On Monday, Stanford football released their Week 1 depth chart in advance of Saturday’s opener at home against Colgate.
Starting with the obvious, Tanner McKee is atop the starting quarterback position while E.J. Smith is atop at running back. Casey Filkins the clear number two running back. Brycen Tremayne, Elijah Higgins, and Michael Wilson at the top of the wide receiving chart is expected as is Benjamin Yurosek and Bradley Archer being the top two tight ends. The offensive line is pretty much as expected, though Jake Hornibrook starting at left guard is notable.
On defense, Tobin Phillips and Anthony Franklin starting at defensive tackle is expected. They will be taking on expanded roles this year as Dalyn Wade-Perry and Thomas Booker are both gone. David Bailey starting at edge as a freshman is notable. That really speaks to the kind of talent he has. Patrick Fields will be starting at nickel while Kendall Williamson will start at safety. Jimmy Wyrick is a second string safety behind Jonathan McGill and third on the nickel depth chart behind Fields and McGill. So, that really speaks to the depth that the secondary has. The linebacker spots are as expected as are the cornerback spots. No surprises there.
Touching quickly on special teams: E.J. Smith is the top kick returner while Bryce Farrell is the top punt returner. I guess neither of those is a surprise, but Stanford has a lot of depth and options in the return game, so it’s interesting to see what direction Stanford is going in that department. Kicker, punter, holder, and long snapper are all as expected.
Overall, not a lot of surprises with this depth chart. This is pretty much what everyone would expect. Probably the biggest news is that everyone looks to be pretty healthy. No major injuries or guys out. That’s what Stanford has been prioritizing in training camp and so far it looks like their emphasis on health is going about as well as they could expect.
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