Josh Nunes Replacing Andrew Luck Marks Transition To The David Shaw Era
By Kyle Kensing
Stanford head coach David Shaw declared junior Josh Nunes the Cardinal’s starting quarterback, earning the honor over Brett Nottingham and ending the months long mystery of who would succeed the most successful quarterback in program history. Andrew Luck’s list of accomplishments written on the way to the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft has been covered ad nauseum and needs no reiteration.
Nunes will be compared to Luck plenty come the season, if he isn’t already. I will spare you those words here, because Nunes’ selection is symbolic of more than replacing Luck. The transition from the Harbaugh to Shaw era is now in high gear.
Previously offensive coordinator, Shaw entered the perfect situation for a first year head coach. He had a roster loaded with top shelf talent, all accustomed to his philosophies. That manifested with a run to the Fiesta Bowl and the Cardinal’s second consecutive season with at least 11 wins. Stanford registered a dizzying 43.2 points per game along the way, marking the third straight season the Cardinal ranked No. 11 or better in scoring offense.
Now, everything with any exposure to Stanford at all during that time knows Luck’s contributions to that offensive machine. He quarterbacked the unit all three of those campaigns. But he benefited from playing behind one of the best and, pardon the cliche when applied to Stanford athletes, most heady offensive lines in the nation.
The Cardinal front included two highly drafted NFL talents, Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro. We don’t know a lot about Nunes — he’s thrown two passes in his college career, both of which were tossed in 2010. He has NFL size and a four star pedigree, but then again so do a lot of BCS conference prospects. Not all pan out.
We do know that if he was playing behind a line including Martin and DeCastro, his uniform would not need heavy stain lifters during Sunday’s laundry barring frequent scrambles a la Luck. Apologies, there’s one of those Luck comparisons I promised would not be made. Moving on.
So Nunes is hardly the sole unknown. How the Cardinal line functions losing so much talent and experience sets the tone for both the new play caller, and the notable holdover from the Harbaugh years.
Running back Stepfan Taylor is likely to take on the majority of responsibilities, at least initially. He’s a proven talent and has been producing throughout the Cardinal’s run of success. Whether Luck or Toby Gerhart, Taylor has been in someone’s shadow; no more. Taylor is primed for a breakout season, but needs the line and passing game to hold up their end of the bargain the way he has the last few seasons.
Theoretically if Taylor sets the pace via the rush, it will lure in linebackers and allow Nunes to spread the ball around the field. But to whom? Coby Fleener and Griff Whalen are partnered with Luck in Indianapolis. Chris Owusu is still in the Bay Area, but back with Harbaugh as a San Francisco 49er.
Levine Toilolo has a look reminiscent of former Miami Hurricane and current New Orleans Saint star Jimmy Graham, and could put up comparably impressive numbers should he become Nunes’ favorite target. But one skilled tight end does not a receiving corps make. Nunes must craft his own class of targets to truly make this team his.
But the true shift of eras could be marked in a transition to Stanford as a defensive team. Shaw is a proven offensive genius, and the Cardinal is not likely to devolve into a leather helmet offensive team. However, igniting the offense could be contingent on feeding off a stacked defense.
Chase Thomas commented at Pac-12 Media Day last month that the front seven to which he belongs is “one of the best in the nation.” The return of Shayne Skov makes Thomas’ point difficult to argue.
Stanford’s ability to stifle opponents was an unappreciated facet of its 23 wins the last two campaigns. Last season, opponents averaged a little over 21 points per game despite running a combined 815 plays. The Cardinal defense had no shortage of opportunities to give up points given how quickly and effectively the offense worked, but didn’t.