Should Stanford Roll With Elijah Brown, or Look to the Portal for Their Next QB?

With Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson both transferring, Elijah Brown is left as the presumed starter for 2025. But after missing time last year and looking shaky at times, the Cardinal may need to look for an established veteran if they wish to see success in 2025.

Oct 26, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Elijah Brown (2) drops back to throw against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Stanford football is facing a pivotal year in 2025. After enduring its fourth consecutive 3-9 season, the Cardinal knew that changes needed to be made in order for success on the gridiron to return to The Farm.

So far this offseason, roster turnover has been one of the biggest storylines, with a plethora of players hitting the portal while at the same time, transfers have opted to continue their college careers at Stanford.

And one position that saw a lot of turnover was quarterback, with starting quarterback Ashton Daniels transferring to Auburn after three seasons as a Cardinal and dual-threat quarterback Justin Lamson also putting his name in the portal.

With both of those players gone, Elijah Brown is now left as the presumed starter for the season, as the former four-star recruit has been highly coveted since his arrival on campus.

But after a strong debut against Cal Poly in week two of the 2024 season, it was revealed that an injury suffered in the game would keep Brown out for weeks, preventing him from suiting up which in turn hampered his development.

Finally healthy enough to return in week eight against SMU, where he played the majority of the game, Brown struggled in his first moments of action and threw two interceptions in the 40-10 loss. The following week against Wake Forest, Brown completed five out of his nine pass attempts for 24 yards and an interception before being held out of action for the rest of the season in order to preserve his redshirt status.

Now entering their second season as a member of the ACC and facing a pivotal year in terms of needing to re-establish themselves as one of the nation's strongest programs, the Cardinal will need to really figure out if Brown is the right man to lead them in 2025.

Brown possesses a lot of talent and has experience playing high level football, being a state champion as the starting quarterback for one of the country's best football high schools in Mater Dei, but he's shown that he has some limitations, especially when facing some of the ACC's top defenses.

With the ACC being as strong as it is and Stanford still being in a rebuild, looking to land a quarterback in the portal could be the best course of action for a couple of reasons.

For one, it would give them an experienced veteran who can be counted on to lead a young team. Last year, the Cardinal were one of the youngerst teams in college football and were near the top of the list of using the most freshmen and having the most players make their college debuts. Playing only three games last year, Brown is still developing and may be asked to do too much if he ends up being the guy.

Getting a veteran would also allow the Cardinal to shift focus elsewhere. Instead of needing to focus on developing their quarterback into a star, they can put more emphasis on building a strong team and offense around a veteran so that they can maximize the star power of the players that they have acquired.

Staying competitive and winning more games will be at the top of the list for the Cardinal this year, so making sure that they have the right guys to help them accomplish that will be important.

What the Cardinal decide to do still remains to be seen but whatever direction they take will be vital in determining what kind of team they will be in 2025.