On Tuesday, Stanford football had their weekly press conference in advance of their home opener on Saturday against Sacramento State. Head coach Troy Taylor, redshirt freshman cornerback Collin Wright, and senior running back Casey Filkins were the ones who spoke to the media.
VIDEO: Stanford Football: Coach Taylor Weekly Press Conference | Sacramento State
Starting with Taylor, he made no opening statement. He just dived into questions (Fast forward to the 3:55 mark). The first question was on the status of quarterback Ashton Daniels and Taylor said he’s “good to go.” On the quarterback position at large, he made it clear that Justin Lamson is now in the mix to start and that it’s up-in-the-air with respect to what direction they’ll go. He liked how Lamson played against USC and feels like he deserves a shot. He likes how both guys run the ball and are physical when contact comes.
As for the passing game, Taylor feels like they have to continue to grow as they do in all areas. He feels like it all starts with protection. That’s an area they want to continue to work on. And then in general, just focusing on polishing the details.
With regard to facing his former team, Taylor said it’s different preparing for them since he knows them so well and they know him so well. He has great relationships with the entire program and wants to see them have continued success. Just not against Stanford on Saturday (obviously). The funny thing is Taylor helped schedule the game back when he was at Sac State, so just given all that and his connections to the team, he said it adds another layer to the game for sure.
On the Sac State defense, Taylor had good things to say about them. He commended the way they prepare and play hard. Schematically, lots of challenges. They do a great job of disguising what they’re doing and bringing the pressure.
Taylor said Sacramento State expects to come in and win. He knows their mentality and how they expect to win every game. He said it’s going to be a challenge and not a game that they can take lightly at all.
Taylor says after losing to USC the way they did, it’s all about how they respond. He wants to see his team be resilient. He feels like they played hard the whole game and just wants to make sure his team continues to hold their heads high while also performing better. He does feel like his team could have played better.
As for the running backs, Taylor said they try to operate with two backs a lot, so having four running backs who can each be part of a pair is really key. That’s why he’s trying to get Sedrick Irvin, E.J. Smith, Casey Filkins, and Ryan Butler all involved as much as possible.
Defensively, Taylor felt like the effort was really good. Guys continued to play and didn’t give up. But, he does feel like they made things too easy for them and that they could have played better. But he emphasized that applies to all three phases. Not just defense.
Speaking of defense, Taylor said safety Jimmy Wyrick is progressing. They hope to get him back on Saturday, but they’ll see how the week goes.
Taylor praised John Humphreys and the way he’s a leader of the wide receiver group. He also had good things to say about Jayson Raines and what he’s brought to the room as a big, physical receiver. A guy with good ball skills who is physical and can make contested catches. A guy who does a good job of blocking.
Finally, Taylor talked about what he’s doing to get the fan base rejuvenated. He feels like winning is the most important thing on that front.
Switching gears to Collin Wright, he feels like as a defense they did a good job of playing to the end against USC. Obviously they didn’t get the result they wanted, but he liked how they kept fighting. He also felt like it did them a lot of good to face against a top team like USC.
Wright feels like he learned a lot from guys like Kyu Blu Kelly and Ethan Bonner, who are now in the NFL. He feels like learning how to make plays in the secondary is really important and that’s something that has been a big emphasis for him this year. As well as the entire room. Just making plays and forcing turnovers. He likes how the room is looking and how they are coming together. He feels like they are doing a good job of trying to compete and bring the energy to practice every day.
One thing they talked about as a defense after the game is attention to detail and doing your job. He feels like if they improve in those areas, that more than anything will help the defense improve. They’re excited to get back out there this weekend and turn things around a bit.
Wright had fun going up against USC on the road. He enjoyed the battles he had and going up against the best. It was a game that gave him a lot of confidence personally, just knowing he can go up against the best.
On facing Sac State, Wright said they want to beat Troy Taylor’s former team for its own sake. He said it’s like a regular week, but a lot of carry over in terms of how much Taylor knows them and how much they know him.
Wright said they are excited to play a game on The Farm and have their home opener. Just in terms of playing in front of the Stanford community, students, etc. It’s a chance to show how they can respond to adversity after the way they lost to USC. It’s an opportunity they are excited for.
Moving on to Casey Filkins, he felt like their resiliency as a group was a positive takeaway from the USC game. He likes how they fought until the very end and are a group that will play all 60 minutes or however long it takes to get the job done. Even if they go down, they’ll go down swinging. He feels like they have a lot to improve on and are excited to show how they can improve.
On Sac State, Filkins said it’s all about taking it one game at a time. Taking it week by week. You have to treat it the way you would treat any game. All about preparation and handling business. It’s all about that nameless and faceless opponent mentality.
Filkins acknowledged that rushing for 200+ yards against USC was a positive. He thinks the rotation is good for running backs while also getting quality running at the quarterback position. That’s an area that he seems to be optimistic about.
Filkins likes how Taylor’s offense gives them opportunities as running backs to have various opportunities to make plays in the passing game. He feels like that will pay dividends as the season goes on. Just the diversity of the offense. Filkins also talked about how things are on the ground during the game with respect to how Taylor interacts with them and running backs coach Malcolm Agnew during the game, which was interesting.
Filkins also spoke glowingly about playing at Stanford Stadium and how much of an honor it is. He’s truly fulfilling a lifelong dream. Just having that perspective is something he tries to never lose.
Filkins had great things to say about Ryan Butler and Sedrick Irvin, two new running backs to the room. Butler a transfer from Princeton and Irvin a freshman. He said they came in and acted like they had been with them since the spring. He said they are different backs and complement each other well. He’s had a lot of fun being a part of the room with them.
Finally, Filkins had good things to say about both quarterbacks: Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson. He feels like no matter who is the quarterback, they have a lot of faith in them and that the offense can run fine. Both great leaders.
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