STANFORD, Calif. – David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, was curious to see how his players would respond in practice this week after last Saturday’s 16-6 opening-season loss at Northwestern. They didn’t disappoint him.
“I’m always in awe of our guys,” he said. “The players are more resilient than we give them credit for. Guys were flying around. We’re still getting after it.”
One person who was flying around throughout the week and during his career debut at Northwestern was sophomore inside linebacker Joey Alfieri.
“We’re definitely ready to bounce back and show everyone what we can really do,” said sophomore inside linebacker Joey Alfieri. “This last game wasn’t a true representation of what we’re capable of. We got a lot of things cleared up and we’re ready to perform well this week.”
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Alfieri made an immediate impact in his first college game, making a solo tackle on Stanford’s first kickoff. He made another tackle on defense.
Not that the coaching staff is surprised. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder from Portland, Oregon, made 115 tackles his junior year at Jesuit High School. He made 60 his senior season and rushed for 1,712 yards and 22 touchdowns before sustain a season-ending injury in the eighth game.
“It felt great to play in my first football game in two years and finally be able to contribute,” said Alfieri. “It was fast … it was hard adjusting to the speed, but I think it went well.”
Alfieri plays on five special team units: kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return and on-side kick.
“It’s a great way for me to get on the field and contribute to my team,” he said.
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Shaw used a different routine for practice on Thursday. Players did not wear pads or helmets, and there was no hitting during the light walk-through session in 90-degree heat.
“Coach (Shannon) Turley and I have been talking about this for a while,” said Shaw. “We did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people at a bunch of different schools as well as NFL programs, as well as track people. We talked about being fast and explosive, and this seems to be not just the trend but it seems to be backed up by science, that this is a better way to prepare to be full-speed on a Saturday, is to walk-through on Thursday and then a fast but short workout on Friday to have your muscles in the best position to explode on Saturday.”
In previous years, Stanford players wore shoulder pads and hit on Thursday, then did a non-contact walk-through Friday.
“Just a real big mental day,” Shaw after practice Thursday. “We got a lot covered and I thought it went really well.”
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Asked what his team needs to do Saturday night to bounce back against UCF, Shaw said, “We have to do everything better. It sounds so cliche, but if you look at it, there was not one glaring problem. It was a bunch of things that if we just do what we’re supposed to do and play hard and play smart and protect the football and get turnovers instead of giving the ball away, we have a chance to win. It’s going to take that kind of effort this week.”
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Standouts last week included specialist Conrad Ukropina, Alex Robinson and Jake Bailey.
“All three guys were outstanding,” said Shaw. “I thought our special teams coverage units were outstanding as well.”
Ukropina, a senior from Pasadena, California, converted both of his field goal attempts, including a career-best 37-yarder. He appeared in only one game last season, making an extra point against UC Davis. Ukropina, whose great uncle, Jim Ukropina, played tight end at Stanford (1956-59), saw action in eight games in 2013 in place of injured Jordan Williamson, making two of field goals and 11 of 12 extra points.
Bailey, a freshman from Solana Beach, California, kicked off three times and two went for touchbacks. The other was returned 19 yards.
Robinson, a junior from College Park, Georgia, averaged 46.0 yards on seven punts. Only one was returned for seven yards.
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Shaw also had praise for first-time starting offensive tackle Casey Tucker and defensive end Solomon Thomas.
“The guys that we were unsure of came in and did some good things,” he said.
That included safeties Kodi Whitfield and Dallas Lloyd, who made their first collegiate starts. Whitfield collected four tackles, three solo and one for a loss, while Lloyd had two stops.
“I thought they played well,” said Shaw. “Once again, not perfect. We let a couple things get outside of us, a couple times we had a chance to make plays on the ball that we didn’t. But for the most part, as far as having so many guys being first-time starters, they played hard, which is the biggest thing.”
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Stanford has recruited a number of players from the state of Florida, including current NFL players Doug Baldwin and Ed Reynolds, former NFL player Jon Haskins, and former Big Game MVP Casey Moore. The current roster includes senior inside linebacker Noor Davis of Leesburg and freshman free safety Ben Edwards of Jacksonville.
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Two former Cardinal assistant coaches, Peter McCarty (2002-03) and Tom Freeman (2005-06), went on to coach at UCF.
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Extra Points … Stanford has won seven straight home openers … The Cardinal is 10-1 following a loss under head coach David Shaw … Stanford has won 13 consecutive nonconference home games … The Cardinal has lost only three home games since 2010, second only to Boise State (2) … UCF is the first opponent Stanford has played against an FBS program from Florida. It also marks UCF’s first ever game against a California foe. The two programs are scheduled to play again in Florida in 2019 … UCF is 12-4 in its last 16 road games … Saturday is the Bill Walsh Legacy Game and Cardinal Kids Day, celebrating education and athletics. For more information, visit gostanford.com/cardinalkidsday … Saturday also marks the opening of the new 30,000-square foot football facility in the south end of the stadium. It features locker rooms, meeting areas, storage and a media work room.
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Quote of the Week: “We want to make the biggest jump there ever could be.” - Stanford inside linebacker Blake Martinez, on how football teams show the most improvement from the first game to the second.