Stanford Cardinal Most Disrespected Team in Football?

Offense

After starting midway through his freshman season and never relinquishing his job, leading the Cardinal to two Pac 12 titles in the process, Kevin Hogan could potentially become the greatest Stanford quarterback in history. He has accomplished so much already on the field and is only a junior. An offense that relied heavily on the running game will now turn to more of a passing attack this year, and Hogan appears more than capable of managing it. He has been very efficient the past two years, especially against the top teams, and look for him to finally get the superstar respect he deserves this year.

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The loss of All-American running back Tyler Gaffney and his amazing 1,700 yards is why Shaw will have to turn to the passing game. Gaffney was the horse of the offense throughout all of last year, scoring 21 touchdowns as well and allowing Stanford to control the clock against teams like Oregon. Adding insult to injury, Anthony Wilkerson was the No. 2 rusher with 350 yards and is also gone. No other running back played significantly last year, but Shaw keeps hinting that he could have by-committee starters this year, and there is plenty of talent. Seniors Remound Wright and Ricky Seale saw limited action last year, but it’s worth mentioning that Wright reached 102 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries in 2013, which would make for one very good game. Sophomore Barry Sanders and freshman Christian McCaffrey are also in the mix, so it’s not like there is no talent here. All four guys were 4-star recruits. The running game should be fine, but you have to expect a major drop-off with so much talent gone. To make it worse, the fullback position is also up for grabs after Ryan Hewitt left, but seniors Lee Ward and Patrick Skov should both be good enough to replace that void.

While the running game takes a hit, the wide receivers are flat out loaded. Senior receiver and All-American kick returner Ty Montgomery will be a playmaker all over the field this year after 958 yards and 1o touchdowns last year as long as he can get healthy. Junior Devon Cajuste should be much better this year as the No. 2 receiver after 642 yards and 5 touchdowns, and sophomore Michael Rector rounds out a three-wide receiver set that’s as good as any after he put up 431 yards and 3 touchdowns as a freshman and the No. 3 receiver in a run-oriented offense last year. As Shaw opens up the passing game this year, all three of these guys are very good and will make a great unit. Tight end Luke Kaumatule is no loss with redshirt freshman Austin Hooper filling that void. Hooper has impressed everybody in practice and already locked down a starting job, so look for an immediate upgrade at that position. These four main guys in the receiving corps. should make it one of the best in the country as the passing game takes off this year, and it should be much better than last year. There are four other players with experience in the system to provide depth and three freshmen tight end coming in, which makes this a loaded unit as well.

Nov 23, 2013; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Ty Montgomery (7) congratulated by Stanford Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan (8) after scoring during the first quarter against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

The offensive line suffers the biggest hit with four starters gone, including All-American David Yankey and All-Pac 12 players Cameron Fleming and Khalil Wilkes. Kevin Danser is the other starter gone, leaving the only returner All-Pac 12 left tackle Andrus Peat. But if you wanted somebody back, this would be it. Peat provides incredible size at 6’7″ 312 pounds and should only get better this year. More good news? There is a lot of very highly recruited talent to replace the other guys. Junior Joshua Garnett will start at one guard position, and at 6’5″ 316 pounds he already has experience starting two games and could burst onto the scene this year. Junior Kyle Murphy will start at the other tackle position, and let’s remember that he and Peat were both 5-star recruits. As Peat builds on his superstar hype this year, Murphy will likely become a star in his own right, leaving the tackle positions set with absolutely no drop-off. All of these guys are part of one of the best o-line recruiting classes in history from 2012. Junior Graham Shuler was another highly recruited part of that class and will replace Wilkes at center, and sophomore Johnny Caspers is the weak link of the line, being the youngest and the only player who wasn’t a 4 or 5-star. But at 6’4″ 301 pounds, Shaw has already mentioned that he will surprise people. There are also three other veterans with the group and three highly recruited freshmen that assure a deep unit. Surprisingly, the talent of this year’s line exceeds that of last year’s line. The production won’t be there because there’s too much inexperience, but midway through the season, fans will forget about last year’s line. Book it.

The Cardinal offense will have to change up its tempo a bit this year thanks to its personnel and throw the ball more, but it’s perfectly capable of doing that with Hogan and a great set of receiver. Add to that a couple of very good, despite inexperienced, running backs and a very raw but very talented offensive line, and as the season progresses it should surpass last year’s production, just in time for the hardest part of the schedule to take shape. Continue to Next Slide for Defense