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Stanford Football: Top 5 breakout candidates for 2017

By Connor Muldowney

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 7: Tight end Dalton Schultz #9 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates a second quarter touchdown at Folsom Field on November 7, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 7: Tight end Dalton Schultz #9 of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates a second quarter touchdown at Folsom Field on November 7, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 05: Keller Chryst #10 of the Stanford Cardinal drops back to pass against the Oregon State Beavers during the first quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 05: Keller Chryst #10 of the Stanford Cardinal drops back to pass against the Oregon State Beavers during the first quarter of their NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Another position Stanford has gotten lucky with over the years is quarterback. You can tell that Stanford is a school for the academically-gifted because the Cardinal gunslingers are usually extremely smart football players. Guys like Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan succeeded in this system and Keller Chryst could be the next to do so.

Chryst was once considered a top recruit at the high school level before picking Stanford. Many regarded him as a top-50 player nationally and 247Sports even ranked him as the third-best pro-style quarterback in the 2014 class. He looked the part of the next star quarterback, but has had to wait his turn.

For the first two years in the system, he sat behind Kevin Hogan. Last year, he was finally given an opportunity to start, but he didn’t get his first start until the Arizona game midway through the year. He ended up going 6-0 as a starter, including a Sun Bowl win, for the Cardinal.

Although his numbers aren’t eye-popping in six starts, passing for 905 yards and 10 touchdowns, he has that leadership ability that David Shaw loves in his gunslingers. Leading the team to a 6-0 record after a 4-3 start was impressive.

Now that he’s getting a shot to be the full-time starter in 2017, his numbers will improve drastically. Could he break 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns?

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