Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
With Harbaugh off to the NFL, Stanford exchanges one Michigan Man for another
PALO ALTO, CA - Pretty much all Stanford football fans knew it was going to end sooner rather than later. They saw Jim Harbaugh progressing into one of football's most brilliant up and coming coaches, and they knew his stay on The Farm would be brief.
But that didn't stop them from being anxious as the NFL's San Francisco 49ers pulled Harbaugh north after Stanford completed a dominating 12-1 season with a 40-12 thrashing of Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. After seeing their program's meteoric rise to national prominence, Stanford fans feared their 15 minutes of fame left with Harbaugh.
Another Michigan Man is determined to keep Stanford in the spotlight.
Based largely on Harbaugh's recommendation, the Cardinal passed over several higher profile candidates and hired relative unknown Brian Kudron to take the reigns of the football program.
"I'm sure there are several other people everyone had hoped to be standing here," Kudron joked with the media at his introductory press conference. "But I'm here to promise to all of you, that the status quo Jim Harbaugh set during his time here, the standard he created, it will be matched as long as I'm here. The style of football that Bo Schembechler coached at Michigan, the style that Jim Harbaugh inherited from him, the style that lines up and punches the other team in the mouth - that's what we're about here. In a way, you could say it's a continuation of the lineage, because everything I've learned about coaching, I learned from Jim Harbaugh, and Lloyd Carr, and the teachings of Bo.
"We're not going to fool around, here. We're going to be an enormous football team that never lets up for one single play and crushes the will of the opposition in the trenches. We're going to recruit linemen who know only how to destroy. We're going to recruit tall, big-armed quarterbacks. We're going to run the ball downhill with bruising tailbacks, and use that to set up playaction to big wideouts, big tight ends, and yeah, even the fullbacks that Coach Harbaugh made popular again. Defensively, we'll remain a base 3-4 team, and that means jumbo-sized linemen freeing up space for big, physical linebackers. In the secondary, we want tall, tough corners who don't shy away from contact, and we want safeties that make opposing receivers think twice about going over the middle.
"We're going to be the most fundamentally sound team in America. We're going to know our assignments, we're going to block, we're going to tackle, we're going to keep contain and maintain leverage, we're going to execute with deadly precision."
Needless to say, Stanford's new head man gave a very positive first impression. And all the bravado he exhibited can be backed up, thanks to the roster he inherits from his mentor, as the Cardinal enters 2011 as legitimate contenders for the Pac-12 and National Championships.
On offense, everything of course begins with Heisman Trophy candidate Andrew Luck at quarterback. The junior from Houston likely would've been the #1 pick in the NFL Draft if he had come out early, but he decided to return to Stanford for another season, giving the Cardinal the best quarterback in the nation, and hence, one of the nation's most intimidating offenses. Lost in all the hype that Luck receives, however, is the stable of pounding running backs Stanford utilizes for their power running game, as Stepfan Taylor, Anthony Wilkerson, Jeremy Stewart and Tyler Gaffney are all in excess of 210 pounds and all capable of carrying the load when called upon.
At wide receiver, Stanford may not have an elite game breaker, but Chris Owusu, Griff Whalen, and Jamal Rashad-Patterson form a sure-handed, physical corp. The strength of Stanford's receiving absolutely lies at the tight end position, where the "Tree Amigos", Coby Fleener, Zach Ertz, and Levine Toilolo, are all jumbo-sized pass catching threats.
While the offensive line loses All-American center Chase Beeler, two other All-American candidates anchor one of college football's meanest front five. Left tackle Jonathan Martin and right guard David DeCastro were stars on last year's offensive line, with Martin joining the departed Beeler on the All-American team and DeCastro taking first team All-Pac 10 honors. Youngsters Cameron Fleming, Kevin Danser, David Yankey, Sam Schwartzstein, and Khalil Wilkes form a deep and talented rotation to complete the line.
On defense, the Cardinal's three-man front is anchored by defensive ends Matthew Masifilo and Ben Gardner, weighing in at 280 and 273 pounds, respectively. Nose tackle Sione Fua must be replaced, but junior Terrence Stephens should be up to the task.
At the next level, Stanford's linebacking corps boasts a pair of imposing All-American candidates in Chase Thomas and Shayne Skov. Both led the team with 7.5 sacks apiece last season, and both represent very bad news for opposing offenses. Senior Max Bergen and junior Trent Murphy should round out the starters at linebacker.
In the secondary, Richard Sherman is gone at corner, but three other starters return, including star safeties Michael Thomas and Delano Howell. Johnson Bademosi returns at corner, with sophomore Barry Browning expected to replace Sherman.