STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford football begins the first of two spring sessions on Tuesday. The Cardinal spring will culminate in the annual Cardinal and White Spring Game in Cagan Stadium on Saturday, April 13 at 1 p.m.
Here are five things to know:
Practice Schedule
- Stanford will take the field for its first practice on Tuesday, followed by the second session on Friday. For those first two practices, the team will be in helmets only, per NCAA guidelines.
- Stanford will hold four open practices on each of the next two Saturdays and Sundays. This Saturday will be the first day in pads for the Cardinal. The two-hour session begins at 2 p.m. at the Elliott Practice Fields. On Sunday, the Cardinal will hold an open practice from 1:15-3:15 p.m. Open practice on March 9 will be 12:15-1:45 p.m., and from 12:45-2:45 p.m. on March 10.
- In all, Stanford will hold seven practices between Feb. 26 and March 10 before breaking for winter quarter final exams.
Work in Progress
- Cardinal players have already been hard at work participating in their annual winter conditioning morning competitions the past three weeks.
- Drills included a prowler sled push, hoop races, star drill, foot ladder and the rabbit and hound. Scores are tallied, with a winner and a loser on most stations.
- Offensive lineman Drew Dalman (6-0) was the overall team points leader this winter.
- Points leaders by position groups: Drew Dalman (OL), Colby Parkinson (TE), Connor Wedington (WR), Houston Heimuli (RB), Jack Richardson (QB), Thomas Booker (DL), Casey Toohill (LB), J.J. Parson (DB) and Jet Toner (specialists).
Quarterbacks are Back
- Last spring, then-walk-on quarterback Jack Richardson was the only arm available for the Cardinal. His efforts earned a scholarship, which Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw awarded on the field after the 2018 Cardinal & White Spring Game.
- This will be the first spring practice for K.J. Costello as the starting quarterback. Last season, he was recovering from injury, but returned for fall practice and started all 13 games in 2018, where he tossed the second-most passing yards (3,540) and third-most touchdowns in a season (29) in school history.
- Stanford will have its full arsenal of quarterbacks with Richardson, Davis Mills, Jack West and Dylan Plautz.
New Names
- With the departures of Bobby Okereke and Sean Barton, Stanford will have a pair of new starting inside linebackers next season.
- Top candidates to fill their spots include Ricky Miezan, Jacob Mangum-Farrar, Andrew Pryts, Ryan Beecher and Curtis Robinson, who will be sliding into a new position after three seasons at outside linebacker.
- Curtis Robinson returns after an injury-plagued season that limited him to two games in 2018.
Specialists Update
- Punter Jake Bailey, who set Stanford's school record for career punting average, has been invited to the NFL Combine. The Cardinal has several punters on its roster ready to fill his shoes, including sophomore Alex Gracey.
- Stanford returns three-year starting short/long snapper Richard McNitzky as well as placekicker Jet Toner, who set the school record with a .933 field goal percentage (14-of-15) last season – second-best in the nation.
- Bailey also excelled kicking off the last three seasons. Toner and Gracey will compete for that opportunity this spring.
Bonus: NFL Combine
- This week marks the start of the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, including televised on-field testing you can watch Friday, March 1 through Monday, March 4 on NFL Network.
- Seven Stanford players will participate: wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Bailey, offensive lineman Nate Herbig, cornerback Alijah Holder, running back Bryce Love, Okereke and tight end Kaden Smith.
- Operations and Recruiting Assistant Kate Dalman and Assistant Sports Performance Coach Sam Contorno were invited to attend the 2019 NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum, which is held in conjunction with the Combine.