Sundays With SoltauSundays With Soltau
Jim Shorin/stanfordphoto.com
Football

Sundays With Soltau

STANFORD, Calif. – With last season's top receivers JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Trenton Irwin and Kaden Smith departed, Stanford needs youngsters Connor Wedington, Michael Wilson, Colby Parkinson and others to step up.
   
They did Saturday in No. 25 Stanford's season-opening 17-7 victory against Northwestern at sun-splashed Stanford Stadium.
 
Wedington secured a team-high seven receptions, Wilson had six and Parkinson four. Wedington and Wilson showcased their quickness and athletic ability on quick sideline throws from K.J. Costello and Davis Mills, breaking tackles against single coverage.
 
"We wanted to take the pressure off the quarterbacks," said David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "We have to take advantage of their off-coverage and give those guys a chance. It was probably the most tackles we've broken since Ty Montgomery and Doug Baldwin and those guys."
 
The 6-foot Wedington, a junior, is a former running back and appeared in only four games last year due to injury. Wilson, a 6-foot-2-inch sophomore who Shaw calls "a complete receiver," demonstrated his potential a year ago by grabbing 14 passes in 13 games.
 
"We have threats all over the field," said fifth-year senior running back Cameron Scarlett.
 
Wilson scored the first Cardinal touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Costello late in the second quarter. The play was installed earlier in the week, with Costello faking a handoff to Scarlett running left, then rolling right and finding Wilson in the flat.
 
"Coach said there is going to be one man you have to beat or it's going to be a race to the pylon," said Wilson.
 
It turned out to be the latter, Wilson stretching the ball over the goal line.
 
He said the extra work the receivers and quarterbacks put in during the offseason is paying off.
 
"We've got guys that can go," Wilson said. "Brycen (Tremayne), Connor, Simi (Fehoko), Osiris (St. Brown). "We're all going to play a big role and I'm really excited about this year."
 

 
Getting defensive: The Cardinal suffocated Northwestern in the first half, limiting the Wildcats to 79 yards on 21 plays and only 7:00 minutes in time of possession. Northwestern didn't reach the Stanford side of the field until late in the second quarter.
 
All told, Stanford out-gained the Wildcats, 365-210, and finished with a nearly 17-minute time of possession advantage.
 
"It was a lot of fun out there flying around with the guys," said senior inside linebacker Andrew Pryts, who intercepted his first pass in his first start. "We had great energy and can feed off that all year."
 
The unit produced four takeaways and sealed the game with 20 seconds remaining when fifth-year senior outside linebackers Casey Toohill and senior outside linebacker Jordan Fox blasted Wildcat quarterback Hunter Johnson, who fumbled. Fox recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

"We knew they were trying to go down the field to pick up something," Fox said. "We pinned our ears back and just let it go. Casey made a great first hit on him. I just tried to find the ball. It was a great way to finish the game on the defensive side of the ball. It was high effort all day."
 

 
On its first possession of the third quarter, Northwestern drove to the Cardinal 5-yard line, but Robinson and sophomore strong safety Kendall Williamson sacked quarterback TJ Green and forced a fumble, and Williamson recovered at the 9-yard line.
 
"Our rush was really getting there, and he was just trying to get out of the pocket," said Williamson. "I saw him spin off a couple guys and just went and pursued it. I really wish I would have scooped and scored, but it was a turnover."
 
Many players received their first extended playing time and made it count.
 
"It was great being out there," Williamson said. "I got to play with a lot of people in my class who redshirted last year and came up big. I just loved how we were attacking."


 
Mills steps in: After settling into a nice rhythm, a sliding Costello sustained a blow to the head by Northwestern defensive end Earnest Brown IV on a scramble with two seconds remaining in the half. Brown was called for a personal foul, and Costello walked to the locker room and didn't return, completing 16-of-20 passes for 152 yards.
 
Shaw declined to comment when asked if targeting should have been called. "I didn't see it live," he said.
 
Mills, a junior who redshirted in 2017 and saw brief action in one game last season, played the rest of the way and finished 7-of-14 for 81 yards.
 
"It was a dogfight for most of the game and our defense played extremely well to keep us on top," said Mills.
 
After a strong fall camp, Mills was excited to contribute to the win.
 
"It definitely builds confidence," he said.
 
Said Shaw, "He can make all the throws and is athletic enough to get out in scrambles for positive yards. If K.J. is healthy, he'll go back out there (Saturday against USC). He's our leader and captain. And if he's not healthy, we have all the faith and confidence that Davis can go out there and win the game."


 
Big rush: Shaw was especially pleased with the Cardinal running game, led by Scarlett's career-high 97 yards on 22 carries. 

"Give Cam Scarlett the credit," said Shaw. "We challenged him after the bowl game last year. Multiple times today we had a running back one-on-one with a guy in space."

Stanford rushed 39 times for 132 yards.
 
"We can't block everything perfectly, especially against a really good, big, physical defense," Shaw said. "I thought our running backs ran through the trash."

Early contributions: Seven freshmen saw action for Stanford: running backs Austin Jones and Nathaniel Peat, wide receiver Elijah Higgins, cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly, safety Jonathan McGill, punter Ryan Sanborn and offensive tackle Walter Rouse.


 
Extra motivation: Chris Marinelli, an All-American offensive tackle in 2009, served as Stanford's honorary captain. His father, Jim, was a member of the Local 88, Tunnel Workers Union in Braintree, Massachusetts, for more than 30 years. Chris and his fellow offensive linemen nicknamed themselves the Tunnel Workers Union and the moniker remains.
 
"It's an analogy that fits perfectly for the offensive line because we need to open holes and grind no matter how we feel," said Chris, who made 41 starts during his Cardinal career. "It's just about having that blue-collar attitude."
 
Marinelli gave a stirring motivational speech to the team on Friday night and it carried over Saturday. His father passed away on June 30 at age 60 from cancer.
 
"It was super impactful for us," said junior center Drew Dalman. "We still kind of live by the Tunnel Workers Union credo and hopefully for many years to come. We just wanted to make him proud and show him what we could do."
 
Shaw heard players talking about the Tunnel Workers Union in the fourth quarter.
 
"They were running it and being physical," he said. "Chris put something in their heads and we really started churning."



Next up: The Cardinal begins Pac-12 play on Saturday when it travels to Los Angeles to tackle the Trojans at 7:30 p.m. in a contest that will be televised by ESPN. Stanford prevailed at home last year, 17-3, and has won four of the last six meetings.
 
The Trojans opened the season by beating Fresno State on Saturday night, 31-23.
Shaw's teams have swept USC, UCLA and Cal three of the last four years and six of the previous nine.
 

 
Extra points ... Starting offensive tackle Walker Little sustained a late injury and his status in unknown … Toohill led the Cardinal with six tackles, including a sack, two tackles for loss and forced a fumble … Seven Stanford players recorded four or more stops … The Cardinal has won 12 straight home openers and 21 consecutive non-conference games on home turf … All-American cornerback Paulson Adebo pilfered his first pass of the season … Jet Toner booted a career-best 51-yard field goal to end the first half. The last Stanford kicker to convert from 50-plus yards was Conrad Ukropina, who hit from 52 against Oregon State in 2016 … Former Cardinal standout Richard Sherman, now a starting cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers, attended the game and was recognized as Stanford celebrates its 125th season of football … The next home game for the Cardinal is Sept. 21 against Oregon, time TBD. The 2019 Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame Class, which includes running back/linebacker Bill Tarr '55, will be recognized.
 

 
Quotable
 
"We're all still learning, but I think this is the start of something big." - Michael Wilson on the play of the wide receivers.