Stanford begins training camp but still hasn’t named its starting quarterback
STANFORD – Stanford has a College Football Hall of Fame quarterback running the program and a 14-year NFL quarterback coaching the team. But as the Cardinal began training camp on Wednesday, one month before its season opener at Hawaii, it didn’t yet have a starting QB.
“It’s open competition,” interim coach Frank Reich said. “We’re obviously evaluating every day. Every meeting, every walkthrough, every practice, it all matters.”
Reich was hired by general manager and former Stanford star Andrew Luck less than four months ago. Two quarterbacks have transferred in since then — redshirt senior Ben Gulbranson from Oregon State and redshirt sophomore Dylan Rizk from Central Florida.
Gulbranson and Rizk will compete with redshirt sophomore Elijah Brown, a four-star recruit and two-time state champion at Mater Dei, who appeared in three games for Stanford and started once. Brown completed 28 of 48 passes for 273 yards, two TDs and three INTs last season.
“We don’t have a set deadline on when we’re going to make that decision,” Reich said. “We think it will become clear and apparent, and in the meantime we’ll split the reps up appropriately and let it fall into play.”
Gulbranson appeared in 18 games and started 11 over five seasons with the Beavers. Over his career, he was 222 of 359 passing (61.8 percent) for 2,648 yards, 15 TDs and 10 INTs. Rizk started the final four games for the Knights and completed 72 of 117 passes (61.5 percent) for 904 yards, five TDs and two INTs last season.
They are two of a school-record 17 transfers that entered the program this year. Reich said that the QB transfers have assimilated quickly and fit in well with the rest of the team.
Without singling anyone out, Reich said he was pleased with how the position group as a whole performed in the first practice on Wednesday.
“I was really happy how the quarterbacks handled the huddle, the whole tempo, just having command of the offense,” Reich said.
The position is open because two-year starter Ashton Daniels transferred to Auburn, while short-yardage quarterback Justin Lamson went to Montana State. Even four-star recruit Bear Bachmeier, who enrolled early and took some first-team reps in the spring, left before spring camp ended and wound up at BYU.
The departures of Daniels and Lamson will also impact the Stanford running game. The two mobile QBs accounted for all 11 of Stanford’s rushing touchdowns last season, with Daniels taking advantage of scrambles and designed runs while Lamson excelled in wildcat formations.
WEEK 0
Training camp started earlier than usual due to Stanford’s Week 0 game in Hawaii.
“The sooner we get to play, the sooner we get to showcase what we’ve been working on, so I’m just excited for it,” said junior running back Sedrick Irvin.
Though playing in Week 0 means the Cardinal is starting earlier than usual, the team will get an extra week before traveling to BYU for its second game.
“We play Week 0 and then we have a week to reset, so I like the way it’s set up for us,” Reich said.
The Cardinal will also have bye weeks in early October and mid-November. It has three East Coast games scheduled, at Virginia on Sept. 20, at Miami on Oct. 25 and at North Carolina to face Bill Belichick’s squad on Nov. 8.
Stanford’s first home game — and its ACC opener — will be Sept. 13 against Boston College.