Four Biggest Takeaways From Stanford's Spring Showcase

Kevin Borba | Apr 21, 2024

Sep 23, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor reacts during the / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

PALO ALTO-On a beautiful sunny day at Stanford Stadium, fans packed into the stadium to get their first look at the beloved football team.

The Cardinal are heading into year two under Troy Taylor, and are looking to show signs of improvement in just about every aspect imaginable following their 3-9 season. The first hour or so of practice was all positional drills as every position group was scattered throughout the field working on the fundamentals. Following that hour, the team then went into an 11-on-11 period where fans got to see the offense and defense go head-to-head.

Here are my four biggest takeaways from the 11-on-11 period:

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Nov 18, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; California Golden Bears running back Jaydn Ott (1) runs / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

David Bailey Was Disruptive

The defense featured a ton of inexperienced players last season, but one of the couple of players that had starting experience was David Bailey. He is now heading into his third season, and could be poised for a breakout year. He had two sacks on the day, which was the most by anyone on defense and was consistently getting pressure on the quarterbacks. If he can continue to develop as a pass rusher and Bobby April III can move him around a bit to free him up, he could very well catch some people by surprise.

Nov 20, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; General view of the Stanford Cardinal helmet during the / Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Freshman WR Emmett Mosley Has Star Potential

This is likely a very bullish take on a freshman wide receiver who has been on campus for all of a couple of months, but the former four-star receiver just stands out. Stanford's receivers weren't operating at full strength as both Elic Ayomanor and Tiger Bachmeier are out with undisclosed injuries at this time. So, the first unit was typically Mudia Reuben, Ismael Cisse, and Emmet Mosley. If it was my first time watching this team, I'd fully assume that Mosley was a veteran with the way he moves

. He was the only receiver that was consistently getting open, and the quarterbacks all were trying to find him. He and Elijah Brown connected on a would-be touchdown, but he was ruled out. It was on the opposite side of the field, so I personally couldn't see, but maybe could have gone the other way if there was replay. When Ayomanor and Bachmeier return, they may only open things up more for the freshman.

Sep 23, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Sedrick Irvin (26) runs the / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Sedrick Irvin Could Poised For A Big Year

The 11-on-11 portion was mostly passing, so there weren't many opportunities to see the run game get going. However, Sedrick Irvin made two massive plays that should have fans eager to see him in 2024. The very first play of the 11-on-11 porition, he caught a pass and took it about 35 yards for a touchdown virtually untouched, showcasing his top-end speed. He later scored from about 15 yards out on a run that saw him fly past the defense and lower his shoulder to get into the end zone. It feels safe to say that he is the lead back, and everyone behind him will be fighting for touches amongst each other.

Nov 11, 2023; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) looks to / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Ashton Daniels Looked The Best At QB

The position that everyone was certainly focused on, the quarterback battle is one that is expected to carry over into fall camp but as of right now there's a clear leader. Ashton Daniels, who started 10 games last season was the clear No. 1 quarterback. Freshman Elijah Brown started with the twos, but did see reps with the ones. Justin Lamson who played a lot last season as well was with the twos and and Myles Jackson was with the threes.

Daniels had the nice touchdown to Irvin, found David Kasemervisz for a 30-yard score while on the run, and I also think he would have had a rushing touchdown but was deemed to be down via two-hand touch. Of all the quarterbacks, he seemed to have the easiest time moving the ball down the field. Brown didn't have any glaring mistakes, but just wasn't able to get into the end zone despite coming close with his pass to Mosley. Lamson appeared to struggle the most, and was picked off by Jshawn Frausto-Ramos. He did however connect with Cisse on a nice back-shoulder throw. Jackson did connect with Ahmari Borden for a score, but was also almost picked off on a couple of occasions.

Taylor didn't give an order of the depth chart, but spoke highly of both Daniels and Brown.