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STANFORD, Calif. – As Stanford prepares to start the school's 125th season of football on Friday, there are uncertainties, knowns and talented youngsters eager to prove themselves in expanded roles.
 
Let's start with the uncertainties: the Cardinal returns three starters on offense and six on defense from last year's 9-4 team that finished third in the Pac-12 North (5-3) and capped the campaign by beating Pitt in the Sun Bowl. Despite the departure of key contributors, Stanford is well-stocked on both sides of the ball, with many players gaining valuable experience last year on special teams and in spot duty.
 
The offense will revolve around senior quarterback K.J. Costello, who threw for a career-high 3,540 yards and 29 touchdowns, becoming the first Cardinal signal caller since Andrew Luck in 2011 to surpass 3,000 passing yards in a season. Costello wound up the highest-rated quarterback in the Pac-12.
 
"The ceiling for K.J. is very high," said David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "In spurts, he looked as good as anybody in America playing quarterback. Now it's about taking that next step, and not just about making more great plays but making fewer bad plays and really fine-tuning his efforts every week to be consistently great."
 

 
Even with the absence of JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Trenton Irwin, Kaden Smith and Bryce Love, Costello has receiving threats in Michael Wilson, Connor Wedington, Osiris St. Brown, Simi Fehoko and Colby Parkinson. Cameron Scarlett, Trevor Speights and Dorian Maddox received significant playing time at running back in 2018 and will fight for Love's starting spot.
 
The lone returning starter on the offensive line is left tackle Walker Little (19 career starts), an All-America candidate. The unit was decimated by injuries, forcing first-year offensive line coach Kevin Carberry to shuffle personnel and use eight different starting combinations. The good news is that many players saw action, including center Drew Dalman, guard-tackle Devery Hamilton, tackles Foster Sarell and Henry Hattis, and guard Dylan Powell. Improved play and continuity will be essential to rejuvenate the running game and give Costello time to exploit defenses.   
 
Five touted freshmen offensive linemen are expected to compete and provide valuable depth.
 
"A big emphasis last season was putting myself in a good position in times of pressure, knowing when teams were going to bring their primary blitzes and knowing what coverages they like to play," said Costello. "Things like that go a long way, especially in crucial situations, so hopefully we'll be able to do more and more of that this year."
 
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Costello worked hard this offseason developing timing and chemistry with his young wide receivers.

"They did a great job and I think we made a lot of progress," he said. "We're ready to take the next step."
 
Opportunities: Defensively, the Cardinal has holes to fill in the secondary and at inside linebacker. Although the unit ranked No. 78 in total defense last year, it was stingy inside its 40-yard line, ranking No. 13 in points per opportunity.
 
Strengths should be up front and at outside linebacker. Names to watch in the trenches are Thomas Booker, Dalyn Wade-Perry, Michael Williams, Jovan Swann, Thomas Schaffer and Ryan Johnson. On the outside, Casey Toohill, Gabe Reid, Jordan Fox, Andres Fox and Curtis Robinson should be formidable. Inside, dependable starters Bobby Okereke and Sean Barton will be missed but have created opportunities for sophomores Ricky Miezan and Jacob Mangum-Farrar and seniors Andrew Pryts and Curtis Robinson. Freshmen Aeneas DiCosmo, Levani Damuni and Tristan Sinclair could push for playing time and contribute on special teams.
 


In the secondary, most opposing quarterbacks will avoid junior cornerback Paulson Adebo, who established a program record and led the nation last year with 24 passes defended, broke up 20 passes and intercepted four, earning FWAA All-America second team honors. Senior Obi Eboh is a strong contender for the other starting job, with Treyjohn Butler, Kendall Williamson and Ethan Bonner in the mix. Two new starters will occupy the safety positions and top contenders are Malik Antoine at free and Stuart Head at strong. Several others, including Noah Williams, will contend for playing time.
 
"I think we have a really good team culture," said Toohill. "We had an excellent offseason and we've grown a lot. I feel more connected to the guys than I have in the last four years."

Associate Head Coach Lance Anderson, the Willie Shaw Director of Defense, finds creative ways to get the most out of his players and wants the Cardinal to be more physical, a trait Shaw prides his teams on.
 
"Someone has to lead for someone to rise," Toohill said.
 
Senior Jet Toner thrived in his first year as the starting kicker last season, but Stanford must find a replacement for punter Jake Bailey, one of the best in school history. Sophomore Alex Gracey and freshman Ryan Sanborn will compete for the job.
 
"We've got a lot of battles all over the place, and it's one of the things I'm excited about for training camp," said Shaw. "But we've got to create an environment where our top players can play at their best while we're getting other guys ready to play so when we get to the Northwestern game, we're ready to play against a really good, physical football team."
 

 
Early recognition: Many Cardinal players have been named to preseason watch lists. They are: Costello (Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Phil Steele and Athlon Preseason All-Pac-12 second team and Preseason All-Pac-12 second team); Adebo (Jim Thorpe Award, Bednarik Award, Lott IMPACT Trophy, Phil Steele and Athlon Preseason All-America first team and Preseason All-Pac-12 first team); Scarlett (Doak Walker Award and Athlon Preseason All-Pac-12 third team); Parkinson (Mackey Award), Phil Steele Preseason All-America second team, Athlon Preseason All-Pac-12 second team and Preseason All-Pac-12 first team; Dalman (Rimington Award); Butler (Wuerffel Trophy); Little (Sporting News and Phil Steele Preseason All-America first team, Athlon Preseason All-America fourth team, Athlon Preseason All-Pac-12 first team and Preseason All-Pac-12 first team); Wedington (AFCA Good Works nominee); Toner (Groza Award), Phil Steele Preseason All-America third team, Phil Steele and Athlon Preseason All-Pac-12 first team and Preseason All-Pac-12 first team; Swann (Athlon Preseason All-Pac-12 third team); J. Fox (Athlon Preseason All-Pac-12 third team, Phil Steel Preseason All-Pac-12 fourth team and Preseason All-Pac-12 honorable mention).
 
Shaw has been picked to the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year Award Watch List. He previously won in 2017.
 

 
Open scrimmage/Youth Clinic: Stanford will conduct its only open scrimmage on Aug. 11 from 3:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. An open practice will be held on Aug. 18 from 3 p.m. to 5:20 p.m., followed by a Youth Clinic and autograph session. Times are subject to change, so please visit GoStanford.com.


 
Tough slate: The Cardinal will be tested early. Several national publications, including ESPN.com, have rated Stanford's non-conference schedule the toughest in the nation. In addition to the opener against Northwestern on Aug. 31, the Cardinal travels to UCF on Sept. 14 and hosts Notre Dame in its regular-season finale on Nov. 30.
 
Northwestern won the Big Ten West Division title last season, overcoming an 0-3 start to finish 9-5. The Wildcats capped the season by downing Utah 31-20 in the Holiday Bowl.

UCF won its second consecutive American Conference championship and is a combined 25-1 the last two years. The Knights beat Auburn 34-27 in the Peach Bowl to end the 2017 season and lost to LSU 40-32 in the Fiesta Bowl last January.
 
Notre Dame won its first 12 games last year, including a 38-17 victory against Stanford in South Bend, Ind., and finished 12-1. The Fighting Irish fell to Clemson 31-20 in the Cotton Bowl semifinal playoffs.

The good news is that Stanford has seven home games and skips Pac-12 favorite Utah this season.

"No breaks," said Toohill. "With everything in life, you just want to challenge yourself. We're going to see what we're about early on."
 

 
Game themes: Northwestern (Cardinal Kids Day); Oregon (New Student Orientation and Set the Expectation Game; Hall of Fame recognition); Washington on Oct. 5 (Breast Cancer Awareness Presented by Stanford Medicine); Arizona on Oct. 26 (Reunion Homecoming); Notre Dame (Senior Day).
 


Targeting: Shaw, Chairman of the AFCA Ethics Committee and one of 18 members of the USA Football's Football Advisory Committee, is optimistic college football will do a better job of enforcing targeting calls this season.
 
"There's still going to be some plays that could have gone one way or the other," he said. "But before we kick a kid out of the game, before we cost that kid playing time, this is still college football, these guys aren't professionals, we only have 12 guaranteed games, (and) we need to make sure we get the call right."
 
Extra points …Toohill, a political science major, interned with a financial firm for the fourth consecutive summer. "That's what's so special about Stanford," he said. "You can do it all." … All 21 freshmen on scholarship attended summer school … The Cardinal has won eight or more games for a school record 10 straight seasons … At the recent Pac-12 Media Day, Toohill and Costello went bowling. "He's a gamer and I love watching him play," said Toohill. "Not a very good bowler." … Shaw celebrated his birthday on Wednesday and appeared on the Doug Gottlieb Show on Fox Sports Radio.   
 

 
Quotable
 
"I think our guys have had a great summer, and now we're headed towards a great training camp to prepare ourselves for a very difficult schedule and a challenge that I believe we will be up to." – David Shaw