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Sept. 1, 1997
No. 17 Stanford Prepares for San Jose State
- Saturday, September 6, 1997
- 12:30 pm (pst)
- Stanford Stadium (85,500)
- Stanford, CA
THE CARDINAL: Stanford opens its 103rd season of intercollegiate football on Saturday, September 6 vs. San Jose State ... The Cardinal, of course, is coming off a season-ending five game winning streak that propelled Stanford to a 7-5 overall record and a third place finish in the Pac-10 Conference with a 5-3 record ... The Cardinal enters the '97 campaign ranked 17th in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls ... Stanford has beaten San Jose State the past five times the two teams have met (1992-96), winning each game by an average of 19 points (191-96).
GAME THEME: All kids 14 and under are admitted to the game free as part of the Cardinal Kid's Day activities at Stanford University ... Nike will sponsor the Second Annual Kid's Day at Angell Field from 10:00-Noon ... At the conclusion of the game, all kids will have the opportunity come onto the field and run from one end zone to the other.
TYRONE WILLINGHAM: In two years as Stanford's head football coach, Tyrone Willingham has led the Cardinal to consecutive bowl games and an overall record of 14-9-1 ... He is only the third coach in Stanford history to lead the Cardinal to bowl games in each of his first two years on The Farm (the other two are Tiny Thornhill in 1933 and '34 and Bill Walsh in 1977 and '78 ... Named the 1995 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Willingham was named a candidate for the Bear Bryant Award by one pre-season magazine and was named the Best Coach in the Pac-10 by another.
THE WINNING STREAK: Stanford's current five game winning streak is the longest in the Pac-10 is tied for the second longest in college football ... Only BYU's 12-game winning streak is better than the Cardinal ... Penn State and Nevada are tied with Stanford with five game winning streaks ... The Cardinal last won five in a row during the 1992 season when it went 10-3 and finished as the ninth ranked team in the nation ... In 1991, with Willingham as an assistant coach to Dennis Green, Stanford reeled off seven straight wins en route to an 8-4 record ... Stanford's current streak includes wins over UCLA, USC, WSU, Cal and Michigan State.
MORE STREAKS: Since 1960, Stanford has posted two, seven-game winning streaks and seven, five-game streaks ... A win over San Jose State would give the Cardinal six straight wins and the third longest streak on The Farm in the last 30+ years ... As previously noted, the '91 team won seven straight to advance to the Aloha Bowl while in 1969 and '70, John Ralston's teams combined for a five-game winning streak ... The school record for longest winning streak is 18, set from 1904-06.
FOR OPENERS: Stanford is 1-8-1 in its last 10 season openers (1987-96), including a 17-10 loss to Utah to begin the '96 campaign ... The one win came in 1995 - Tyrone Willingham's first game as Stanford's head coach - when Stanford beat San Jose State 47-33 at Spartan Stadium ... In home openers, the Cardinal has won just one of six games dating back to the 1973 season - that coming in 1985 vs. San Jose State ... In fact, since 1963, Stanford is 7-6 in season openers played at Stanford Stadium and all of those wins have come against San Jose State.
THE QUARTERBACK: Junior Chad Hutchinson (three years of eligibility remaining) enters his second season as Stanford's starting quarterback and is one of the top two-sport athletes in the nation ... Hutchinson, from Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, has been a starting pitcher on the Cardinal baseball team the past two years (15-6 career record) and figures to be one of the top quarterbacks in college football in 1997 ... He is rated as the fifth best QB in the country by Lindy's and sixth by The Sporting News ... Last season, Hutchinson won the starting job in September and started all 12 of Stanford's games ... While he struggled in the early going, Hutchinson continued to improve and was a major factor in the Cardinal's season-ending five-game winning streak ... In the final four games of last season, Hutchinson completed 73-for-114 (.640) for 824 yards and six TDs ...In Stanford's six wins a year ago, Hutchinson completed 117-of-175 (.673) for 1,372 yards and eight TDs ... Hutchinson joined an elite group of Stanford quarterbacks who started their second year on The Farm ...The last QB to start in his second season was Steve Stenstrom (now with the Chicago Bears) in 1991 ... Others in the group include John Elway in 1980, Jim Plunkett in 1968 and John Brodie in 1954 ... Hutchinson, of course, was Stanford's number two pitcher in the starting rotation this past baseball season ... He beat Auburn in the College World Series opener last spring, and lost to evenual NCAA champion LSU ... He will be a junior in baseball in 1998 and will be eligible for the Major League Draft in June ...He was a first round pick in the June, 1995 Draft by the Atlanta Braves (26th pick overall) ... Following the 1997 football season, he will still have two years of eligibility remaining to play college football.
KAILEE'S CORNER: Senior DE Kailee Wong enters the '97 season as one of the top defensive lineman in the country ... He has been tabbed as a consensus pre-season All-Pac-10 pick and a Second-Team All-American ... He is attempting to become the first Cardinal defensive lineman since Duncan McColl in 1976 to earn All-America honors ... A year ago, Wong tied for second in the Pac-10 with 12 quarterback sacks and was third in the league with 21 tackles-for-loss ... The Sporting News ranked Wong as the sixth best DE in the nation while Lindy's ranked him ninth ... Wong was also named by some magazines as a candidate for the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award.
BACKFIELD BUSINESS: Stanford's offensive backfield has gained national recognition as one of the best in college football ... In fact, both The Sporting News and Lindy's ranked the Cardinal offensive backfield number-two in the nation ... The reason for this lofty status is the four backs who return in '97 along with QB Chad Hutchinson ... In Mike Mitchell and Anthony Bookman, Stanford has two of the top backs in school history ... Combined, the duo has rushed for 3,572 yards and both rank among the top seven in school history - Mitchell #4 with 1,849 yards and Bookman #7 with 1,723 career yards rushing ... Mitchell and Bookman will share the running back duties in 1997 ... At fullback, Stanford's tandem of Jon Ritchie (6-2, 240) and Greg Comella (6-2, 225) provide the Cardinal with one of the top duos of fullbacks in the conference ... The RB team of Mitchell and Bookman rank as one of the best tandems in school history ... Perhaps the last great pair of halfbacks to play on the same team were Darrin Nelson and Vincent White, who were teammates in 1980 and '81 ... Nelson is the school's all-time leading rusher with 4,033 yards while White is eighth in the record books with 1,689 yards ... Stanford has had other great fullback-halfback combinations in the same backfield - such as Tommy Vardell (FB)-Glyn Milburn (RB) in 1990 and '91 and Brad Muster (FB)-Jon Volpe (RB) in 1987 - but the combination of Mitchell and Bookman sharing the halfback position is without question among the best that Stanford has ever produced.
INSIDE EDITION: One of the strengths of the '97 Cardinal defense is its pair of inside linebackers - seniors Chris Draft and Jon Haskins ... Draft, who is a consensus pre-season First-Team All-Pac-10 selection, begins his third year in the starting lineup ... He has recorded a team-leading 200 tackles the past two years ... Lindy's rated Draft the eighth best inside linebacker in the nation ... Draft is listed as a Butkus Award candidate entering the '97 season ... The award honors the top linebacker in college football ... Haskins, meanwhile, led the Cardinal and was ninth in the Pac-10 a year ago with 100 total tackles ... Both Draft and Haskins are NFL-type linebackers who will be among the best in the Pac-10 in 1997 ... "I believe they are among the best pair of inside linebackers in the nation," says Cardinal head coach Tyrone Willingham.
SOPHOMORE SCENE: After redshirting their freshman seasons a year ago, several members of Stanford's sophomore class will be given the opportunity to play significant roles in 1997 ... Leading the list is nose tackle Willie Howard, who is battling senior Anthony Willis for the starting spot ... Howard will play a key role for the Cardinal in '97, either as a starter or reserve ... Other second-year players expected to contribute this season include backup strong safety Than Merrill, backup defensive end Riall Johnson, backup wide receiver DeRonnie Pitts and reserve tight ends Russell Stewart and Steve Coughlin.
ON-LINE: Stanford's defensive line may prove to be one of the best on The Farm in recent years ... The Cardinal returns three proven players on the line, including ends Kailee Wong and Bryan Werner and tackle Carl Hansen ... All three have significant game experience and all have shown the ability to be among the best in the conference ... Street & Smith's pre-season magazine ranked the Cardinal defensive line fourth best in the nation ... The only position still unclear is the nose tackle spot, which was vacated by Pete Swanson ... Competing for the starting position is sophomore Willie Howard and senior Anthony Willis ... Both will likely share playing time against San Jose State ..."What I like about our defensive line is that we have players who can make something happen on a one-on-one basis," says Cardinal head coach Tyrone Willingham. "That ability will have a tremendous impact on our team. The three returning players are very explosive," he said.
LET'S REVIEW: Here's another look at what the Cardinal did in its final five games of the 1996 season: Stanford was 2-5 after a 41-9 loss to Arizona State before reeling off five wins to end the season ... Stanford turned its game around in more ways than one over the final five games, most notably on offense ... The Cardinal was averaging 12.7 points per game through the first seven games, but 31.6 over the final five ... It also improved on its rushing yards per game (84.7 to 160), total offense (300 to 372) and third down conversion percentage (.239 to .453) ... Scoring in the Red Zone (inside the opponent's 20-yard line) was also vastly improved over the final five games ... Through seven games, Stanford had scored five touchdowns in 22 trips in the Red Zone - a TD percentage of .227 ... In the final five games, however, Stanford's touchdown percentage in the Red Zone improved to .523 as they scored 11 TD's in 21 attempts ... Defensively, the Cardinal allowed 156 yards per game on the ground through seven games, but only 82.6 in the final five ... The numbers below illustrate Stanford's improvement in 1996:
Per Game Pts. Rush Turnovers 3rd Down Conv. Offense Defense First 7 12.7 84.7 20 (2.85 gm) .239 300 156 Final 5 31.6 160 6 (1.2 gm) .453 372 82.6START ME UP: The Cardinal defense may start as many as nine seniors and two juniors in 1997, giving Stanford one of its most experienced defenses in recent years ... Six projected starters have started at least 10 games in their career, five of whom have started 17 games or more ... Only Donnie Spragan at OLB and Tim Smith at FS have not started a game ... The defensive strarters and number of starts are Kailee Wong (26), Chris Draft (25), Carl Hansen (23), Jon Haskins (22), Bryan Werner (17), Corey Hill (12), Kadar Hamilton (9), Alistair White (5) and Anthony Willis (3).
Media Services
Weekly Media Luncheon
A weekly press luncheon featuring Stanford head coach Tyrone Willingham and several players will take place every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. in the Arrillaga Family Sports Center ... A teleconference with the opposing head coach will also take place.
Practices
All practices are open to media and fans unless otherwise noted ... Media credentials for field access are required and can be obtained by contacting the Media Relations Office ... Players and coaches will be available to the media for 15 minutes following each practice.
Satellite Feed The Pacific-10 Conference weekly satellite feed will begin on Wednesday, September 3 and continue through Nov. 26 ... The half-hour feed includes feature highlights from the previous weekend games and interviews with selected head coaches ... Satellite feeds are held each Wednesday from 11:30-12:00 p.m. ... Sept. 3 feed is on Telstar 5, Transponder 24; the remainder are on Telstar 5, Transponder 23 ...
The Opponent
- About San Jose State
- Location: San Jose, CA
- Founded: 1857
- Enrollment: 27,000
- Nickname: Spartans
- Colors: Gold, White & Blue
- Conference: Western Athletic
- Stadium: Spartan Stadium (31,218)
- President: Dr. Robert L. Caret
- A.D.: Dr. Thomas Brennan
- Head Coach: Dave Baldwin
- Record at San Jose State: First Year
- Career Record: 9-12 (2 Years)
- 1997 Record: 0-0
- 1996 Record: 3-9
- 1996 WAC Record: 3-6 (T-5th)
- SID: Lawrence Fan - (408) 924-1217
Noting the Spartans
San Jose State is coming off a disappointing
3-9 season in which it lost its nine games by an average of 28 points ... The Spartan defense, which lost five starters from a year ago, gave up nearly 500 yards (499.0) per game in '96 ... SJSU marks the fourth stop for junior QB Brian Vye, who began his career at BYU before moving on to LSU and Gavilan College ...Vye beat out three-year letterwinner Dan O'Dell for the starting nod.
Head Coach Dave Baldwin
Baldwin begins his first year at the helm of the Spartan program ... The receivers coach at SJSU from 1980-83, Baldwin becomes the eighth one-time SJSU assistant to later lead the Spartans ... Prior to his arrival at SJSU, he spent two seasons as head coach Cal State Northridge, his alma mater ... In his final season, he directed the Matadors to a 7-4 mark, the school's first winning season in four years of Division 1-AA play ... Baldwin Stanford's receivers coach for five seasons (1984-88) under Jack Elway ... He helped lead the '86 squad to the Gator Bowl.
Series History
The game will mark the 53rd meeting between the two schools in a series that began in 1900 ... Stanford has won nine of the last 12 games, including five straight, and hold a commanding 41-10-1 series lead ... In season-openers vs. SJSU, Stanford is 15-0 ... Normally a high-scoring affair, the Cardinal have averaged 38.2 ppg over the last five games while the Spartans have averaged just under 20 ppg (19.2) ... In six of the last eight meetings, the two teams have combined to score over 50 points ... Stanford has not scored fewer than 23 points in the game since 1987 ...The Spartans last victory in the series came in 1990, a 29-23 win.
The Last Time
The Cardinal defense shut out the Spartans en route to a 25-2 victory last season in Stanford Stadium ... QB Chad Hutchinson completed 17-of-20 passes for 183 yards and one TD, while senior fullback Adam Salina scored all three Cardinal TD's ... The two points allowed by Stanford were the lowest in 12 years.
Notebook
- Stanford is attempting to advance to a bowl game for the third consecutive season - a feat accomplished only once in school history (1933-35 Rose Bowls)
- RT Geoff Wilson returns to the lineup for Stanford after sitting out the entire 1996 season due to a knee injury ... Wilson was expected to be a starter in '96, but a season-ending injury in fall camp prevented him from playing.
- Stanford will use a three-man rotation at offensive tackle ... Jeff Cronshagen will play left tackle and Geoff Wilson will be on the right side with Brian Donoghue receiving playing time at both positions.
- Although FS Tim Smith did not start a game last season, he neverthess led the team with four interceptions and was involved in several big plays ... Smith came to Stanford in 1995 as a highly-touted quarterback, redshirted the '95 campaign as a QB, was switched to wide receiver during the spring of '96 before being moved to free safety at the end of the '96 spring practice session.
- Two cornerbacks who have not received much playing time will be called upon in '97 to add depth to the Cardinal secondary ... Juniors Chris Johnson and Frank Primus will be the team's third and fourth CB's in nickel and dime defenses.
- At the receiver positions, the Cardinal must develop depth behind starters Damon Dunn and Troy Walters ... The three likely candidates have combined for one pass reception ... Look for seniors Jeff Allen (no receptions) and Jimmie Johnson (one reception) to join sophomore DeRonnie Pitts as the team's third, fourth and fifth receivers.
- Four players off last year's team have made NFL rosters, including TE Greg Clark (49ers), OG Brad Badger (Redskins), OT Nate Parks (Chiefs) and WR Brian Manning (Dolphins) ... NT Pete Swanson was converted to the offensive line with the Chiefs and made the team's practice roster.
- Darrin Nelson, Stanford's all-time leader in rushing, receiving and all-purpose yards, has returned to The Farm as an Assistant Athletic Director for Student and Community Relations ... Nelson, who played 11 seasons in the NFL (1982-92), played on The Farm from 1977-81.
- John Hopkins, Stanford's all-time leader in field goals and second all-time leading scorer, has also returned to the Stanford Athletic Department as an asissistant in the Marketing Office ... Hopkins is working on a degree in Sport Management (MEd.) from the University of Texas.
1997 Stanford Football Depth Chart (as of Aug. 29)
Offense
WR 80 Damon Dunn, Sr., 5-10, 180
37 Jimmie Johnson, Sr., 6-1, 170
89 DeRonnie Pitts, So., 6-0, 180
LT 79 Jeff Cronshagen, Jr., 6-7, 285
or 76 Brian Donoghue, Sr., 6-6, 285
LG 63 Andrew Kroeker, Sr., 6-4, 292
67 Joe Fairchild, Jr., 6-6, 270
66 Matt Motherway, Jr., 6-4, 270
C 73 Mike McLaughlin, Jr., 6-4, 290
56 Blaine Maxfield, Jr., 6-4, 285
62 Jon Abendschein, So., 6-3, 260
RG 72 Eli Burriss, Jr., 6-6, 280
67 Joe Fairchild, Jr., 6-6, 270
64 Desmond Cook, Jr., 6-3, 280
RT 65 Geoff Wilson, Sr., 6-7, 295
or 76 Brian Donoghue, Sr., 6-6, 285
TE 85 Tommy Hanson, Sr., 6-5, 240
86 Derek Hubbard, Sr., 6-4, 235
84 Russell Stewart, So, 6-5, 230
QB 19 Chad Hutchinson, Jr., 6-5, 230
7 Todd Husak, So., 6-3, 185
RB 32 Mike Mitchell, Sr., 6-0, 215
or 4 Anthony Bookman, Sr., 5-8, 185
8 Juan-Carlos Lacey, So., 5-10, 195
FB 34 Greg Comella, Sr., 6-2, 225
or 40 Jon Ritchie, Sr., 6-2, 240
36 Maxwell Stevenson, Jr., 5-11, 242
FL 5 Troy Walters, Jr., 5-8, 170
20 Jeff Allen, Sr., 6-4, 210
88 Aaron Focht, So., 5-11, 180
PK 14 Kevin Miller, Jr., 6-0, 200
49 Patrick Shinnefield, Jr., 6-0, 190
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Defense
OLB 2 Donnie Spragan, Jr., 6-4, 235
95 Brian Toner, Jr., 6-2, 225
58 Jon Sande, So., 5-10, 208
DE 13 Kailee Wong, Sr., 6-4, 260
97 Riall Johnson, So., 6-3, 235
74 Jim Telesmanich, So., 6-3, 245
DT 75 Carl Hansen, Sr., 6-5, 265
77 Willie Howard, So., 6-5, 260
71 Dorean Kass, So, 6-5, 255
NT 51 Anthony Willis, Sr., 6-2, 280
or 77 Willie Howard, So., 6-5, 260
99 Andrew Currie, Jr., 6-3, 265
DE 94 Bryan Werner, Sr., 6-5, 255
70 Sam Benner, So., 6-5, 250
ILB 43 Jon Haskins, Sr., 6-3, 238
90 Marc Stockbauer, Jr., 6-3, 225
55 Byron Glaspie, So., 6-2, 235
ILB 33 Chris Draft, Sr., 6-1, 220
53 Sharcus Steen, Jr., 6-0, 235
57 Dominic Brunetti, So., 6-2, 217
CB 17 Corey Hill, Sr., 6-0, 205
29 Chris Johnson, Jr., 5-11, 175
49 Mark Sanders, So., 5-11, 155
SS 24 Kadar Hamilton, Sr., 5-11, 207
6 Than Merrill, So., 6-3, 215
30 Che Holloway, So., 5-11, 180
FS 10 Tim Smith, Jr., 6-4, 220
15 Eddie Patterson, So., 5-9, 185
25 Tim Bass, Jr., 5-11, 186
CB 26 Alistair White, Sr., 6-0, 200
47 Frank Primus, Jr., 5-11, 183
31 Robert Lathan, Jr., 5-9, 170
P 14 Kevin Miller, Jr., 6-0, 200
96 Scott Reilly, So., 5-11, 200
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