Stanford wrapped up spring practices Saturday with an abbreviated scrimmage compared to previous years and one that I think was largely defined by who wasn't participating.

Head coach David Shaw adopted pretty much the equivalent of a "load management" strategy for the practices that started two months later than usual. He held out a number of guys from the scrimmage who have bad injury histories, even if they aren’t injured now. As a result, it is almost impossible to know the real injury situation for the team.

Shaw did not react well to the question from Cardinal Sports Report about Myles Hinton's status (he was seen using crutches and wearing a boot) and the timeline for his availability — clearly he was a bit grumpy that the first question was about someone who wasn't on the field during the little more than one hour scrimmage.

However, any observations about the scrimmage are watered down more than a toddler's lemonade because at least the following guys were not dressed: Walter Rouse, Branson Bragg, Ricky Miezan, Dalyn Wade-Perry, Ethan Bonner, Dorian Maddox, Kendall Williamson, Donjae Logan, Andres Fox, Jordan Fox, Nicolas Toomer, John Humphreys, Kyu Kelly and Hinton.

Injuries are a big part of the story of Stanford's recent past, the present and the future. Shaw repeated on the broadcast before the scrimmage started what has become a stump speech talking point in defense of Lance Anderson and the defense: that there have been so many injuries the past two seasons that Anderson needed to call a "perfect game".

Shaw also used the caveat several times in the press conference that if this or that position group is healthy during the season then they will be deep and talented at those spots.

Thomas Booker also shared that the spring game was maybe the second or third full team contact period of the spring and that he was impressed by how guys stepped up in new positions to cover for teammates held out of practices. Who is available and who is not is clearly a major part of the story.

That said, there were several other developments Saturday that were noteworthy.

Linebackers Levani Damuni, Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Tristan Sinclair all flashed an important trait that has been lacking in recent seasons.

They made decisive, aggressive decisions to attack a ballcarrier and brought him down for a loss, or in one case the moment the running back caught a screen pass. Booker gave a shoutout to the linebacker group for making plays exactly like those all spring and that the unit is poised to be much more effective this season. I think the linebackers are primed to be by far the most improved group on the team.

None of the quarterbacks were stellar, but Tanner McKee is better than Jack West and if that competition leaks into the season it will be a major surprise.

The problems with the center-quarterback exchange and snap count muddied the water a bit, but overall McKee offers more than West in live action. McKee's running ability is going to be important because Stanford will need to lean hard on a variety of play action to help its big receivers and tight ends consistently get open.

Shaw compared Elijah Higgins to Shannon Sharpe and that's a cool comparison for people to visualize his potential impact.

Higgins and Ben Yurosek have the ability to make a major impact this season and they made some good plays today. Shaw made a point of talking about Yurosek even when to elaborate on the Higgins-Sharpe comparison.

Sure, it would be nice if Stanford had more speed outside but the athleticism and size they can put on the field in the slot, backfield and out wide can create a lot of great opportunities as well.

EJ Smith reportedly got a lot of time with the wide receivers this spring to help cover for guys who were out.

He could be very helpful in a small role this season as a RB/WR and he will easily move between the two throughout his time at Stanford. His touchdown run was a combination of nice footwork to avoid a defender in the backfield and strength to break Lance Keneley's arm tackle.

It was very difficult to evaluate what happened at the line of scrimmage. Three projected starters were missing from the offensive line. Drake Nugent is the leader at center, according to Shaw.