Anonymous Pac-12 coach criticizes Troy Taylor and Stanford prior to 2023
One of the best and maybe worst things at the same time is when someone makes an anonymous statement in college football.
It creates conversations, but at the same it also provides whoever is saying the statement free will to go as far as they want. We saw it recently with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders when one coach said it would be a lose-lose scenario for Colorado, and now we are seeing the critics come the way of Stanford head coach Troy Taylor.
For Athlon Sports' season preview about Stanford (written by yours truly), there was a quote from an anonymous coach within the Pac-12 that spoke about the challenges Taylor and Stanford will face. Obviously there was time between the interview and when the preview was put out, so a couple of the notions have already been disproven but the coach cited things such as recruiting, the transfer portal, and the situation David Shaw left over as challenges for Taylor.
"They can't really portal guys in because of admissions, and they don't seem interested in the NIL game. at least not seriously. (Troy Taylor) is an offensive-minded guy, and they need a complete reworking ... (he) doesn't have any kind of background with the recruiting struggles. He knows the immediate area. but that doesn't really work at this program. You have to fight for guys years before other schools and keep on them to qualify. This is one of the hardest jobs in the country now."
Not many were expecting the surge in commits in June that saw Taylor and his staff land 24 commitments and ascend to as high as No. 9 in the country, which of course was headlined by Mater Dei quarterback Elijah Brown's commitment. The Cardinal were also able to use the portal a bit bringing in six transfers, and while that isn't a ton it does show that it's possible despite what Shaw had may believing.
While the roster for Stanford in 2023 is quite inexperienced and the Cardinal could have a long season ahead of them, Taylor is already silencing the critics before even taking the field.
