Status of injured Stanford football players still up in the air for game vs. SJSU

The final game of the season is always an important one, meaning the Cardinal will want to have as many reinforcements as possible.

Sep 20, 2024; Syracuse, New York, USA; Stanford Cardinal safety Mitch Leigber (32) returns an interception for a touchdown against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

With the final game of the season fast approaching, the Stanford Cardinal (3-8, 2-6 ACC) will hit the road and look to end the year on a positive note, as a game against a tough San Jose State team is next on the docket. Hoping to have all their pieces intact to be able to put the best possible team on the field, the Cardinal will go into the week with a few players banged up and with a quicker turnaround, more questions may begin to arise about their availability.

On Monday, head coach Troy Taylor met with the media and talked about the status of the three players injured in the team’s loss to Cal, Elic Ayomanor, Kahlil House and Mitch Leigber. While it looks like Ayomanor’s injury is not expected to keep him out, being that he returned to the game on Saturday after a brief departure, it is still uncertain whether or not House and Leigber will be good to go, with their availability dependent on how the week goes.

“Elic is fine, he’s fine,” Taylor said. “The other two are day to day right now, so we’ll see. It’s a short week which is tough because we play on Friday. So, Elic is good to go. We’ll see today, but I’m assuming he’s gonna be ready to go and the other two guys are gonna be day to day.”

Leigber’s injury was the most notable. With 6:47 left in the first half, he got hurt and was forced to leave the game, never returning and resulting in the Cardinal secondary being made up of all freshmen for the rest of the game.

Leigber has been key for Stanford’s secondary this season as he has established himself as not only a formidable starter, but a major leader for that side of the ball. So far this season, he has amassed 35 solo tackles (54 total) and two interceptions, one of which was a memorable 71 yard pick six against Syracuse that contributed to the Cardinal pulling off the upset victory.

House, a true freshman out of Warner Robins, Georgia has rotated between the tackle spots but has emerged as the starting left tackle over the last few weeks, looking like he could be a staple to the offensive line for the next few seasons. Listed at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, House has brought another big body to the trenches. While the line as a whole has struggled with keeping opposing teams from coming through, House’s physicality and athleticism has not gone unnoticed and has helped the former three-star prospect become one of the team’s most important players.

Having Ayomanor will be huge for an offense that, aside from coming to life against Louisville, has been stagnant in a lot of situations this year and will need a player like him available if they want any chance of a big boost. The team’s leading receiver, Ayomanor had caught 53 balls for 722 yards and six touchdowns, catching five passes for 62 yards last week against Cal.

While the emergence of freshman Emmett Mosley V has taken some of the focus off of Ayomanor, he has still seen big moments come his way, having caught a touchdown in two out of the last four games, finding the end zone in consecutive weeks against NC State and Louisville, respectively. Evolving into a true superstar, Stanford is always in a better spot when he is on the field.