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Cardinal Class '13: Peter Kalambayi

Since the Stanford defense switched to a 3-4 scheme a few years ago, the team's defensive identity has been forged through the strength of some of the best linebackers in the conference. Shayne Skov, Jarek Lancaster, Trent Murphy, James Vaughters, and A.J. Tarpley will form the best linebacking unit in the country this fall, and we can probably expect to see sophomores Noor Davis and Blake Martínez in the rotation as well.

Building on this strength, the Cardinal have now signed one of the top linebackers in the nation, Peter Kalambayi.

Checking in at 6'3" and 229 pounds, Kalambayi has the size to play inside linebacker, but is also fast enough on the edges (4.6 in the 40) to chase down running backs or rush the quarterback as an outside linebacker. As usual, there is some disagreement amongst the various recruiting services as to where he ranks compared to other linebackers (Rivals #7, Scout #6, ESPN #17, 247 Sports #8), but the offer list tells you all you need to know. In committing to the Cardinal, Kalambayi turned down twenty-three scholarship offers from places like Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, and Virginia Tech. That's a serious group.

As dominant as he's become on the gridiron, football was not Kalambayi's first love. His family hails from Trinidad, and he has grown up playing soccer. That overall athleticism will likely help him find the field relatively early in his Stanford career. For proof, check the video...

Cardinal Class '13: Sean Barton

When David Shaw and his coaching staff signed six elite offensive linemen last February, beneath the overwhelming chorus of approval was an undercurrent of quiet concern: How, some wondered, would all these players coexist? It's beginning to look like a similar question might apply to the Class of 2013, this time in reference to the linebackers.

Stanford already appears comfortably stocked with linebackers on the current roster, but now they've added Peter Kalambayi and Sean Barton, a freakish athlete from Woods Cross High School in Utah.

Barton measures out at 6'3" and 225 pounds with an impressive 4.48 forty time, and it's that speed that likely precipitated his move from linebacker to safety last season. When he suits up for the Cardinal, however, it will be at linebacker. Because of this position change, his ratings are a bit murky. Rivals.com measures him as a safety, and gives him four stars as the 22nd-ranked safety in the nation. Scout.com, however, correctly projects him as a linebacker, but gives him just three stars as their 48th-ranked outside linebacker.

Regardless of all that, Barton's commitment is significant. He fielded scholarship offers from Boise State and BYU, as well as PAC-12 schools Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon State, Utah, and Washington.

You'll have to wait a while before seeing Barton in Cardinal and White, however. It's been known throughout the recruiting process that Barton would embark on a two-year Mormon mission following high school graduation, and he recently learned that he'll be spending that time in Benin Cotonou, Africa. He won't set foot on the Stanford campus until the fall of 2015.

There are two reasons why this is a good thing. First, Stanford has a limited number of scholarships this year, but Barton will technically be a part of the recruiting Class of 2015, allowing the Cardinal staff to bring in an extra player this year. Second, he'll be twenty-three years old when he's a junior, a fact that will bring with it an advantage in size, strength, maturity, and leadership. All of those are good qualities to have in a linebacker.

By the time Barton arrives, he will be stepping into a legacy that will include Thomas Keiser, Chase Thomas, Shayne Skov, Jarek Lancaster, James Vaughters, and Noor Davis. As he drives up Palm Drive he won't only be enrolling at Stanford University, he'll be coming to Linebacker U.

99th Rose Bowl: Stanford 20, Wisconsin 14

PASADENA, Calif. (GMC) -- The football landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade, and although it was wonderful to see the Stanford Cardinal playing in the Orange Bowl two years ago and in the Fiesta Bowl last year, for those of us who are above a certain age and remember a time when the Rose Bowl was the only thing that mattered for Pac-10 schools, Tuesday afternoon was special. It was more than just a BCS bowl game, after all. It was the Granddaddy. It was single greatest game in the history of the sport. It was the Rose Bowl. 

Images from the 2013 Rose Bowl

Entrance to the Stanford tailgate.

Here's Wade Gupta, one of the geniuses behind Toby the Van. If you've never checked out their tailgate, put it on your list of things to do next fall. Incredibly cool.

Greg Herrera, perhaps the most dedicated Stanford fan in the stadium, and he was sitting just two rows in front of me. (The details put this over the top -- note the Axes on the back of his "helmet".) He's worn this getup to two BCS bowl games in a row, and after Tuesday night's victory he looked ahead to the possiblity of next year's national championship. "If we make the championship game, I'll get this thing tattooed on!"

Confetti flies in the moments following the win. I suppose they used red, white, and green because those are Rose Bowl colors, but since it was Stanford vs. Wisconsin -- both red and white -- don't you think they could've loaded their cannons with red and white confetti? Would've been a lot cooler. Still, it was pretty cool. I think I want a confetti cannon for Christmas this year.

And finally, your humble correspondent. Go Mighty Card!

2012 Positional Grading: Offensive Line

This, of course, is where it all begins. There was concern in some corners due to the departures of All-America guard David DeCastro and All-Conference left tackle Jonathan Martin, and there were some growing pains early on, but it was business as usual for the offensive line by midway through the season. Here's what I wrote in last August's preview of this group:

At a certain point, college football observers will come to understand what card-carrying members of Mighty Card Nation already know. Stanford University produces Supreme Court Justices, Nobel Prize winners, and offensive linemen. When one group leaves, there will always be two or three players waiting to step in and fill the void. Because they've been admitted to the University, they will have the intellectual capacity to master the intracies of the position. Because of the coaching they receive, they will be prepared the first time they set foot on the field. Because the system often calls not only for a rotation of linemen, but also an entire herd of them in various power and hulk formations, they will be experienced.

At Stanford University, the offensive line is not rebuilt. It is reloaded. Today, tomorrow, and always.

Tomorrow Is Everything

Whether you're in the stands in Pasadena or sitting on the couch at home, be ready. Tomorrow is everything.

 

2012 Positional Grading: Tight Ends

The talent at the tight end position across America was deeper in 2012 than in most years, with UCLA's Joseph Fauria, Washington's Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert dominating the preseason hype, but no tight end was better than Stanford's Zach Ertz.

2012 Positional Grading: Wide Receivers

As prolific as the Stanford offense has been over the past four seasons, there has been a startling lack of production from the wide receiver position. Ryan Whalen (57 receptions for 926 yards and 4 touchdowns) and Chris Owusu (37/682/5) were strong in 2009, Doug Baldwin (58/857/9) emerged in 2010, and Griff Whalen (56/749/4) led the way in 2011, but none of those players -- except perhaps Owusu -- were game changers. Not one of them kept defensive backs up at night, not one of them forced defensive coordinators to change their game plans. Predictably, there were few conference honors, with only Baldwin being named second-team all Pac-10 in 2010 and Whalen receiving honorable mention in '09 and '10.

2012 Positional Grading: Running Backs

When I wrote my running backs preview back in August, I talked about offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton's spring-time suggestion that Stepfan Taylor was good enough to run for 2,000 yards in 2012. He was good enough, sure, but there were simply too many other options in the backfield for him to get the carries necessary to reach that plateau. Too many other backs, people like Anthony Wilkerson, Kelsey Young, Ricky Seale, Remound Wright, and maybe even Barry Sanders, would see action and be effective enough to give Taylor a rest from time to time.

GMC Book Club

No, it's not really a book club. It's much better. Let me explain.

I started this blog during the 2010 season, mainly because my friends were tiring of reading thousand-word emails after every Stanford game. In the two years that have followed I've written more than 200,000 words here about Stanford football, and I've enjoyed every minute. Some of you out there have possibly read all of those 200,000+ words, and I can't thank you enough. Writing for you has been an absolute joy.

There have been times, though, when it's been work. There have been times when I've thought about monetizing this site in some way, either through ads or by placing a simple PayPal donate button in the corner of the page. I've resisted all that, but recently another idea popped into my head.

I write this blog during the wee hours of the night, but by day I am a mild-mannered middle school English teacher -- ironically enough, at a place called Stanford Middle School. I teach all types of students, some of whom might end up at Stanford University one day, but today I want to talk to you about a group of 8th grade students that is close to my heart.

My seventh period class is made up of the 23 lowest readers in the school. Many of them had not read a book on their own before coming into my class, but in their second year in my room -- third year for a handful of them -- many of them are seeing the light and discovering the joy of reading.

It's difficult to find high-interest reading material that's still accessible to my students, all of whom are reading two or more years below their grade level. Once titles are identified, school budgets make it difficult to put books in the hands of these suddenly eager readers.

This is where you come in. If you've ever read something here and thought, "This is a good as something I might find behind another site's paywall," or if GMC is a daily stop for you, please consider clicking on the link below. It will take you to GoMightyCard's Amazon Wishlist, and you'll be able to buy a copy (or more) of The Hunger Games to donate to my class.

No, it won't pay for my webhosting fees, but it will do something much more important. It will keep a student's love for reading alive. Thanks for reading.

Here's the link: GMC's Amazon Wish List

UPDATE: I could not be more grateful. In less than 48 hours, my readers have come together and provided my students with an ENTIRE class set of The Hunger Games! I thank you, and my students thank you! If you'd still like to contribute books to my classroom, I've updated the Wish List with some other titles. Thank you from the bottom of my Cardinal heart!