Elijah Brown shows off talent and poise during college debut with Stanford

Dylan Grausz | Sep 10, 2024

Sep 7, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Elijah Brown (2) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against the Cal Poly Mustangs during the second half at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Since signing with Stanford in December of 2023, the anticipation to see four-star quarterback prospect Elijah Brown has only grown, with many eager to see what the young gunslinger can bring to the table. In the Cardinal’s week two win over Cal Poly, the team finally got to see what all the hype was about, with Brown coming into the game in the fourth quarter and delivering a very impressive performance in his first-ever college football game.

With the Cardinal up 31-7 in the final quarter and the game pretty much in hand, head coach Troy Taylor gave Brown the opportunity to play, putting him in on the team’s first offensive drive of the final quarter. As soon as he entered the game, he found a rhythm, going 7-for-7 on his passes while throwing for 97 yards and a touchdown, connecting with wide receiver Ismael Cisse for a 12-yard score with 10:02 left in regulation. After the converted PAT, it became 38-7 Stanford. Putting together a strong performance in his limited action, Brown was able to instill even more confidence within the coaching staff that he is in fact the player that they thought he was when they got him.

“Really good,” Taylor said of what he saw out of Brown during the Cal Poly game. “It’s what we’ve seen since he’s been here this spring. Exceptional anticipation, exceptional accuracy, composure. There is a reason why the guy was what, 44-2. He's very composed and he’s a really talented player and he’s going to be a good one.”

Going into the season, the Cardinal had two other established veterans on the roster, with junior Ashton Daniels currently listed as the starter and junior Justin Lamson rotating in every now and then, making the expectation for this year that Brown was going to most likely have a limited role. However, with how good of a camp he had combined with what he showed when he got game action this past weekend has now created a situation where the quarterback rotation could become more complicated.

“Yeah, I mean, possibly. Who knows?” Daniels said. “Coach Taylor has a great offense, extremely creative, but Elijah looked great out there. We were so fired up for him on the sidelines, making big time throws and big time reads. It's really exciting when you take a guy, a really young guy that early enrolls under your wing and kind of show him the ropes, get him going throughout camp, both of our camps (spring and fall), and you see him continue to grow and come out here and do what he did tonight was just extremely satisfying for us as a quarterback room as well as the whole offense.”

Playing his prep years at Mater Dei High School, Brown had an accolade-filled career as the quarterback of the Monarchs, winning two CIF Southern Section Division I championships as well as two open-division state championships in 2021 and 2023, making him the only quarterback in Mater Dei history (with quarterbacks like Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley and Bryce Young having played there as well) to accomplish that feat. Winning the MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year and the Cal Hi Sports Junior of the Year, Brown left Santa Ana having thrown for 9,289 yards and 115 passing touchdowns, while compiling a 42-2 record as a starter.

With Brown possibly now more in the mix, the Cardinal offense could start to have a lot more options as to what style of play and what identity they want to take on in any given week, with each of their quarterbacks having a different style to their game. Whatever the case may be, the future of the historic Stanford football program is looking very bright.