensive performance, Green said they felt like they started slow against BYU, so there was extra motivation to shut out Boston College in the second half. They really wanted to make sure they came out with the right focus and he feels like they did that. 

As for the win over Boston College, Green felt like it meant a lot to the guys and the program. It gave them some confidence and was good for the overall morale of the program. He feels like they can build on that win as they head into the Virginia game. 

On Virginia, Green said they’re going to have to be more efficient and tighter in coverage. A lot more pattern match as they look to combat them. He feels like they’re going to have really step up in the run defense due to their physicality in the run game. Those are some of the key things to look for from the Cavaliers. 

Going back to the Boston College game, Green said on the fumble he recovered in the end zone, that was a play they were ready for. The rule is if you can’t get 25 yards, don’t take it out of the end zone. He said if there’s nothing but green grass in front of you, you have to make a play and go for it, but that wasn’t one of those instances. 

On the travel side of things, Green minimized the impact. He feels like at the end of the day it’s all football. He said the staff does a great job of prepping them. It sounds like with other sports, they stay on pacific time zone. That seems to have really helped them. 

Regarding NIL, Green said they get coached well on how to navigate those things, but at the same time, he said they still want to be college students and have that experience. He said coming to a school like Stanford makes that pretty easy. 

Switching gears to Roush, he said the 69 yard touchdown he scored was off a play action pass. He had the corner and was on the sideline and knew the safety was coming down. He said the safety taking bad angle helped him make a clean run for it. He said he looked back not wanting to get stripped from behind, though in truth he should have just kept running and not looked back as that slowed him down a bit. Thankfully, he found his way into the end zone. 

Regarding being so close to the sideline, he said body awareness is key. You have to know where you are and have a good feel for that. It’s not always perfect, but he did a good job on that play. 

Roush praised the offensive line and the job they did against Boston College. He feels like the run game was great and that the blocking was good. Pass protection he feels they could have done better on, but he feels like in the run game, they were great across the board. He also feels like quarterback Ben Gulbranson is starting to settle in, which is much-needed. He likes the connection they are developing. 

Touching more on the run game, Roush said Micah Ford is a real playmaker at running back. A guy who reads the gaps well and has done a good job in all facets of the game. Roush wanted to highlight Ford’s pass protection on top of his stellar running. 

Roush said the victory felt a lot more important to him than personal success, but it still felt good for him to have some success in the pass game for the team. He knew the first two weeks were far too quiet for him and so to have a huge touchdown reception felt really good for him. 

On interim head coach Frank Reich and general manager Andrew Luck, Roush likes having guys at the helm who have seen it all. Guys who have tons of football experience. He feels like the team has benefited from their leadership and experience. There’s not a situation they haven’t seen, which is comforting. 

Virginia has a couple former Stanford guys in offensive line coach Terry Heffernan and offensive lineman Drake Metcalf. Roush is looking forward to seeing them again. He has fond memories of being on the same team with both guys and feels like it’ll make Saturday’s game more fun. 

Lastly, Roush said Reich has emphasized the importance of starting each week afresh whether you are coming off a win or a loss. You can’t let the previous week impact the way you practice. All about making sure you don’t let up after a big win, so all eyes are ahead on Virginia. 

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