STANFORD, Calif. – Keller Chryst has been dreaming about this opportunity for years.
He could see Stanford Stadium across the street from Palo Alto High School, where he threw for 7,000 yards and 85 touchdowns while leading the Vikings to 23 wins in 35 starts.
Now, he'll get his chance for the Cardinal.
On Tuesday, David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, announced that Chryst would replace Ryan Burns as his starting quarterback on Saturday night at Arizona.
Shaw hinted changes might be coming after last week's 10-5 loss to Colorado. The offense has managed only four touchdowns in the past five games, while dropping three of four. Statistically, the Cardinal ranks 104th nationally in rushing, 117th in passing, and 126th out of 128 FBS teams in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game.
Not that Burns should shoulder all of the blame. The senior and first-year starter led Stanford to victories against USC and UCLA, the latter in the dramatic fashion with a last-second touchdown pass in the Rose Bowl. He also won at Notre Dame, completing the rare trifecta of victories over perennial powers.
Injuries have depleted an already inexperienced offensive line, and starters David Bright and Johnny Caspers are questionable for the tilt with the Wildcats. Fullback Daniel Marx will be sidelined for the fifth straight game Saturday.
While there is no quick fix, Shaw and his staff are hoping Chryst can rejuvenate an offense that has moved the ball well at times but has self-destructed with mistakes and turnovers, committing 12 in the past four games. Shaw wants to move the chains and score touchdowns.
"It would be really easy if it was just the quarterback," said Shaw. "That's why you feel really bad for Ryan. You won't find a more improved player over the last calendar year."
In seven starts, Burns has connected on 96 of 152 throws for 1,058 yards while throwing seven interceptions and five touchdowns. He also ran 48 times for 134 yards, often to escape pressure.
Chryst has seen limited action in six games and has completed seven of 18 passes for 63 yards and thrown one interception. He has 11 rushing attempts for 11 yards.
"They're both great people," said sophomore wide receiver Trenton Irwin. "Sometimes you just need a change. We'll see where it goes and have fun with it."
Irwin said it would be unfair to pin Stanford's struggles on Burns.
"The offense is one whole piece," he said.
Burns and Chryst waged a tight battle last spring that carried into fall training camp. Both are 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, athletic, have strong arms, and don't shy away from contact.
Burns earned the starting nod with an extra year of experience, but they were essentially spectators the last few years playing behind Kevin Hogan, the winningest quarterback in Stanford history and now playing for the Cleveland Browns.
"We need more production from the position," Shaw said. "That's our challenge as coaches going forward -- to support Keller and for the guys on our team to support Keller. We have a lot of confidence in what he can do."
Shaw said he is comfortable with Chryst's first start coming away from home.
"He's been in raucous environments and he's been on the road," said Shaw. "It would be one thing if he was playing his first game, period. He's been in the fire."
Irwin leads the team with 26 catches for 322 yards. He's optimistic the offense will get back on track.
"We've been in a little bit of funk," Irwin said. "Every week I've been thinking we'll break out. It takes trust. You have to trust in the plays and trust in each other. It will break out."
Starting cornerback Alijah Holder reinjured his shoulder against Colorado and has been lost for the season. In four games, he had 10 tackles and a team-high six pass breakups.
"So unfortunate," said Shaw, who expects him back for spring football. "He and Quenton Meeks were a great tandem together."
Alameen Murphy, Frank Buncom and Terrence Alexander are in the mix to replace him.
Linemen Solomon Thomas and Harrison Phillips continue to set the tone on defense. Thomas leads the team in tackles with 37 and has 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Phillips has 24 tackles, five tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
"You can't say enough about those two guys," said Shaw. "Dylan Jackson as well. Dylan hasn't gotten as many stats, but the combination of those three guys right now is really exciting."
Stanford (4-3, 2-3) has defeated Arizona four consecutive times and the 2-5 Wildcats are 0-4 in Pac-12 play. However, the team is coming off a bye week and welcomes the return of its top two quarterbacks, Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins. Solomon suffering a knee injury in the season opener against BYU, and Brandon Dawkins is back after sustaining a concussion against USC.
Dawkins is the team's leading rusher with 484 yards, averages 7.7 per carry, and has scored a team-best eight touchdowns.
"Dynamic," Shaw said. "Very athletic, hard to tackle in space and can make some big-time throws. He's a great compliment to their offense to be able to play multiple positions."
Shaw said running backs Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love are healthy after the Colorado game. McCaffrey missed the Notre Dame game due to injury.
"Both guys will have a significant role in what we do going forward," said Shaw.
Shaw is hopeful Marx will play again this season.
"Trending upward," Shaw said. "We're getting close to turning the corner. We backed off and let him recover for a while. Now we're starting back with rehab and he's really responding."
Shaw saw a replay of Hogan scrambling for a 29-yard touchdown in his NFL debut for Cleveland last Sunday. They texted afterward.
"It looked very familiar," he said. "When you evaluate quarterbacks, you sometimes go into a little bit of a bubble and you have all these boxes that you want to check.
"I have a note from a meeting that I had with Bill Walsh. He always said the No. 1 thing about quarterbacks is instincts. That's what Kevin has. He's an unbelievable basketball player and he's got great feet. You'll never take him in a 40-yard dash against guys that are fast, but as a runner, he breaks tackles, he feels defenders, and when he gets inside the 5-yard line, he's got a nose for the goal line."
Extra Points ... Other local products to start at quarterback for Stanford include John Brodie (Oakland Tech), Jim Plunkett (James Lick), John Paye (Menlo School), Trent Edwards (Los Gatos), Don Bunce (Woodside) and T.C. Ostrander (Menlo-Atherton) … Depending on the condition of Bright and Caspers, Shaw said freshman Nate Herbig could get his first start Saturday night.
Quotable ... "When you're efficient, that's when you have a chance to be explosive. In our best games, that's what we are." - David Shaw
