Stanford to have solid representation at 2023 Polynesian Bowl
Stanford football will have solid representation at Friday’s Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii with four commits participating: Kicker/punter Aidan Flintoft (PWO), 4-star cornerback Jshawn Frausto-Ramos, 3-star offensive guard Simione Pale, and 3-star offensive tackle Zak Yamauchi. The game will air at 6:00 PM PT on NFL Network.
Flintoft is one of the top kicking talents in the country and comes to Stanford hoping to be a punter/kick-off specialist like Ryan Sanborn was during his time on The Farm. He does have an ability to kick field goals as well, so there’s a chance he gets utilized in that way down the road, but for now punting and kick offs appear to be his focus.
Frausto-Ramos is a really promising talent at cornerback with good size at 6’0”, 184 pounds. He has good hands, plays with physicality, reads coverages well, does a good job making tackles, and just has a really good feel for the game. He passes the eye test and has a chance to make a real impact on the Cardinal secondary.
Pale is a guy who has a chance to really outperform his Rivals rating of 3-star; 5.5. He’s got fantastic size at 6’4”, 315 pounds and has the ability to play both inside as well as on the outside of the offensive line if needed. He should bring a lot of versatility to the Cardinal offensive line room.
Yamauchi is also a 3-star, but has a 5.7 rating, making him 0.1 away from being a 4-star, so he’s right on the edge. He’s got great size as well at 6’4” and 300 pounds and like Pale has a chance to play both at tackle and guard, so he too should bring a lot of versatility to the offensive line room. Yamauchi is planning to serve a two-year LDS mission before beginning his Stanford career.
As far as what to look for in this game from all four players, the biggest thing is that they have fun and don’t get hurt. That’s really what this game is all about. It’s a reward for all the hard work they’ve put in and on top of that, they get to learn more about Polynesian culture and see a cool part of the world. The cultural education and just overall life experience transcends whatever happens in the game. It’ll be fun to see how they perform and what kind of lessons they’ll take with them from this unique experience.
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