STANFORD, Calif. – The last players off the practice field Tuesday night were the wide receivers and quarterbacks. They spent extra time playing catch in the cool air and had fun doing it.
The hard work is paying off.
Although Stanford is usually a run-first team, senior wide receivers JJ Arcega-Whiteside (47) and Trenton Irwin (42) have combined for 89 receptions through eight games. Additionally, junior tight end Kaden Smith has 36 grabs.
Each contributes different qualities. Arcega-Whiteside is big, strong and athletic, and uses his 6-3, 225-pound frame to out-jump and out-muscle defensive backs. Irwin runs precision routes, excels on third down and seldom drops a pass. The 6-5, 252-pound Smith runs well, has vice-like hands and makes tough catches in traffic.
Last Saturday against Washington State, they combined for 27 catches, 303 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite being double-teamed much of the time, Arcega-Whiteside has produced 11 scoring catches, No. 2 nationally. He's also No. 16 in receiving yards per game (92.9) and No. 18 in receiving yards (743).
Arcega-Whiteside is often double-teamed and nearly unstoppable in the red zone against man-to-man coverage.
"We've been able to find those few times when they single him," said David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "K.J. (Costello) and JJ have done a great job of recognizing the coverage and taking advantage of those opportunities."
Not by chance.
"K.J. and I have a very unique relationship," Arcega-Whiteside said. "We're always communicating and trying to figure out the best way to do things. Even when we're successful, we're trying to figure out the next time this comes up, how are we going to do this better, so they don't see it coming."
Arcega-Whiteside is majoring in international relations, while Costello and Smith are pursuing degrees in political science.
"We have similar classes and our study sessions get pretty intense," said Arcega-Whiteside. "A lot of times we don't know what we're doing. It's like, 'All right, we have to figure this out or we're going down.' We always make it work and I think that carries over on the field.''
YESSIR. @kj_costello & @TheKadenSmith connect for the TD!
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) October 28, 2018
?? @Pac12Network #GoStanford | #BeatWSU pic.twitter.com/TNScAvYBEW
Arcega-Whiteside's stat sheet isn't a true reflection of his contributions. He has drawn 11 pass interference penalties and two holding calls, which translates to more than 20 yards per game.
"That's what a great player does," Shaw said. "I think he's all-conference, All-America and a special football player. He's big and he's fast. What he understands as well as anybody is body position. He and the quarterback have a really good feel for each other."
Arcega-Whiteside said he likes to play physical at "the point of attack." Being double-teamed is challenging, but it's a compliment to his talent and production, often creating opportunities for others.
"It's kind of annoying," he said. "But at the same time, somebody's got that one-on-one matchup."
Asked where he has made the biggest strides this season, Arcega-Whiteside said, "Just having confidence and knowing if I got out there and believe in myself, plays are going to happen naturally. Also having confidence in others puts less pressure on me and everybody else."
Moving forward: Shaw found many positives from the tough setback to Washington State.
"Our losses earlier in the year, even in the first half of the Oregon game, I felt we gave away too much," he said. "This game, I don't believe that happened. A really good team took the game away from us. We fought for it, we had the lead and we tied it late. We needed to get a stop and couldn't get a stop."
Shaw is hopeful that effort will translate into a win Saturday in Seattle, when the Cardinal (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) tackles Washington (6-3, 4-2) at 6 p.m.
"That gives you a little bit of solace as a head coach," he said. "Now you say can we continue to give that great effort and makes those critical plays that win football games. Especially in the fourth quarter. I love the way the team played and am excited to get that same effort."
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No-huddle: Stanford had good success against the Cougars going without a huddle on offense, especially in the first half.
"I think it helped a lot," said Shaw. "It wasn't just that we were going fast but were controlling the pace. Some of it was fast and some of it was slow. Some of it we would get up and snap the ball and some of it we would get up and dummy call a little bit to get them to do their shifts so we can identify the front."
Stanford has been productive in its two-minute offense most of the season. Shaw credited Costello's maturity and ability to read defenses as major factors.
Shaw expects to use more no-huddle, depending on the opponent and circumstances.
"To a certain degree," he said. "Different environment now going up to Washington. It's going to be rainy, it's going to be a little cold and it's going to be really loud. At the same time, it can be part of what we do run and pass."
Costello is ready to execute whatever game plan is presented.
"Every week in the Pac-12, defensive coordinators change their looks up," he said. "It's going to be whatever the defense is calling for."
Line progresses: Shaw praised the play of his offensive line, which allowed only one sack against Washington State, the conference leader in that statistic coming into the game.
"Brandon Fanaika is playing the best football of his career," said Shaw. "What Jesse Burkett is doing is really impressive because he had absolutely no offseason to prepare. Nate (Herbig) has been playing extremely well but now he's banged up. Thankfully, Devery Hamilton is back. I don't know where we'd be without Drew Dalman. I am proud of those guys. They battled the whole game."
Happy returns: Sophomore wide receiver Connor Wedington and junior outside linebacker Curtis Robinson have returned to practice and could play against Washington. Senior running back Bryce Love, junior running back Trevor Speights and Herbig are day-to-day.
Air time: Senior Jake Bailey is having another outstanding year punting and kicking off. He averages 43.64 yards per punt, has downed 16 inside the 20, and 34 of his 40 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks.
"He's a weapon for us," Shaw said.
Bailey said he has made great improvement since his freshman year.
"When I first got here, I was not a refined punter at all," he said. "Coach (Pete) Alamar has helped me tremendously. My technique has gotten better."
Bailey has added 15-20 pounds of mostly muscle since his junior year.
"I've had a pretty easy time this year kicking the ball far," he said.
Fun fact: Senior free safety Frank Buncom from San Diego is a human biology major and aspiring brain surgeon.
Happy Halloween: Shaw hopes to spend some family time Wednesday celebrating Halloween.
"We've had this tradition for the last few years that we decorate the backyard and make kind of a haunted walk," he said. "They did it pretty big this year. The kids go around and put up little scary things for their friends. Hopefully, post-practice, I'll get a chance to spend about an hour with them, do a little trick-or-treating, and come back to work."
Quotable
"It's like a golf swing. Tiger Woods doesn't hit the fairway every time." Jake Bailey, on the consistency of his kicking.