Four major storylines to look out for in Stanford's spring game

It is the first time we will get to see Stanford under Troy Taylor

Saturday marks the first time in over a decade that David Shaw will not be roaming the sidelines and commanding the Stanford football team.

Instead, it marks the beginning of the Troy Taylor era. A new time in Stanford football in which the program now uses all of the modern means of acquiring players such as the transfer portal, is investing more into NIL, and will have one of the most transcendent offensive minds in the country. 

Personnel wise, Saturday marks new beginnings at nearly every position, as Stanford lost 19 players to the transfer portal and also lost seven players to the NFL Draft. In losing all of those players they lost almost all of their production from a year ago, as Stanford ranks dead last in the Power 5 in terms of returning production.

This means that Taylor and company will be hosting multiple position battles while also seeing how far along the team is in learning their new systems. While Stanford fans are understandably excited to see their favorite team take the field again, there are four major storylines that they need to be paying attention to.

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The Brand New Secondary

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The secondary was the position group hit the hardest by departures as they lost every starter from a year ago, and in total only returned one play from last year's opening game two-deep. In a year in which the Pac-12 is home to the best quarterback play in the country, having a brand new secondary is not ideal. However, there are some former highly touted recruits who will now have an opportunity to emerge. Being that the offense wants to push the ball down field, they will likely be frequently tested. 

The Defensive Line

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While this team as a whole is extremely inexperienced, this unit is the most experienced on the defensive side of the ball. Troy Taylor brought in Bobby April III from Wisconsin to lead his defense, and he brought over defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej with him. The Badgers front was a staple of their teams over the past few seasons, so look for guys like David Bailey to take that next step as a pass rusher, and for someone in the middle like Anthony Franklin or Tobin Phillips to emerge as well. 

Troy Taylor's Offense

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For years Stanford was one of the most physical offenses in the country that wanted to run the ball down a defense's throat and utilize their big receivers outside. Troy Taylor's offense still utilizes the run heavily, but wants to stretch defenses out far more. Cardinal fans were put to sleep over the past few seasons with Stanford's lethargic offense, and now will be able to cheer on a much faster and exciting offense. Taylor's offense ranked at or near the top in just about every category a year ago, and now he hopes to utilize even better athletes at Stanford to execute his vision.

Quarterback Battle

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Everyone knew this was coming, as Stanford lost Tanner McKee to the NFL, but with a new head coach in town it means everyone starts from ground zero. Ari Patu and Ashton Daniels are duking it out to secure the first team spot before fall camp, and before four-star Myles Jackson arrives. Being that spring games usually mean no contact for quarterbacks, it is unlikely that they will be able to showcase their running abilities a lot so the better passer should hold the advantage. This is the most intriguing aspect of the spring game, and is something that all fans will be dialed into.