Re: Football roster -
socalstanfan1 - 07-26-2012
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That's a really interesting position to watch, the 2nd wide received (assuming Montgomery is somewhat established). One of the defensive coaches, Anderson I think, was talking him up at one point based on his work in practice or scout team. And if you think a big-ish counterpart or "possession receiver" to Montgomery would be a good fit for the offense, complement the tight ends, then in addition to Pratt there is...
89 Devon Cajuste WR 6-4 216 RS FR Seaford, NY/Holy Cross HS
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Kelsey Young, Keanu Nelson, JRP (we all remember him?), Cajuste, Pratt, Drew Terrell...I'm guessing the coaches whittle that group down a bit then find time for all of those still standing and see if someone emerges in the first part of the season. Who knows, could be one of the true freshmen if they can produce quickly enough, a la Montgomery. That will be one of the more interesting competitions in camp and in the first part of the season.
Re: Football roster -
OutsiderFan - 07-26-2012
Without knowing very much, I'll guess the WRs go something like this:
1. Montgomery (by far and away the best WR)
2. Pratt (older guy who will outwork the younger guys, and has size Terrell simply doesn't have)
3. Terrell (benefit of the doubt for being a Senior)
4. Crane (his H.S. vids are quite impressive, and I'm going to guess he catches better than Young)
5. Young (reportedly dropped a lot of balls in Spring, but his speed and explosiveness must be on the field; will likely be a slot receiver)
6. JRP (I just have to think in his Senior year he's going to produce... something)
7. Whitfield (if JRP gets some routine PT Whitfield will redshirt)
It seems highly unlikely Nelson is ever going to make an impact. I've never heard anyone say anything too effusive about Cajuste. I'm going to guess Rector and Jordan redshirt.
On a recruiting note, I read Devon Allen visited the Farm last weekend, so it seems he must be at least a little interested. Owusu and Allen would be a nice WR tandem for 2013, but so too might Owusu/Cunningham and Owusu/Thomas.
Only one question: which WR has "football speed"? - Redrum - 07-26-2012
Guessing it's not Pratt, work ethic notwithstanding. The problem with our passing game last year was the lack of WR speed. Montgomery has it, but he alone wasn't scaring any opposing DCs.  So the big search is for a second WR who can give Stanford a credible (if more conventional) passing option.Â
Jordan Pratt? All the comments are about what a
surprise he was, not his speed. Runs great routes, good athlete, nose and mentality to win possession battles when he goes up for the ball. Works incredibly hard.
Kelsey Young? It will be interesting to see if he's split out wide or plays exclusively in the slot. My impression from reports is his gift is his acceleration and direction change after the catch rather than blazing straightline speed. Also, has played zero minutes against real defenders in game situations. Ability to catch the ball reliably is an unsettled question.
Connor Crane? Gray hairs among this crowd hope he's the second coming of deceptively fast Ed McCaffrey. But all we know is he is tall like Easy Ed and had some injury problems this past year.
Kodi Whitfield? 3-star, technically proficient, decent, not outstanding speed.
JRP? Wake me up if he ever gets his head in the game.
Devon Cajuste? Coming off injury. Too early to predict or even assess his ability to stretch the defense with his speed. Almost a tweener, big WR or light TE? Some talk of moving him to TE sometime in his career.
I think we are in the same WR dilemma until proven otherwise.
Re: Football roster - ChicagoCard - 07-26-2012
I doubt any true freshmen are very likely candidates at WR. Montgomery was a pretty unusual commodity as a true freshman while there was certainly a need at that position. Seems he was pushed forward about as fast if not faster than the coaches may have wanted. I noticed Connor Crane is tall, 6-4, but 188 pounds, not that the roster info can be trusted entirely. Talk about Kelsey Young as a WR convert and having trouble hanging on to the ball sounds out of character with the grind-the-other-side-down, possession style of offense the past few years.
Re: Football roster -
washingtonismoney - 07-26-2012
I don't think it's implausible a true freshman could play. Other than Montgomery, there are zero established wideouts. And wide receiver is a position where players have, time and again, shown they can contribute quickly.
If I had to bet on one, it'd be Crane.
Re: Football roster - fullers - 07-26-2012
Cajuste was one of the surprises of Fall camp last year. He showed a lot of promise as a WR, and got a fair amount of reps with the 1's prior to injuring his knee. The expectations were that he'd be a solid contributor early in his career, and the coaches most certainly would have burned his resshirt. Of course, nobody knows how he'll look coming back from the injury.
Re: Football roster -
Hank 91 - 07-27-2012
I don't think we should expect much from Pratt. I asked Shaw about him at an alumni meet and greet, and the impression I got was that while it was a nice story, he had a long ways to go, especially in terms of precision route running. He works hard, he's a great kid, but he might never be a Division I wide receiver. As noted on another thread, Shaw has a clear tendency to be effusive with his praise, so such reticence here seemed to say a lot. Look for him to be busting his ass on special teams.