5 Takeaways From Stanford Football Offensive Day

Dylan Grausz | Aug 8, 2024

Sep 30, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor gestures during the second quarter against the Oregon Ducks at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Another day of Stanford training camp is in the books and as week one of the season approaches like a linebacker with a clear path to the quarterback, preparation intensifies ahead of an action packed fall. On what was the first day of week two, the offense was the focal point of practice, with the starting unit getting a lot of reps and opportunities to keep ramping things up ahead of the team’s game against TCU on August 30. Post practice, both head coach Troy Taylor and quarterback Ashton Daniels were made available to the media for comments.

Depth is much improved from last year

Football is a numbers game, and especially with injuries and ailments being a part of the game, having enough players who can fill the void is vital. And while last year Cardinal football had a tougher time having depth, they seem to have solved that issue going into the 2024 campaign.

“Last year, we were thin at every position,” Taylor said. “We are deeper at every single position on our team, which is good. And yeah, we feel like they’re good players. So, we’re getting tons of reps, we get a lot of reps in our practices and these young guys are expected to come in, there are a lot of young guys that we’re expecting to play and contribute, so it’s a lot for them to learn. But we feel really good about our group.”

Only time will tell which players will be able to stand out from all the rest, but the fact that the coaches already have an idea of who they think could be major contributors is a very positive improvement to have this close to the season.

Not having Joshua Karty will be an adjustment

Oftentimes an under appreciated position, kickers are vital pieces to any team’s success. And last season, the Cardinal had arguably the nation’s best kicker in Joshua Karty, who was the type of kicker who was an automatic three points whenever Stanford got into field goal range. Now that Karty has gone to the NFL, the Cardinal will have to adjust to life after Karty and figure out how to approach certain situations moving forward. 

“So much of kickers is what they do in games,” Taylor said. “Josh is the best in the country and he’ll kick for 18 years in the NFL, and we felt like when we crossed the 50 [yard line], take care of the football because we’ve got a great shot at three points. So, we’ll see. We really have a lot of confidence in the guys we have here but I want to see them in games and see their consistency and their range and all of those things.” 

Currently, the Cardinal have senior Emmet Kenney and sophomore Aidan Flintoft as their kickers, and while both of them have impressed tremendously in camp, it will be hard to really assess their potential until gameday.

The quarterback job is most likely Daniels’, but other quarterbacks have shown out as well

Proving himself last season, Daniels entered camp as the presumed starting quarterback and has looked the part so far, making major strides this offseason in improving his game. But, with other players in the quarterback room having started off camp on a high note as well, nothing is yet official.

“Every position, we let it sort out,” Taylor said. “That’s the only way I know how to do it. Ashton’s a really good player, he’s had a really good camp. But when we talk about the other guys, Justin Lamson has had a great fall camp, Elijah Brown has been fantastic and Myles [Jackson] and Charlie [Mirer] have done a nice job too. So, I feel like we have a lot of depth. It's a little early to tell, but competition in our program is going to be at every single position. But that being said, Ashton did a lot of great things last year and he’s gotten better.”

The job may very well become Daniels’ to lose, but having other quarterbacks who the coaching staff can rely on can prove to be a very good thing down the line, just in case.

Confidence is sky high for the offense

Last season at this time, everyone was still learning the ropes of the new system that first year head coach Troy Taylor was installing. But now that they have a full season in the system under their belt, the team was able to enter this season feeling extremely confident and have put that on full display early on in camp.

“I think we’re gonna be scary,” Daniels said. “Even on both sides of the ball, offense and defense, we’re out here battling. You can tell that we have a little bit of a grit, a little bit of an edge behind us that, not to say that we didn’t have that last year, but I think it’s a lot more evident this year in camp. Guys are ready to go, they’re eager to get out there and play, especially the young guys, so I think they’re gonna step up on both sides for us in big ways this year. Running back room, o line, every position to be honest. I see a lot of promise in our offense this year.”

While adjusting to the new conference could bring some growing pains, an offense that is humming is the first step to greatness. If the Cardinal can make some noise and turn some heads, it could spell trouble for the rest of the ACC.

Everyone is embracing the new challenge of being in the ACC

One of the major storylines for this season, if not the biggest, is that Stanford will be one of many teams that will be playing in a new conference due to the massive realignments, earning the chance to play in the ACC. While the Pac-12 was full of extremely talented teams, the ACC has been known for decades for housing major college football powerhouses, and while the Cardinal will face very tough teams this season, everyone within camp is excited for that opportunity and is embracing the grind that comes with preparing for it.

“It’s an outstanding conference with a lot of top 25 teams, a lot of prestigious teams that have always been great,” Daniels said. “It’s new faces for us to play, new stadiums to go play in, new environments. I think the guys are super excited for that. Finally get to go to the East Coast and play a couple of games and it’s going to be extremely fun this year.”

Stanford’s first two games are against out of conference opponents (TCU and Cal Poly), but with its first ACC game coming in week three at Syracuse, the team will get an early start to conference play and will look to start off the new era with a big road win.