The centerpiece of Pac-12 Media Day was obviously the three-hour press conference in the interview room, where each team's head coach and one selected player held court before the assembled media. In the afternoon, however, all of the principals were available for one-on-one interviews during which there was more of an opportunity to get deeper answers to specific questions about the team. I had a chance to spend some time with Stanford head coach David Shaw. The first question below is one that I asked him during the press conference, but the rest came as I sat next to him during lunch. The italicized topics indicate paraphrased questions from other media members. Read on...
GoMightyCard:
Most analysts, when they're reviewing the 2011 edition of the Stanford Cardinal, they'll acknowledge the talent coming back, certainly the quarterback that's coming back, but it seems like there's always a caveat. There are always people saying that Jim Harbaugh gave the team an edge, gave the Cardinal an attitude. I'm wondering how you respond to that, if you respond to it all, or what you think about that criticism.
Coach David Shaw:
I agree with it. Coach Harbaugh came in and fought a lot of battles that I don't have to fight. My job is to maintain the competitive spirit. Like I said before, that's one of the things that he and I had in common. We're gonna compete, we're gonna fight. We have different personalities, but at the same time, if you ask the guys, when somebody crosses the line, I will be nose to nose with them. I might not be yelling, but I will be dead serious. There's a standard of play that we're gonna play up to, and it's my job to make sure we do that.
GMC:
I want to ask you about Shayne Skov. He's a player that I can't take my eyes off when I'm watching him play. What are your general impressions about him?
Shaw:
The thing with Shayne, is trying to make sure Shayne understands the story of Andrew Luck, coming back for that fourth year. Shayne's gonna be one of the top linebackers in the nation. I think he's proven that he can do it in big games, game after game. He's battled through some minor injuries, but I he's one of the passionate leaders of our team. He's one of those guys that he's gonna poke his chest out and give it his best shot every single game. When guys do that, guys love playing with them.
GMC:
I know you haven't started practice yet, but the offensive line is always a big concern. How do you feel about the way that's headed with the new guys that are sliding in to those spots?
Shaw:
Our two guys battling for the center spot have both gotten bigger over the summer, because we need that physical presence in the middle of our line. I feel good about that competition because both kids are bright kids, and we're gonna put a lot on the center, mentally. Both Sammy Schwartzstein and Khalil Wilkes both have taken it seriously, and it's gonna be a good battle. The right tackle position's gonna be up in the air.
GMC:
As far as the battles on the offensive line, because that's a group that has to work together so well, at what point do you have to make a decision? How much lead time do they have? Can you run them out against San Jose State and say, you five, you're the guys?
Shaw:
I think we practice in a way that is conducive to being able to play multiple guys anyway.
GMC:
Which you've always done.
Shaw:
Yeah. Our guys build a certain amount of camaraderie, whether one guy's in one starting spot or another guy, because we're gonna do a lot of multiple offensive linemen sets. The guy that might be starting at left guard, he might be lining up at tight end so we're starting with somebody else at left guard. So these guys don't get built in to, "I can only operate with this guy and this guy next to me." We move them around a lot, and I give a lot of thanks to Greg Roman and Tim Drevno for kind of establishing that style of play and training those guys that way. They're not trained in a box anymore. We move them around, we shift our offensive line, and it's kind of opened their horizons. So if we do have a guy who gets hurt, we plug in another guy, and that guy we just plugged in... he's played a lot of football.
GMC:
It seems like, from a coaching standpoint, that would really help. Does that help the morale of those guys? If one of them does not win that starting job, he's not necessarily gonna be on the bench for the rest of the season. Is it more of a cohesive group in that sense?
Shaw:
Absolutely. They all know that even if they don't start, they're gonna get a chance to get dirty. We're gonna use them, and it's not gonna be lip service. We're gonna put 'em on the field. They're gonna be on the field in crunch time: third and one, fourth and one, goal line positions. But then regular field also. We like playing multiple offensive line sets, we like playing multiple receiver sets, tight end sets, we want to put as much pressure on the defense as we can.
GMC:
How about the tight ends? I love the tight ends on the team. Do you have any sense of how that's gonna shake out, or will it be kind of like the offensive line?
Shaw:
I think the challenge is different for our tight end group. I think we've got some proven guys, but my challenge to them is to be the best group in the nation, and I don't think it's putting too much on them. I think they've got to see themselves not as individuals, but as a group. They are versatile, and they can be explosive, and they can be physical because we need them in the running game, and I think as a group they've got a chance to do something special. I think I would be remiss if I didn't put that challenge out there for them. I think they need that challenge. I think they need to push themselves. I think they need to see themselves in that rarefied air.
On the possible impact of a Heisman Trophy for Andrew Luck:
Shaw:
I think it would be great. I think it would be well-deserved, not just because he's talented, but because he works. He puts in the work, every single day. What I love about him is that he works before he talks. The great leaders in history will put it on the line, and that's what he is for us. They don't give me a vote, but he's got my vote. I think his teammates want it more than he does. He puts his head down and he just goes, but his teammates really want him to get that recognition."
On campaigning for Luck:
Shaw:
Absolutely. I'll sing his praises at all times, because he embodies what we're about, which is about excellence. It's about daily excellence. It's not just about playing great on Saturdays, it's about practicing great during the week, it's about leaving the practice facility and going and influencing the academic community in a positive way and being a great student. And then, being a great ambassador as far as how you operate in the community. I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me with this look on their face, and they're surprised. Here's a kid, in this day and age of hoopla and et cetera, that actually lives up to the hype as a human being. He's the same way in front of a camera as he is when you run into him at 7-Eleven. He opens doors for people, he lets somebody go in front of him, that's just how he was raised."
Comparing Luck to other quarterbacks:
Shaw:
For me, he's got the best of every quarterback I've ever been around. I spent a year with Jeff George, who's the most unbelievable pure passer I've ever seen with my own eyes, and Andrew's very similar. He can place the ball wherever he wants to. Rich Gannon was ridiculously competitive and would push himself to know the game plan as well if not better than the coaching staff; Andrew does the same thing. We put all those things on his shoulders. And then to have the athletic ability of Josh Johnson, from the University of San Diego, who could run it and throw it as well as anybody in the nation even though it was a small school. To be able to take bits and pieces of all those guys, and it's all put into one guy, and then have the personality and character of a guy like Ty Detmer. I spent a year with Ty Detmer. To be the guy that every single day you know he's gonna come in with a positive attitude and be a great leader for our team. I could go on and on, but those are the things that come off the top of my head.
On Luck's improvement from last year to this:
Shaw:
It's the difference between being really good at something, and mastering something. We need him to master our offense. He's gotta master the protections, he's gotta master the running game. He's gotta be on par with us. We've raised the bar there because we think he can reach it... We want it to be seamless. When I have a conversation with him, I want it to be exactly like me having a conversation with Pep Hamilton, our offensive coordinator. I want the three of us to be on such the same page that we can finish each other's sentences. That's our goal. If we can get him to that level with us, the rest of the team will follow... Andrew's on such a level mentally, not just physically, but on such a level mentally, that we can challenge him as much if not more than any other quarterback that I've ever been around.
GMC:
There's been talk leading in to this season that Andrew's gonna have more of a stake in the offense, more of a say in things. What does that look like from a coaching perspective? Is that gonna be during meetings leading up to games? Is that gonna be helping to develop the game plan or being consulted? What does that look like?
Shaw:
Consultation is huge for me, and that's what I learned being around Rich Gannon. Rich would come in and not have demands, Rich would come in with preferences.
GMC:
I like this play, or I think this is gonna work this week?
Shaw:
Exactly. 'I'm more comfortable with these groups of plays here.' And that's one thing that was hard for Andrew early on. When he first started I would say, which play do you like better, this one or this one? He'd say, 'Coach, whatever you call I'll try to make it work.' I'd say, no, no, no. I want you to look at these, evaluate them, practice them, and tell me which you like better.' What it does, it gets him invested in the offense. What I learned a long time ago is that when a quarterback has his hands in the game plan, and you call the play, it hits him like, 'Oh, yeah, this is the one that I wanted.' We talk about it -- the first 3rd and 4 or 3rd and 6, what play do you want? And he'll pick it. So when we hit that first 3rd and 6 and the personnel grouping comes in, before we signal the play he knows what it is. He helped us pick it. At any point in time, if there's something that he does not like that's on the game plan, it goes in the garbage. We've got enough plays, we've got a lot of plays. We can come up with all kinds of stuff. But if he's not comfortable with something, it's gone. So what it does now, is he can look at the game plan and know that his fingerprints are all over it. He's emotionally invested in the plays that we run.
GMC:
In the interview room you talked about the influence of playing for Coach Walsh for three years, and he was kind of famous for drawing up plays on a cocktail napkin and running it two days later in a game. How fluid is the offense under you? Are you coming up with new plays? What's your philosophy towards that?
Shaw:
We're going to be a three-pronged play-calling machine between myself, Pep Hamilton, and Mike Bloomgren. It'll be fluid. We've developed a pretty good system here under Coach Harbaugh that I think we'll go forward using. It's one that's built on mutual respect, and it's built on expertise. We've got guys that are good at what they do, and I don't want to hold guys back. I want Pep Hamilton to feel like he's a helluva play caller, like he is, so he's gonna have a big hand in what we do. I think Mike Bloomgren's done a phenomenal job. He did a great job with the New York Jets. We see eye to eye on how to run the football, so he's gonna have a big hand in our play calling on game day with running the ball. He's gonna put more time into it than I'll be able to, but I'll be able to inject in there as well. So the three of us, I believe, will develop the best system. It'll change periodically as we're going forward, but I feel very comfortable with those guys.