What did we learn from Stanford's scrimmage Sunday?

Stanford held its first open scrimmage of training camp Sunday and the defense had the better day overall, holding the Cardinal offense to one touchdown during 15-minute, running clock "quarters".

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Keeping track of who was available for the scrimmage became a task that required constantly referencing a copy of the roster handed out to onlookers. Twenty players did not practice and there are several hard-hit positions, but none worse than offensive line.

Cardinal Sports Reports will start, though, with the return to full action of several players, none more important than starting quarterback KJ Costello.

Stanford's spring practices on offense were rescued by then walk-on quarterback Jack Richardson, without whom the Cardinal wouldn't have been able to do much while Costello and freshman Davis Mills rehabbed from injuries. A few months later the Cardinal are in rich in quarterbacks by comparison.

Costello "started" the scrimmage and led the offense through most of the first half. He looked close enough to 100 percent that the difference likely doesn't matter. His best throw was a threaded needle in stride to JJ Arcega-Whiteside with two defenders on top of him. Arcega-Whiteside showed his big-play skills go well beyond the red zone when he turned up field to score.

""I thought KJ made some great decisions and threw some nice balls today when he had protection. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, it's what he does," said head coach David Shaw.

Of almost equal excitement for Stanford fans was the chance to see Mills throw in an 11-on-11 setting. His redshirt freshman year was mostly behind the curtain at Stanford and was sidetracked by a serious knee injury.

Mills looked confident, worked through his progressions and overall he had the coaches smiling after practice. He has a lot of rust to knock off, but the talent is undeniable.

“The thing that’s great about Davis is that he’s unwavering," said offensive coordinator Tavita Pritchard. "He’s not a peaks and valleys guy. He’s very steady, very constant. He’s very physically talented. It’s one of the things that I enjoy about coaching him is he doesn’t get too up or down. He throws a touchdown pass and he’s the same as when he makes a big mistake. He’s very even keeled. It’s going to make him a great quarterback.”

Stanford did not have enough healthy linemen to put together two sets of five for the scrimmage, so there was a constant rotation as the coaches tried to keep guys rested while maximizing the effectiveness of the practice reps.

Drew Dalman was the center with the first team and he's having a strong camp. The redshirt freshman may be the long-term substitute for Rimington Trophy watch list center Jesse Burkett, who may not be available until early in the season, according to Shaw.

Brandon Fanaika is maybe a week from returning to compete to keep his left guard job. In the meantime, Devery Hamilton and Foster Sarell got reps there. Dalman was at right guard when Brian Chaffin took over at center and Nate Herbig got some rest.

The running game didn't shine and, even considering the position hopping on the line, that was a little surprising against a young, inexperienced defensive front. Of course, holding out Bryce Love from the scrimmage is a sure way to make the run game look worse than it will be Aug. 31 against San Diego State.

Outside linebackers Joey Alfieri and Curtis Robinson didn't practice Sunday, although it was only a rest day for Alfieri while Robinson is rehabbing from an undisclosed injury. The result was that Gabe Reid was on the field for the first snap of the scrimmage and within the first couple plays he decisively beat right tackle A.T. Hall with an inside move.

The redshirt freshman flashed several more times and backed up the high praise of several coaches who have tabbed him as a player to watch -- if not for this season then certainly in 2019.

Paulson Adebo (R-Fr.) also started opposite Alameen Murphy while Alijah Holder is not fully back from injury. There is a good chance that when Holder starts the season opener his cornerback partner will be Adebo.

Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson said after practice that most of the freshmen defenders have a long way to go learning the complexity of the college game. Several of them are in the elementary stages. But there's no doubt about the physical potential of players such as Andres Fox, Ricky Miezan and Jacob Mangum-Farrar.

Fox needs to get bigger, but he was a prolific pass rusher in Alabama and the defensive lineman blew up two plays during the last "quarter" of the scrimmage. He got the sideline fired up with a celebration, exchanged a few words with offensive lineman Devery Hamilton and looked very comfortable on the field.

Miezan already has the size to play but the former No. 1 lacrosse prospect in the country has only played two years of football. When the game became see ball, get ball, he excelled with great speed and loud contact.

Mangum-Farrar also flashed the rangy athleticism that earned him an offer more than a year ago at a Friday Night Lights camp. He earned a shoutout from Anderson after the scrimmage.

True freshman defensive end Thomas Booker has a chance to crack the rotation. He seemed to be within striking distance of the No. 5 spot after getting a lot of reps Sunday. He didn't flash big play potential like Fox, but his sturdy size gives him a chance to help the Cardinal this season.

Not that Costello should have needed any more incentive to get healthy, but who he gets to throw the ball to is a powerful motivator to play. It should be a lot of fun when when Arcega-Whiteside, Trent Irwin, Connor Wedington and tight ends Kaden Smith and Colby Parkinson are your top guys.

Then there are receivers Osris St. Brown, Donald Stewart and freshmen Michael Wilson and Simi Fehoko providing depth. At tight end, Scooter Harrington is a useful guy to have around as an H-back/devastating blocker/sure handed receiver. Tight end Tucker Fisk wasn't available Sunday but he got a very encouraging review last week from position coach Morgan Turner.

There isn't enough room on the field for everyone and that doesn't even count passes to Love, Cameron Scarlett and other running backs or fullbacks.

Parkinson had several nice catches over the middle of the field, looked stronger and moved well at his gigantic 6-7 size.

Wilson showed great power when he took a bubble screen nine yards, fighting through defenders for most of them. It took four guys to bring him down. Wilson and Fehoko flashed their great athleticism in drills.

The fact that Wilson fielded a few punts at the end of practice suggests he may be getting a long look to play this season.

“We have to get some guys healthy and really allow this thing to fully take shape," Pritchard said of the offense's potential. "But it’s going to be a talented group. If we don’t have self-inflicted wounds, if we’re efficient and we execute -- there are enough playmakers up front and at the skill positions that we have the ability to score points.”