Friday morning, Stanford head coach David Shaw announced that senior Jack West will start at quarterback with sophomore Tanner McKee playing throughout the game against Kansas State. This news shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given that earlier in the week, Shaw said that both players would be getting minutes behind center throughout the game. Shaw has made it clear that West has a better understanding and feel for the offense up to this point and at this stage, that’s something that Shaw seems to value. At the same time, McKee has more physical tools and athletic upside, allowing him a chance to compete for the starting job.

Stanford’s quarterback competition comes in light of Davis Mills leaving for the NFL, creating a vacuum under center. While neither West nor McKee played much last season, it should be noted that West did get a chance to throw more passes, going 13-19 for 154 yards and a 136.5 passer rating. McKee went 3-7 for 62 yards and a 117.3 passer rating.

While Shaw says he’s not worried about having the quarterback competition extend into the season and that he’s fine to play both guys so long as needed, it is true that in an ideal world, you’d have a permanent starter named by the first game of the season. Quarterback is one of those positions where it really helps to have consistency so as the rest of the offense can get into a better flow. It’ll be interesting to see how both players play tomorrow and if any one of them is able to rise to the top and show that they deserve the starting quarterback position outright.