A year ago at this time, the Stanford quarterback position was a mystery. The early departure of Davis Mills had left a question mark behind center, and most fans felt like Tanner McKee was the obvious answer. But McKee was still relatively new to the program, just over a year removed from his LDS mission, and senior Jack West waited in the wings, presumably with a thorough understanding of the notoriously complex Stanford playbook. (If you need a second, repeat after me: "God grant me the serenity to accept that I cannot change the Stanford playbook, the courage to turn away from the lure of other teams' watered down playbooks, and the wisdom to know the difference.")
When I spoke to David Shaw in July he assured me that he'd declare a winner to the quarterback competition no later than a week before opening day, and even that hesitation sent a mild tremor through the Stanford fanbase. When the deadline came and went without a decision and the Cardinal eventually went with two quarterbacks in the opener against Kansas State, the tremor became a shockwave.
What did it say about Stanford's ability to develop a quarterback that the highly touted McKee wasn't yet ready to start ahead of West, a player whose limitations were already apparent? What did it say about McKee? Was he possibly not as good as advertised? (And yes, there were the usual complaints about the playbook.)
That first game was disappointing, but it did make one thing clear -- Tanner McKee was the best quarterback on the 2021 roster, and it wasn't close. He was named the starter the following week against USC, and he led the Cardinal to a decisive 42-28 win as they upset the Trojans on the road. He completed 16 of 23 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and that success not only cemented his status as the starter, it caused some to direct deeper and more troubling questions at Shaw: How had McKee's talent not been obvious just two weeks earlier? Why had West even seen the field the previous Saturday?
Those answers weren't forthcoming, and they didn't matter much, but McKee quickly established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. He put up some impressive numbers (356 yards against Arizona State) while occasionally showing his inexperience (three interceptions in that same game), but overall his season had to be seen as a success.
The problems McKee faced were generally beyond his control. The uneven performance of the offensive line and the near complete absence of a running game put too much of the burden -- and physical punishment -- on McKee. It wasn't long before he broke.
If I told you that a team had given meaningful snaps to four different quarterbacks, you wouldn't imagine a successful season, and so it was for the Cardinal. West had started the opener, McKee started the next seven (winning three, losing four), West started again at Utah (one of the worst losses in program history), Ari Patu started the next week against Oregon State (another loss), McKee returned from injury to start the final two games (both losses), and Isaiah Sanders also played in multiple games.
It wasn't an ideal situation.
The good news is that things can't be worse than they were last year, I promise. McKee is not just the obvious starter, he was also elected by his teammates as one of this year's team captains. When I talked with him at Pac-12 Media Day last month he spoke with a quiet confidence that was more reminiscent of Kevin Hogan than K.J. Costello, but there was no doubt that he was ready for a successful fall that would erase the memories of last season.
A year ago we wondered about his ability, but that's no longer a concern. When the offensive line kept him upright and when he had a healthy complement of receivers (both situations were rare), he demonstrated the skill that had some pundits wondering if he might choose to leave Stanford for the NFL Draft after just one season on the field. He was that good. So good, in fact, that Pro Football Focus has tabbed him as one of the top quarterback prospects in the nation, and the highest rated overall prospect in the conference.
Assuming McKee's talented receivers stay healthy and -- fingers crossed! -- the offensive line performs at a higher level, we could see an offense that will be difficult to defend. McKee is a future NFL draft pick, and the same can probably be said for receivers Michael Wilson and Elijah Higgins and certainly tight end Ben Yurosek. The pieces are there for Stanford to have one of the most prolific passing attacks in the Pac-12. We'll know soon enough.
If there's concern here, it's with the lack of depth in the quarterback room. For the first time in recent memory, there is no one with star potential waiting on the depth chart. Sophomore Ari Patu was one of the first two early enrollees in Stanford history, but it was still shocking to see him on the field as a true freshman last fall. He wasn't a high profile recruit, and many observers criticized the Cardinal staff for offering him over more polished prospects, but the coaches liked Patu's athleticism and versatility. He seems like a project, and this isn't a program that has shown that it can develop projects. Kevin Hogan is probably the only quarterback in the Harbaugh-Shaw era who exceeded expectations, but any Stanford fan can list the ones who fell short. Whether those disappointments were the result of poor evaluation prior to signing day or poor development after, we'll never know.
Behind Patu is freshman Ashton Daniels, a three-star quarterback out of Georgia with a mediocre offer list but the notable distinction of three consecutive state championships and three consecutive championship game MVP awards. He seems to be another long term project.
Perhaps the most recognizable name in the room is freshman Charlie Mirer, the son of former Notre Dame star Rick Mirer. (You might remember that the somewhat biased Beano Cooke predicted he would win three Heisman Trophies; he won zero.) The younger Mirer comes to the Farm as a preferred walk-on, so we likely won't hear from him for a while.
