Stanford Head Coach Troy Taylor Open to Rotating Backfield

Dylan Grausz | Aug 22, 2024

Oct 21, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor (left) and quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) walk on the field before the game against the UCLA Bruins at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

It is the final countdown to the Stanford football season with training camp wrapping up and as the program begins looking ahead to its week one game against TCU. Things are beginning to get become more clear as to how the team will look and who will take the field on opening night. With the last week of training camp among us, head coach Troy Taylor made himself available to the media after practice on Tuesday for the final time during camp and gave some insight as to where things stand.

Running backs likely to rotate in week one

While Sedrick Irvin has long been presumed to be the guy who gets the call to start the season as the main ball carrier, a strong camp from the other veteran backs such as Ryan Butler, Champ Hampton and the young guys such as Chris Davis Jr., Cole Tabb and Micah Ford have made it harder to pick just one guy. Taylor is expected to go with a rotation in week one to truly assess where things stand.

“First game, we’ll probably play a number of guys and see how it sorts out,” Taylor said. “But for sure, the young guys are in the mix.”

Having a plethora of players at one position can be a good problem, and when a team has a situation like Stanford does right now where you can’t go wrong with who you choose, it speaks volumes to not only the depth that the team has to work with, but also the talent level littered on this year’s roster.

No official word on the starting quarterback as of yet

All through camp, it has been expected that last year’s quarterback Ashton Daniels would be the clear-cut guy heading into 2024, with another year of experience under his belt taking him a long way. While it would come as no shock to see Daniels under center against TCU, strong camps from Justin Lamson and Elijah Brown have created a legitimate competition in camp that have made things more competitive than expected.

“No, not yet,” Taylor said of the QB battle update. “[It’s] a good competition, they’re all playing well, so I feel good about the three main guys competing. They all look really good.”

Daniels still remains the favorite and should be expected to be the man starting when week one rolls around, but it is a very comforting feeling for Stanford knowing that if something happens to the starting quarterback, they have someone who is more than capable of running the show in the interim.

Confidence in Emmet Kenney is high

Having star kicker Joshua Karty last season had its perks, especially when the team was within reasonable distance of a field goal, feeling extremely comfortable knowing that three points were coming. But now that Karty is in the NFL, the Cardinal will need to fill his void. It appears that they already have that guy ready and waiting, with Emmett Kenney looking locked in during camp.

“He’s been more consistent,” Taylor said. “Obviously, that position is about doing it in the game, in the stadium with the crowd against an opponent. And I know he’s excited for his opportunity but he’s had a good camp for sure.”

While it will be hard to truly tell what they have in Kenney until gameday, if camp has been any indication of what is to come, Stanford have themselves another star leg.

Game prep starts now

While game week isn't until next week, the Cardinal will waste no time and will start looking ahead and incorporating their game week routine into future practices from here on out.

“We will do more scout team stuff,” Taylor said. “Everything has been against the defense and our defensive strategy and philosophy. Now, we’ll start to do some scouts where we’ll work against what we expect TCU to do. You never know in the first game. We’ll do a little crossover work with the defense just to get really fast looks but it’ll transition to more TCU looks.”

Training camp only has a few days left and after that, it will be all about TCU as the Cardinal will be hungry to get off to a fast start as they begin their new era in the ACC.

Excitement about gameday is in the air

Any time that a football team has the chance to put on pads and play the game they love is an exciting moment, but what is more exciting than practice is a real game and the lead-up to those games. Now that game week is only a week away, it is clear that everyone within the program is fired up to take the field for the first time in 2024.

“They get tired of going against each other,” Taylor said. “So they’re kind of at that point, they’re doing a good job, but they definitely want to play somebody else. This has been a great camp, we’ve done a great job of staying healthy and taking care of each other and getting better, and we’re ready to focus in and play somebody.” 

The time is quickly coming for the season to really begin, and after finishing 3-9 last year, a new look and revamped Stanford Cardinal are as excited as ever to turn the tables and bring football glory back to Palo Alto.