Stanford Football Depth Chart for Week One Game Versus TCU

Dylan Grausz | Aug 27, 2024

Oct 8, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal guard Levi Rogers (57) blocks Oregon State Beavers defensive lineman Simon Sandberg (96) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest questions that still remained for Stanford football heading into week one of the college football season was who the starters are going to be when TCU comes to town. Now with only a few days left until gameday, that answer appears to have been revealed, as a preliminary depth chart has been released ahead of Friday night’s clash.

The biggest notable occurrence to this depth chart release is that some positions, including quarterback and left guard, do not include a clear cut starter and instead have ‘OR’ written next to the second players listed on the depth chart for those positions, with Ashton Daniels, Justin Lamson and Elijah Brown all listed as co-starters at quarterback.

Stanford depth chart for week one against @Killer_Frogs pic.twitter.com/O3LvcViijs

— Stanford on SI (@StanfordonSI) August 27, 2024

At running back, Sedrick Irvin is the first name listed, but freshmen Micah Ford and Chris Davis Jr. have ‘OR’ next to their names, indicating that those two should expect to see some meaningful reps on Friday night. Elic Ayomanor is starting at X receiver spots but the other slot receiver has Tiger Bachmeier and Ismael Cisse as the two starters, with Jackson Harris and Emmet Mosley competing to be the Z receiver. Junior Sam Roush is slotted as the starting tight end with freshman Benji Blackburn right behind him.

On the offensive line, Luke Baklenko, Levi Rogers, Simione Pale and Connor McLaughlin lock up the left tackle, center, right guard and right tackle spots, respectively but the left guard position currently has two guys that are expected to rotate as the starter for the time being, as junior Jake Maikkula and senior Jack Leyrer both put together strong training camps.

Defensively, the makeup looks fairly similar to last season, but with new additions improving the spots behind the starters. Starting at EDGE are senior Wilfredo Aybar and junior David Bailey, while the interior defensive line will see Tobin Phillips, Braden Marceau-Olayinka and Anthony Franklin take care of things. Graduate transfer Clay Patterson is listed as the No. 2 guy behind Marceau-Olayinka, but he figures to play a big role and be a central rotational piece. 

Nothing changes at linebacker, as the dynamic duo of Gaethan Bernadel and Tristan Sinclair, who were the top two in tackles on the team last year, return to lead the new-look defense. Northern Iowa transfer Jahsiah Galvan is slotted behind Bernadel, but he figures to also play a very important role on his new team.

The defensive back alignment will have junior Scotty Edwards at free safety and senior Mitch Leigber man the strong safety spot while redshirt sophomore Collin Wright lines up at the left cornerback spot with fifth year senior Omari Porter as his backup. The right cornerback spot will split between fifth year senior Zahran Manley and freshman Cam Richardson. 

With a big week of practice ahead, the Cardinal will work as hard as they can in order to start off the season strong, hungrier than ever to bring home an opening week win, and start the new era in the ACC on a high note.