Aug 27, 2008

Sky's the limit for Stanford football

Cardinal aiming for bowl bid in Year 2 under Harbaugh

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

Stanford's hopes are sky-high entering the 2008 campaign, even after a 4-8 season in 2007.

The good news for the Cardinal is that it doesn't have to wait long to kick off the year as Oregon State visits Stanford Stadium Thursday night at 6 p.m. The bad news is that the Cardinal has already been severely bitten by the injury bug.

Lost indefinitely is starting safety Austin Yancy, who might miss several games with a hamstring injury. Yancy was one of the heroes in last year's stunning upset of USC when he picked off a pass for a 31-yard touchdown return.

Another starter sidelined this week is offensive guard Gustav Rystedt, who suffered a concussion a week ago. His future as a Cardinal is uncertain.

Stanford's deep receiving corps took a hit when talented freshman wide receiver Chris Owusu hurt his knee in camp, delaying his collegiate debut for several weeks. Wideout Marcus Rance, who had showed deep-threat promise in camp, had a potential season-ending knee injury a few days ago, pending an MRI result.

Then there is tight end Jim Dray, who is hopeful to return to action by midseason from a knee injury suffered last season. Offensive tackle Allen Smith would be starting, but he hasn't recovered from an offseason leg injury and is doubtful to return. Running back Toby Gerhart, receiver Richard Sherman and safety Bo McNally have been bothered by nagging injuries, but all three players are expected to give it a go Thursday.

"I'm definitely concerned about the injuries," Stanford second-year coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Every head coach in America would be talking about those kind of things. We're getting some guys back, which is good. There have been some injuries that are hurtful."

Stanford is opening the season with a conference game for the third straight year.

"We don't have any cupcakes on our schedule," Harbaugh said. "Playing Oregon State this early gives us a chance to have a bye early in the season and be on national television. Every other team on our schedule is a worthy, talented opponent. We know every week is a fight for our life."

Stanford has three teams on its schedule that are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll - No. 3 USC, No. 15 Arizona State and No. 21 Oregon. Five other Cardinal foes in 2008 - Cal, UCLA, Oregon State, Notre Dame and Washington - received at least one vote. Stanford was picked by the media to finish ninth, but that doesn't deter the confidence of senior cornerback Wopamo Osaisai.

"We should have a winning season and go to a bowl game," Osaisai said. "We're playing confidently. It's our second year under the same system. We're more cohesive as a unit. We have grown a lot more from last year and we're playing as a family."

"Our main goal is to go to a bowl game," Cardinal running back Anthony Kimble said. "We're shooting for the Rose Bowl, but we'll take any bowl. No one on the team has been to a bowl yet."



Offense

Harbaugh held an intense three-way competition for the No. 1 quarterback position with redshirt senior Tavita Pritchard emerging victorious. Pritchard was 2-5 as a starter in 2007, but engineered the miraculous 24-23 victory at USC, the main feather in his cap. Pritchard threw for more than 1,100 yards and five touchdowns, but had nine interceptions. Alex Loukas is No. 2 with Jason Forcier No. 3.

"Pritchard earned it in training camp," Harbaugh said. "He practiced better. I feel he gives us the best chance to win. He came back stronger, put on 15 pounds. He does a great job with our offense."

Kimble and Gerhart are expected to give the Cardinal a 1-2 punch that defenses will have to be concerned about. Kimble has rushed for 1,223 yards and 12 TDs in his career at Stanford. Backup Jeremy Stewart rushed for 343 yards a true freshman last season. True freshman Delano Howell, out of Hart High in Newhall, has been outstanding in camp and should add needed depth.

Wide receivers include Ryan Whalen, Doug Baldwin and Sherman as the three main targets for Pritchard. Sherman has been bothered by an injury and could be limited. Austin Gunder, who caught 10 passes a year ago after having no receptions his first two seasons at Stanford, is listed as No. 1 at tight end. After losing an appeal to the NCAA to get reinstated for the opener, tight end Konrad Reuland, an impressive transfer from Notre Dame, will be eligible to play Sept. 27 at Washington.

The Cardinal offensive line is looking as good as it has for several years, though the concussion to Rydstedt has set it back some. Junior Chase Beeler (6-3, 288), from Jenks High in Oklahoma, replaces Rydstedt in the starting lineup. Senior center Alex Fletcher (6-3, 296) seems poised for an all-Pac-10 season. Redshirt sophomore Andrew Phillips (6-5, 295) makes his first collegiate start vs. the Beavers. Tackles Ben Muth (6-6, 296) and Chris Marinelli (6-7, 297) have 26 starts between them, lending experience.

"The offense is in sync," Fletcher said. "We have three good running backs. If we can do well on first and second down and make it third and short, that's the ideal situation. We want to churn out some ground yards. I'd prefer to run it every down, but we'll try to be balanced."



Defense

Stanford has a talented defensive front four with defensive end Pannel Egboh (6-6, 275), defensive tackle Brian Bulcke (6-4, 278), nose tackle Sione Fua (6-2, 305) and defensive end Erik Lorig (6-4, 240). Fua returned from a Mormon mission after playing in all 12 games in 2006. Harbaugh considers both Fua and Ekom Udofia as starters at that position.

Clinton Snyder and Patrick Maynor should be two of the better outside linebackers in the Pac-10 with sophomore Chike Amajoyi taking over in the middle. Amajoyi, in on 47 tackles last season as an outside linebacker, won the Menlo-Atherton Award as the team's top freshman.

"Chike is a great athlete," Snyder said. "He has to learn more at middle linebacker, so his learning curve has been high. I'm confident he'll do a good job there."

The loss of Yancy has given sophomore Taylor Skaufel an opportunity to start. Osaisai and Kris Evans man the corner spots with McNally the strong safety. With Skaufel moving up, San Mateo High alum C.J. Easter is No. 2 on the depth chart behind Skaufel. True freshmen Johnson Bademosi and Michael Thomas are listed on the depth chart at cornerback.

Harbaugh feels this is a better secondary than the one which yielded 266.2 yards per game through the air last year.

"The guys we put back there will do a good job," Harbaugh said. "We're really talented in the secondary with guys that have been there before. They know our scheme, they have experience. We've made a lot of improvement from last year to this year."



Special teams

True freshman Daniel Zychlinski was scheduled to assume the No. 1 punter role, but a late push by redshirt freshman David Green has the two deadlocked entering the season.

"It's an exciting opportunity," Zycholinski said. "I think of myself as a consistent punter. My strength is a combination hang time and distance. I strive for a 40-yard punt with a 4.5-seconds hang time."

Aaron Zagory, 8-for-13 in field goal attempts two years ago, is the Cardinal kicker. Zagory is a former walk-on, who would have been the No. 1 kicker last season had he not been injured. Baldwin will be busy returning punts and kickoffs, where he'll be joined by Stewart. McNally is the team's holder with Zack Nolan the long snapper.

"The whole battery in our kicking game has done a nice job," Harbaugh said. "I feel good about how far they have come. It's a whole new group."

After Thursday, Stanford has four home games the rest of the season - vs. San Jose State on Sept. 20; vs. Arizona on Oct. 11; vs. Washington State on Nov. 1; and vs. USC on Nov. 15.



E-mail John Reid at

jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.