Go Mighty Card

Poised for Greatness: Kelsey Young

When Jim Harbaugh left the program he had built to join the San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2011, Stanford football stood at a crossroads. Most observers believed the program would crumble and that the assembled recruiting class would splinter in the four weeks that remained before National Signing Day, but that didn't happen. This series will take a closer look at some of the players from that landmark class who are poised for greatness in 2013.

 Kelsey Young arrived at Stanford two years ago as one of the top running back recruits in California, grading out as a four-star prospect according to both Rivals and Scout. But like most of Stanford's running back recruits over the past few years, he spent his first season on the sidelines. The coaches have been excited about him since his signing, however, and when I asked Coach Shaw about Young prior to last season, he explained the situation like this: "We have a depth chart on a board in my office. The receivers are listed [in one column], and the running backs are listed [in another]. Right in the middle, all by himself, is Kelsey." He further explained that although they weren't sure how they were going to use him, they knew they had to get him the ball.

2013 Opponent Preview: Washington Huskies

Washington Huskies  
Head Coach: Steve Sarkisian (26-25)
2012 Record: 7-6, 5-4 in Pac-12
2012 Bowl: Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State 28, UW 26

Series Record: Washington leads, 38-41-4
Harbaugh/Shaw Era: Stanford leads, 4-2
Last Season: Washington 17, Stanford 13
This Season: October 5th at Stanford

There is perhaps no better barometer to measure the state of Stanford Football over the past few years than the Washington Huskies. As the defense was just beginning to round into form in 2010, Stanford travelled north and crushed the Huskies, 41-0. In 2011, midway through Andrew Luck's senior season, there was another shellacking, this one 65-21 in Palo Alto.

Last year, however, Stanford arrived in Seattle in search of an identity. The Cardinal had just beaten USC, but since that happens every year, it didn't really say much about the current state of the team. It was just three games out of the Andrew Luck era, and observers weren't sure what to expect from one week to the next. The Huskies took advantage of the situation and exposed a lackluster Stanford offense in defeating the Cardinal, 17-13.

That game pushed the villagers to the brink, and soon enough they were gathered at the steps of Castle Shaw with pitchforks and torches in hand, demanding a quarterback change. (Those villagers all wanted Brett Nottingham; five weeks later they'd get Kevin Hogan instead, and they'd eventually exchange their torches for bouquets of roses.)

Washington has finished 7-6 for three consecutive seasons, but the Huskies finally look ready to move out of the realm of mediocrity. Most of the top performers are returning on offense, most notably senior quarterback Keith Price, who has more than 5,700 yards passing over the past two seasons; junior running back Bishop Sankey, who had 1,439 yards rushing and 16 TDs in 2012; and junior Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who will likely be the top tight end in the conference this year. With all of that, and a huge emerging star on defense, the Huskies should be a handful and could be the third-best team in the Pac-12. The problem for them, however, is that the two best teams are also in the Pac-12 North.

With more insight on the Huskies, I give you Anthony Cassino from UW Dawg Pound. (Keep in mind, he answered these questions before the Huskies destroyed Boise State on Saturday.) Lots of good stuff, so read on...

Poised for Greatness: James Vaughters

When Jim Harbaugh left the program he had built to join the San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2011, Stanford football stood at a crossroads. Most observers believed the program would crumble and that the assembled recruiting class would splinter in the four weeks that remained before National Signing Day, but that didn't happen. This series will take a closer look at some of the players from that landmark class who are poised for greatness in 2013.

According to most of the recruiting experts, James Vaughters was the jewel of Stanford's 2011 recruiting class. Boasting offers from all the big schools -- Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, and a dozen more -- he was one of the most hotly pursued prospects in America. He committed to Jim Harbaugh and the Cardinal in June before his senior season at Georgia's Tucker High School, but during the week before signing day speculation swirled that he was having second thoughts.

In the end he chose to stick with Stanford, providing further proof that the program had become more than just Harbaugh.

2013 Opponent Preview: Army Black Knights

Army Black Knights 
Head Coach: Rich Ellerson (17-31 at Army)
2012 Record: 2-10
2012 Bowl: None

Series Record: Tied, 5-5
Harbaugh/Shaw Era: Have not played
Last Season: Did not play
This Season: September 14th at West Point

Believe it or not, Alabama and the SEC have not always ruled college football. There was a time when the two most dominant football programs in the land were Notre Dame and Army. Even casual fans know all about the Fighting Irish, but I'm guessing there aren't too many people under the age of sixty who know that the Black Knights were once relevant beyond just the novelty of the annual Army-Navy game.

Poised for Greatness: Wayne Lyons

When Jim Harbaugh left the program he had built to join the San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2011, Stanford football stood at a crossroads. Most observers believed the program would crumble and that the assembled recruiting class would splinter in the four weeks that remained before National Signing Day, but that didn't happen. This series will take a closer look at some of the players from that landmark class who are poised for greatness in 2013.

When I was analyzing the 2011 signing class two and a half years ago, I wrote that cornerback Wayne Lyons was the most important member of the class, and not just because of his obvious talent and intelligence. Lyons made his verbal commitment to Stanford on January 8th -- the day after Jim Harbaugh jumped to the 49ers and five days before David Shaw took the helm.

Why was this important? Lyons was a dynamic four-star recruit out of the state of Florida -- just a short drive from the U -- with more than thirty scholarship offers from a list of schools that included Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, USC, and all three Florida schools. He could've chosen to play football anywhere in America, and he chose Stanford, even though there was no head coach in place at the time. His announcement came as a vote of confidence and ended any fears that recruits might be listening to the Chicken Littles in the media who were sure the sky was falling on the Stanford football program.

Poised for Greatness: Ty Montgomery

When Jim Harbaugh left the program he had built to join the San Francisco 49ers on January 7, 2011, Stanford football stood at a crossroads. Most observers believed the program would crumble and that the assembled recruiting class would splinter in the four weeks that remained before National Signing Day, but that didn't happen. This series will take a closer look at some of the players from that landmark class who are poised for greatness in 2013.

Ty Montgomery arrived in the fall of 2011 with physical tools that rivaled those of any receiver ever to play at Stanford University, so it wasn't much of a surprise when he began contributing as a true freshman. His first big moment came when he scored on a 96-yard kickoff return on the final play against Washington State midway through the season, and he quickly gained the confidence of Andrew Luck with a breakout performance in Stanford's epic triple overtime win over USC. Montgomery caught five balls for 87 yards in that game, and again showed his speed as he caught a 62-yard pass from Luck. He had another solid game against Notre Dame, and was Stanford's leading receiver with 7 catches for 120 yards in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State.

2013 Opponent Preview: Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State Sun Devils 
Head Coach: Todd Graham (8-5 at ASU)
2012 Record: 8-5, 5-4 in Pac-12
2012 Bowl: Kraft Fight Hunger, defeated Navy

Series Record: Stanford trails, 11-16
Harbaugh/Shaw Era: Series tied, 2-2
Last Season: Did not play
This Season: September 21st at Stanford

Stanford and Arizona State haven't played each other since 2010 when the Cardinal came away with a narrow 17-13 victory. The Stanford brand has grown considerably in the three years since then, but the Sun Devils haven't quite been able to meet expectations.

With the freakishly tall Brock Osweiler at quarterback and manchild Vontaze Burfect wreaking havoc at linebacker, Arizona State was the hip pick to win the Pac-12 South in 2011. They jumped out to a 6-2 start which included a decisive win over USC, but four straight losses to unranked Pac-12 opponents put them at 6-6, and the psychological baggage that went along with that disappointing finish might have contributed to their thirty-two-point loss to Boise State in the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl.

A soft schedule in the early going helped the Devils start out 5-1 under new head coach Todd Graham last season, but a vicious string of games against Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State, and USC brought them back down to Earth and back down to .500 at 5-5. The good news, though, was that they were able to rebound with perhaps their three best games of the season: 46-7 over Washington State, 41-34 over rival Arizona, and 62-28 over Navy in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

The momentum of those final three games and the return of quarterback Taylor Kelly give Sun Devil fans plenty of reason for optimism heading into the 2013 season. Taylor was something of an unknown quantity heading into 2012, only having thrown four passes in his career (all complete!) before winning the starting job, but he silenced any doubters fairly early on. He fnished with 3,039 yards passing, 29 touchdowns, and a 67.1 completion percentage. A quarterback is always important to his team's success, but a quick look at Kelly's game log reveals how incredibly important he was to the Sun Devils. In ASU's seven wins, Kelly threw 17 touchdown passes without a single interception. In the five losses he was a completely different player, throwing for just 8 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. If that's not an eye-opening stat, I don't know what is.

For more on Kelly, Graham, and the rest of Arizona State, I give you Cody Ulm of House of Sparky. Enjoy...

Cardinal Cover Boy!

Stanford's training camp only started two days ago, but the media love is already pouring in. After years of asking a different version of the same question (How can Stanford compete now that ____ is gone?), it seems like college football observers are finally -- finally -- accepting the truth. Stanford football is here to stay. Sports Illustrated has the Cardinal at #2 in their preseason rankings (here's Stewart Mandel's Stanford preview), and there's also a nice piece on cover boy Shayne Skov.

While I love that Skov is gracing one of SI's six regional covers this week, I have a small quibble with the magazine's all-too-simple lumping of Stanford in the same category with Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Duke in their subhead, "The Rise of the Nerds." If we're being honest, none of those schools or football teams belongs in the same conversation with Stanford. First, even though those other three schools are quality academic institutions, I'm guessing that there isn't a student on any of those campuses who wouldn't jump at Stanford acceptance letter. Second, not one of those football teams can begin to compete with the Mighty Card. I apologize if that sounds a touch elitist, but I don't think you can really argue against either assertion.

No university in America can match the academic and athletic prowess of Stanford University. The football team is only the latest example.

2013 Opponent Preview: San Jose State Spartans

San Jose State Spartans 
Head Coach: Ron Caragher (1st year at SJSU)
2012 Record:11-2
2012 Bowl: Military Bowl, defeated Bowling Green

Series Record: Stanford leads, 51-14-1
Harbaugh/Shaw Era: Stanford leads, 5-0
Last Season: Stanford 20, SJSU 17
This Season: September 7th 

There is tendency to think of San Jose State as a non-conference patsy meant to pad the record and provide an easy start to the season, but this is dangerous thinking. The Spartans gave Stanford much more than most observers anticipated in last year's season opener, and they went on to have one of the best years in the history of the program as they won eleven of their final twelve games and finished 11-2, including a victory in the Military Bowl. 

San Jose State's high-powered offense was led by quarterback David Fales, who threw for 4,193 yards and 33 touchdowns in his first season as the starter. Fales returns this year, as does his favorite target, senior wide receiver Noel Grigsby, who caught 82 balls for 1,307 yards and nine touchdowns in 2012. The biggest news, though, concerns a key figure who isn't returning. Head coach Mike MacIntyre was only in charge for three years, but he took the Spartans from eleven losses in 2010 to eleven wins in 2012, and that was enough for him to get a ticket to Colorado, where he'll be the new head coach for the Buffs this season. Ron Caragher, formerly of the University of San Diego, has taken over for MacIntyre.

For a better look at the Spartans, I reached out to Danny Martinez, the moderator for SpartanBlitz's Football Board at SpartanBlitz.com. Now I'll get out of the way.