On Saturday, Stanford had their Cardinal & White Spring Game with the offense (red) putting up 45 points in a game that was scored 45-0. The defense (white) scored 0 points, though to their defense, no pun intended, it didn’t seem like there were really any avenues for them to get on the scoreboard as this spring game was all about the offense showcasing what they can do.
Junior running back E.J. Smith had a really strong outing scoring two touchdowns, one receiving and one rushing. The receiving touchdown was a 40 yard touchdown pass from Tanner McKee while the rushing touchdown was a 9 yard run. Smith totaled 61 yards, 48 of which were receiving. He really showcased his abilities to be a threat as a receiver.
The other touchdowns were scored by the early enrollee freshmen: tight end Sam Roush and wide receiver Mudia Reuben. With a lot of the veteran guys being held out, those guys made the most of their opportunities, showing that they have a chance to be part of the rotation come the fall. Roush had a 15 yard touchdown reception from McKee and a 1 yard touchdown reception from Ari Patu. Reuben had a 9 yard touchdown reception from McKee and an 18 yard touchdown reception from Patu. The score got to 45 points thanks to a 25 yard chip shot from Josh Karty.
The defense honestly was pretty hamstrung in this game. Kyu Blu Kelly, Patrick Fields, and others were held out and they were also pretty limited in terms of their schemes, so this really was a set up that favored the offense. And to the offense’s credit, the guys that played really made the most of the opportunity. Safety Jonathan McGill had one opportunity to get an interception and he wasn’t able to secure it. That’s definitely one play the defense would like to have back.
Like last year’s spring game, they did drives from the 50 yard line before eventually doing red zone work starting on the 25 yard line. There was also some light punt team work as well. Guys that were healthy all got a chance to get some work in and in truth, this was really more of a glorified practice than it was a game. There were no injuries and everyone seemed to come away feeling more optimistic about the progress they’ve made in the spring. There was definitely an overall positive vibe among the guys.
As far as attendance is concerned, it was a pretty lightly attended event, but those that were in attendance seemed to enjoy the display put on by the offense. From that standpoint it was certainly an entertaining and crowd pleasing event, which in large part is the idea. This is for entertainment as much as anything else and who doesn’t like to see a lot of touchdowns on a Saturday afternoon?
Up next for Stanford is summer camp now that spring practice has concluded. They can look towards getting the rest of the freshmen integrated in June and build on the success they felt they achieved over the course of the spring. Head coach David Shaw, E.J. Smith, Tanner McKee, and Jonathan McGill spoke to the media after the game. Look for those interviews to be posted in the coming days as well as a one-on-one interview with incoming safety Terian Williams.
Note: Click here to check out unofficial stats from GoStanford.com.
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker, click here.
