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2015 Positional Review: Defensive Backs

It's difficult to talk about Stanford football without acknowledging the perceptions and stereotypes that surround the program even to this day. A decade ago most people felt the admissions requirements were too severe to allow the football program to be competitive on a consistent basis. Sure, you could get lucky and get a quarterback once in a while, but beyond that?

When Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw arrived in 2007 they wanted to change these perceptions, but first they had to change the reality of what was happening on the field. Firm in their belief that a powerful offensive line is the foundation of any successful team (and aware that there tend to be a fair amount of academically-minded offensive linemen available), they started there. They found a valedictorian from Texas to play quarterback, they found receivers who were great route runners, they found huge tight ends who were matchup nightmares, and they signed intelligent linebackers and safeties who could captain the defense.

What they couldn't quite do, however, was convince any of the best high school cornerbacks to come to Stanford. And then Richard Sherman happened.

2015 Positional Review: Linebackers

The linebacker legacy is strong at Stanford. Since the transformation of the defense from a longtime liability to one of the best in the nation, the heart of the defense has been the linebacker corps, a unit that has produced at least one first- or second-team all-conference performer in every year since 2011, including two All-Americas. Older fans will remember that even when Stanford teams had success in the past, they were never able to shed the reputation of being soft. The Tunnel Workers Union has gotten much of the credit for dispelling that myth, of course, but the linebackers have helped shatter that idea as well.

2015 Positional Review: Defensive Line

As great as Christian McCaffrey was, as great as Kevin Hogan was, and as great as the offensive line was, an argument can be made that the defensive line was the key to Stanford's success this season. How can this be? Let's take a quick look back at the 2014 defensive line, a unit that was the anchor of that dominant defense.

2015 Positional Review: Offensive Line

To appreciate the 2015 Stanford offensive line, you have to go back to where it all began in February of 2012. Actually, the group that will line up in front of Kevin Hogan and Christian McCaffrey in the Rose Bowl on January 1st began to come together even before that, when individual players met on Stanford recruiting trips as tenth and eleventh graders and first began talking about creating something special on the Farm.

When National Signing Day finally rolled around, the question was not whether or not David Shaw would be welcoming a great group of offensive linemen; that much was already a given. The only mystery was how historic the haul would be. Shaw and his staff hit every target that day, and over the next four seasons, each player met or exceeded expectations, almost without exception.

2015 Positional Review: Quarterback

Pity Keller Chryst. As good as most observers expect him to be, there will be a moment next fall when he will struggle -- perhaps he'll throw two or three interceptions in a single game or have trouble making the right calls at the line of scrimmage -- and the whispers will start. He won't be Kevin Hogan. Imagine what it will be like for him trying to learn the position, trying to master the playbook, and trying to lead his teammates, all beneath the shadow of the great Stanford quarterback who came before him.

Kevin Hogan knows exactly how that is. When Hogan gained the starting job as a redshirt freshman midway through the 2012 season, he wasn't just taking over for Josh Nunes, he was replacing Andrew Luck, the greatest quarterback in Stanford history. (We can debate that at another time, if you like.)

2015 Positional Review: Wide Receivers

Perhaps more so than any team in the country, the emphasis of Stanford's offense changes from year to year depending upon the personnel. We're not talking about seismic shifts here -- this will always be a pro-style offense that emphasizes the running game -- but the coaching staff will typically have to make subtle adjustments to account for strengths and weaknesses of the roster. 

In 2013, for example, when there were essentially no tight ends, the wide receivers enjoyed their most prolific season as a unit in the Harbaugh/Shaw era. The chart below shows the wide receiver production during Kevin Hogan's career. Although the numbers fluctuate wildly, look at the last column, which lists the passing yardage totals from each season. The offense remains the same; the ball just isn't always going into the same hands.

Year	Rec.	Yards	TDs	Passing
2012	79	969	6	2802
2013	139	2594	20	2904
2014	144	1798	12	2988
2015	89	1256	10	2742

Another disclaimer -- these numbers are for receptions by players with a WR listed next to their names in the program. It wasn't unusual for tight ends to line up as wide receivers in 2012, for example. This season, one of the biggest factors depressing the wide receiver production was Christian McCaffrey, a running back who ended up leading his team in receptions and receiving yards, with much of that work coming on plays in which he lined up in the slot.

2015 Positional Review: Tight Ends

Think all the way back to 2013 for a minute. After Coby Fleener was chosen as the All-Pac-12 tight end in 2011 and Zach Ertz earned the honor in 2012, Stanford had clearly established itself as the home of the tight end. But in 2013, the cupboard was bare. The position accounted for only ten receptions that season, and five of those came from converted defensive ends.

If there were any doubts about the Tight End Factory, however, all were dispelled in 2014 when Austin Hooper, Greg Taboada, and Eric Cotton -- all redshirt freshmen -- emerged and reinvigorated the signature position in Stanford's offense. Those three combined for 55 receptions for 763 yards and 5 touchdowns, and Tight End U was alive and well.

2015 Positional Review: Running Backs

When one star shines as brightly as Christian McCaffrey did during 2015, some of the other bright lights can be obscured, but that shouldn't be the case with the Stanford running backs. After dipping to a decade-low total of just 2,064 yards rushing in 2014, the running game returned with a vengeance this season, and it wasn't all from McCaffrey. With one game still yet to play, Stanford has set a school record with 2,926 rushing yards, and the record for team carries in a single season will fall in the Rose Bowl before the first quarter is half over.