Expectations for the 2021 offense should remain high

The roster losses for the Stanford offense may not be done yet, but the most impactful decisions were made this week and Cardinal Sports Report offers a first-impression of the expectations for a unit without Davis Mills, Drew Dalman, Simi Fehoko and Foster Sarell.

The quick summary of the following analysis is this: barring injuries, Stanford will not have any excuses if it can't field one of the best offenses in the conference in 2021. (The recruiting profiles for the current players are included in this article to help illustrate how many talented athletes the Cardinal have accumulated on that side of the ball.)

Many Stanford fans, and probably a few of the coaches, thought it was a realistic scenario Mills would stay for one more season and that his ability could be the difference between being a contender for the conference championship — just as the Cardinal nearly were this year. After all, Mills has only started in 11 games because of a combination of injuries his first two years at Stanford and horrific pandemic.

But that wish was not fulfilled and the most important position on any football team is now up for grabs. Or is it really?

That Tanner McKee played at all in the Oregon game was telling to Cardinal Sports Report. It indicated that third-year Jack West did not have the backup spot locked down and that McKee impressed enough in camp to play after spending most of the past two years on an LDS mission.

McKee is an impressive athlete who had arguably the best high school career of any quarterback to sign with Stanford under Shaw. (It's a very close statistical comparison with Mills' outstanding three years as a starter at Greater Atlanta Christian but McKee faced tougher competition.)

At Corona Centennial McKee was an elite playmaker in a simple offense where he made one or two reads and then took off running if those reads weren't open. It's a different life at Stanford, but COVID-19 permitting he should make significant progress this offseason with a lot of practice reps.

Simi Fehoko was a record-breaking receiver. In his second year he set the school record for yards per reception (23.58) and in his last game he caught a single game best 16 passes for 230 yards — also the third best single-game yardage mark in program history. Good things happened for the offense when Fehoko got the ball and now he's gone.

Connor Wedington and Michael Wilson suffered injuries in the Washington game and the transfer-mania in college football gives us some pause about assuming that both will be at Stanford next year.

While Wedington's and Wilson's official status may be to-be-determined, there is ample talent lined up behind them.

Brycen Tremayne is a proven commodity and not just a nice walk-on to scholarship story. Elijah Higgins stepped up to make several impressive plays and is a quasi tight end.

The hype train for John Humphreys didn't barrel down the tracks to the land of production this year like some fans expected, but there's no reason to think he can't be a major factor next year when there are more reps available.

Since 2017 Stanford is one of only four programs that can say it has a former five star tackle lined up to replace a former five star tackle. The others are Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State — each of those programs are the only ones along with Stanford to recruit multiple five star linemen in the past four years.

Hinton flashed in "jumbo" sets this season but was firmly entrenched in the No. 6 spot in the group unless Walter Rouse or Foster Sarell got hurt. (Neither did and Cardinal fans, players and coaches hope the good health of the starting five linemen signals a return to normalcy after a two-year injury curse.) Hinton is the clear favorite to take over for Sarell at right tackle and Cardinal Sports Report is mildly curious if he will push Rouse at left tackle.

How good was Drew Dalman this season? His PFF College grade of 86.9 was the best season grade for a lineman since thee historic 2015 offensive line had four starters receive a rating of at least an 89 in a 14-game season. So let's just settle this now that neither Metcalf or Nugent are going to come close to replacing what Dalman gave Stanford.

But they don't have to. The linemen around them should be the core of a much better than the injury-riddled mess that Dalman stepped into three years ago. Metcalf worked through some injury issues his freshman year and like all of his classmates he needs as stable and productive an offseason as possible.

Nugent earned praise from his peers and coaches and some notable shoutouts were unprompted. He is strong, moves very well in space and could "upset" the high ranked prospect.

Finally, the best friend an inexperienced quarterback can ask for is a dominant run game. The three returning offensive line starters all graded out as good run blockers and Jones benefited from their efforts while also using his great agility to maximize yards.

Jones would have been on pace to break the 1,000 yard barrier if this season had been a full 12 games. He is a reliable safety net option as a receiver out of the backfield and is a plus pass protector, despite what PFF College may think. In all, he's a great asset for a quarterback who is going to need simple, successful plays.

In addition to Jones, Peat is on the shortlist of guys who made a strong case for a lot more reps next season. He is a strong, no-frills runner who also has shown in practice that he has the ability to make tough catches. (He did not have a catch this season.)

The run game should be in good hands with skilled players to around McKee or West.