Stanford football has released their depth chart in advance of Saturday night’s game at USC, which will kick off at 7:30 PM PT on FOX & KNBR Radio. A link to the depth chart is here along with screen shots below. I have provided some thoughts on the chart and what it means for this weekend’s matchup.
First things first, Ashton Daniels has solidified the starting quarterback job with Justin Lamson as the backup. Ari Patu is not listed on the chart, which means he is third string. Daniels played very well against Hawaii and his PFF ratings bear that out as well. It’s always good to have that position solidified and it seems like the players have all rallied around Daniels. One other thought on the quarterback spot is it does sound like Lamson made a strong case for himself to be the starter and given how much of a runner Daniels is, he’s likely to get dinged up along the way, so having a quality backup in Lamson is really comforting.
No changes to the running back spot. I think the big question is going to be how much we see of E.J. Smith this week as Casey Filkins and Ryan Butler got more of a run than he did. The funny thing is Smith had the best PFF grades of all the running backs, so that does seem to indicate that he should be in line for more touches this week and that it’s possible Stanford was saving him a bit for USC.
No changes to wide receiver. One thing that is interesting is Jayson Raines was the top receiver last week among the wide receivers if you look at the PFF numbers. Tight end Benjamin Yurosek obviously was the top receiver overall, but seeing Raines as the best of the wide outs was a surprise. It’s going to be interesting to see who of that wide receiver group emerges as the best over the course of the season and this weekend will tell us a lot about that.
Tight end is the same. Yurosek is number one and Sam Roush is number two. Yurosek will look to have another monster game while Roush will look to be a stellar number two option.
On the offensive line, one change is the return of Jack Leyrer as he is now on the two-deep as the backup right tackle. He was unable to play against Hawaii due to an academic issue that has since been resolved. Having him back will bolster the depth of the offensive line a bit.
Moving on to defense, pretty much everything is the same. I don’t see any differences from last week. David Bailey is obviously going to look to have a monster performance in this game. One thing to look out for is the status of Jimmy Wyrick. Right now he is listed as the number one safety along with Alaka’i Gilman. Wyrick is considered a game-time decision for the game according to head coach Troy Taylor, so that’s something to keep an eye on. If he is not able to go, Scotty Edwards and Mitch Leigber project to get more snaps as a result.
Special teams-wise, no changes there. Bryce Farrell and Casey Filkins are handling return duties, Josh Karty is handling kicking, and Connor Weselman is handling the punting. One thing I will throw out there though is given how Weselman’s punting wasn’t super strong against the Rainbow Warriors, one has to wonder if maybe we’ll see Aidan Flintoft get a look at some point. He’s number two on the depth chart behind Weselman. Something to look for down the line if Weselman doesn’t step up his game.
Note: We have an update on Jimmy Wyrick's status. He did not travel with the team to USC due to injury.
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