Spring Ball 2025 - Week 4Spring Ball 2025 - Week 4
Football

Spring Ball 2025 - Week 4

The final four practices of spring took place last week

STANFORD, Calif. — The first spring in the new era of Stanford football has concluded, with the final four spring practices taking place this past week. 15 practices scattered over four weeks in April are over, and improvement was clear from practice one through practice 15.

As spring progressed, there became clear signs as to what this year’s version of the Stanford Cardinal is going to be. This team is going to be physical. This team is going to be fast. This team is going to be aggressive. This team is going to be all-in on being there for each other.

At the end of the week, Coach Reich addressed the team after practice with what he liked from that week’s sessions. That is typical following all practices with Coach Reich, but it had a different energy level than normal. There was an additional fire in his voice, and a palpable excitement reverberated throughout the huddle.

“The first few weeks, there were some ups and downs as we figured things out. This last week, these four practices? We absolutely crushed it!” he exclaimed to the team. “[Andrew] Luck challenged us on Monday, he got after us a little bit, and you guys responded. You came out here to work for four days with monster preparation.”

“We just have to prove that we can be consistent,” Reich said to the media following Monday’s media availability. “I know we can be good enough, there’s no question in my mind about it. This game comes down to consistent execution and playmaking when it really counts. That’s what we have to prove as we keep moving on. I’ve seen a lot of good evidence of it to this point.”

Consistency was the main theme of the spring for the Cardinal, and it seems like over the course of the month, greater steps were taken towards achieving that. Bigger plays were made in the ground game, the offensive line created protection to advance the ball down the field, and the defense showed a tenacity and hunger to create turnovers.

“I just feel like we’re getting the right effort and energy from every room. But this is spring ball,” Reich cautioned, though he was quick to explain. “The execution has been good, but we have a way to go. The guys are working hard at it, getting our schemes down. You can see the execution getting better as we go along the way. Again, we have a long way to go, but at times it looks really good, and it makes me feel excited about the year.”

This also completes the first spring with Andrew Luck as the general manager for Stanford football. It was a new position that was the first of its kind in college sports but has since been emulated by other programs around the country. With an all-encompassing role at the helm of Stanford football, it was curious to see how Luck would approach his first spring back on The Farm.

Those curiosities were quickly answered, with Luck a regular attendee at practices, helping out in as many ways as he can. This was noticed and appreciated by all, including Luck’s interim head coach.

“He’s strategically inserting himself at different spots where he can add value,” Reich explained. “I think it’s fantastic that we have a general manager who was one of the best players in the NFL. He can add his expertise to help our players in that way. It’s been a big benefit.”

Luck was impressed with what he saw during spring ball, noticing improvement from the start to where the team ended up during the final week of April. He knows the past month has been a lot on the student-athletes, but he could not be more impressed with how they handled the adversity.

“Guys have exhibited an incredible willingness to work and to push each other and themselves. A lot has been thrown at them in the past month, and I’m proud not just of how they handled it but also pushed forward with it and improved,” Luck said.

As the calendar turns towards May, there are a few OTA dates on the schedule, but most of the preparation that lies ahead shifts off the field. Work in the weight room, work in the classroom, and a continued focus on dominating the details. That last part is important. Dominating the details is something Coach Reich preaches, but it extends beyond just the football field. It applies in all areas of life.

“Is there any reason this group right here can’t be the best in the country in phase two [of the season]?” he asked the team following its final practice on Saturday, referring to the upcoming months before training camp. “No. And if we make those deposits, what happens? We get an exponential return. But we have to get at it in phase two.”

“There’s a big ol’ checklist and it’s different for everybody, but we keep pushing forward,” Luck spoke about the coming months from a program perspective. “Every side of the ball and every unit will have its own checklist, and our guys have got to keep growing. They’ve got to keep getting in the weight room, building heart, and building to win. We’ll make sure we get ready for training camp in the best way possible.”

One notable addition to the end-of-practice routine that began this month was the return of “Wise Words,” a moment for a current student-athlete to stand up in front of his teammates and offer some inspiring thoughts. It was a staple of practices during Luck’s tenure as quarterback of the Cardinal, and something he thought should be brought back.

Sam Roush offered up the initial “Wise Words” following the first practice of the spring, but since then, players have been given the heads up before practice, so they can prepare, should they choose. Seniors, freshmen, and everyone in between have been included, and the messages have been moving at times.

To close out the spring portion of “Wise Words,” junior offensive lineman Simione Pale spoke on the culture of the current team and what has kept him on The Farm through all the ups and downs of his first two seasons. His message seems to be a fitting one to put a bow on spring ball coverage:

“I think something unique about the brotherhood at this place is that when you go through the recruiting process, I was told we’ll be able to build all four years and create a legacy. I still feel that way about this place. The guys that I came in with together, we stayed here for that reason: to build this brotherhood. I love you guys. If you’re in a red or white jersey, you’re my brother.”