[metsjetsfan]

going to declare for the MLB draft, right?

Looking at his stats, he's only batting .246 with 2 HRs and 17 RBIs in 49 games.

While I can't claim to follow Stanford baseball closely, I guess we were over-concerned with his potential to be a 1st round pick.  The only good thing I can say is that it's great to know we'll have great RB depth next year!

[metsjetsfan]

going to declare for the MLB draft, right?

Looking at his stats, he's only batting .246 with 2 HRs and 17 RBIs in 49 games.

While I can't claim to follow Stanford baseball closely, I guess we were over-concerned with his potential to be a 1st round pick.  The only good thing I can say is that it's great to know we'll have great RB depth next year!

[Hank 91]

I was able to speak to Coach Shaw at an alumni function last week. He was talking about the depth at running back, and he mentioned Gaffney. I asked if he was counting on having Gaffney back, and his response was simple: "Definitely. He's hitting, like, .250."

[Hank 91]

I was able to speak to Coach Shaw at an alumni function last week. He was talking about the depth at running back, and he mentioned Gaffney. I asked if he was counting on having Gaffney back, and his response was simple: "Definitely. He's hitting, like, .250."

[washingtonismoney]

I was able to speak to Coach Shaw at an alumni function last week. He was talking about the depth at running back, and he mentioned Gaffney. I asked if he was counting on having Gaffney back, and his response was simple: "Definitely. He's hitting, like, .250."

Any other (related or non-related) details we might find interesting?

[washingtonismoney]

I was able to speak to Coach Shaw at an alumni function last week. He was talking about the depth at running back, and he mentioned Gaffney. I asked if he was counting on having Gaffney back, and his response was simple: "Definitely. He's hitting, like, .250."

Any other (related or non-related) details we might find interesting?

[Hank 91]

I'll post a full transcript of the evening soon, hopefully this week, but there wasn't anything terribly earth-shattering. Here are a few sneak peeks:
• Shaw is excited about Kelsey Young. He has a depth chart for running backs and a depth chart for wide receivers. Young has his own category, the idea being that he needs to be on the field in some capacity, and they need to get him the ball. After Ty Montgomery, Young is the second-fastest player on the team.
• He also expects the offense will be considerably faster on the outside.
• He hopes -- really hopes -- that they'll be able to redshirt Barry J.
• He's excited about James Vaughters, and feels he'll be a special, special player now that he's installed at inside linebacker.
• Wayne Lyons is definitely a corner, not a safety.
• The new special teams coach, Pete Alamar, clinched the job when he looked at video of Jordan Williamson's missed field goals in the Fiesta Bowl and was able to explain why. The other candidates simply said, "He hooked it." Alamar pointed out flaws in Williamson's mechanics that led to the hook. Shaw's excited because Stanford will have one of the few special teams coaches who can actually coach the kickers.
• He expects Shayne Skov to be fully healthy by training camp. He was suspended during the spring from all team activities, "and that killed him." The good news was that he had lots of free time to lift weights (presumably in the student athletic center), and he's now brobdingnagian. Shaw saw this as a good thing. I asked him when we would know about the terms of the suspension, and this was the only time all night that his demeanor seemed to change. He seemed a bit bothered by the question. Here's how the conversation went...

Me: When will we know about his suspension?
Shaw: When I decide to announce it.
Me: Do you know what your decision will be?
Shaw: I've known for three months.

I then asked him about the difficulty of making the decision, balancing what's best for Skov with what's best for the perception of the University and the team, and he softened a bit. He said this was, by far, the most difficult part of his job.

It was a great evening, and I hope to have much more about it soon.

[Hank 91]

I'll post a full transcript of the evening soon, hopefully this week, but there wasn't anything terribly earth-shattering. Here are a few sneak peeks:
• Shaw is excited about Kelsey Young. He has a depth chart for running backs and a depth chart for wide receivers. Young has his own category, the idea being that he needs to be on the field in some capacity, and they need to get him the ball. After Ty Montgomery, Young is the second-fastest player on the team.
• He also expects the offense will be considerably faster on the outside.
• He hopes -- really hopes -- that they'll be able to redshirt Barry J.
• He's excited about James Vaughters, and feels he'll be a special, special player now that he's installed at inside linebacker.
• Wayne Lyons is definitely a corner, not a safety.
• The new special teams coach, Pete Alamar, clinched the job when he looked at video of Jordan Williamson's missed field goals in the Fiesta Bowl and was able to explain why. The other candidates simply said, "He hooked it." Alamar pointed out flaws in Williamson's mechanics that led to the hook. Shaw's excited because Stanford will have one of the few special teams coaches who can actually coach the kickers.
• He expects Shayne Skov to be fully healthy by training camp. He was suspended during the spring from all team activities, "and that killed him." The good news was that he had lots of free time to lift weights (presumably in the student athletic center), and he's now brobdingnagian. Shaw saw this as a good thing. I asked him when we would know about the terms of the suspension, and this was the only time all night that his demeanor seemed to change. He seemed a bit bothered by the question. Here's how the conversation went...

Me: When will we know about his suspension?
Shaw: When I decide to announce it.
Me: Do you know what your decision will be?
Shaw: I've known for three months.

I then asked him about the difficulty of making the decision, balancing what's best for Skov with what's best for the perception of the University and the team, and he softened a bit. He said this was, by far, the most difficult part of his job.

It was a great evening, and I hope to have much more about it soon.

[Redrum]

See? See what hopeless fandom does?  Great that you took the initiative to get this.  Look forward to reading the entire interview.   

For a second I thought that Skov's suspension this Spring  (first I heard of that...or maybe the first thing I forgot after I heard it)
WAS the punishment and he'd gotten it out of the way.  But based on what Shaw seemed to be saying,  there is more joy to come.  The really interesting discussion is whether Skov is in a  Punishment Sandwich...a team punishment  and an official Stanford punishment to yet be meted out by some student/admin  tribunal.

[Redrum]

See? See what hopeless fandom does?  Great that you took the initiative to get this.  Look forward to reading the entire interview.   

For a second I thought that Skov's suspension this Spring  (first I heard of that...or maybe the first thing I forgot after I heard it)
WAS the punishment and he'd gotten it out of the way.  But based on what Shaw seemed to be saying,  there is more joy to come.  The really interesting discussion is whether Skov is in a  Punishment Sandwich...a team punishment  and an official Stanford punishment to yet be meted out by some student/admin  tribunal.

[CrazedZooChimp]

You didn't happen to ask Shaw about Remound Wright III, did you Hank?  I keep hoping to hear something about his health/status.

[CrazedZooChimp]

You didn't happen to ask Shaw about Remound Wright III, did you Hank?  I keep hoping to hear something about his health/status.

[slide]

Hank, thanks for the update.  a lot of great information, particularly in the doldrums between spring ball and fall football.

given our talent at RB (Taylor, Gaffney, Wilkerson, Young, Seale, Wright, etc), Barry Sanders would have to be a truly special RB to merit burning his red-shirt.

good input from Shaw on Young.  Young gives us another dimension to attack the edges of a defense, rather than just its interior.  it would be a great add to the playbook.  as has been discussed here before, a Milburn type back makes it difficult for defenses (i.e. show elephant personnel package and run a 3 WRs play). 

any discussion about LT?  it seems to be the weak OL link at the moment although Peat, Murphy and Davidson would give one hope for the future.

[slide]

Hank, thanks for the update.  a lot of great information, particularly in the doldrums between spring ball and fall football.

given our talent at RB (Taylor, Gaffney, Wilkerson, Young, Seale, Wright, etc), Barry Sanders would have to be a truly special RB to merit burning his red-shirt.

good input from Shaw on Young.  Young gives us another dimension to attack the edges of a defense, rather than just its interior.  it would be a great add to the playbook.  as has been discussed here before, a Milburn type back makes it difficult for defenses (i.e. show elephant personnel package and run a 3 WRs play). 

any discussion about LT?  it seems to be the weak OL link at the moment although Peat, Murphy and Davidson would give one hope for the future.

[StannyBoy]

If Peat really is up to 313 lbs I'd say he's starting at LT.

[StannyBoy]

If Peat really is up to 313 lbs I'd say he's starting at LT.

[Hank 91]

I asked him if he was holding that left tackle spot open for one of the freshmen, but he gave the standard answer -- they'll be able to come in and compete for the job. I think that's what he has to say, even if he secretly is holding the job. I also asked him if he ever finds himself rooting for a particular guy to win a position battle, not because he likes one guy better than another, but specifically if he'd rather have a younger guy win the job for more long term stability, or if he'd like the older guy to win so the freshman can spend a red shirt year getting bigger, stronger, and smarter. Again, the predicted response: he wants everyone to compete, and all that matters is that someone separates himself and wins the job.

He also talked about Ricky Seale and kind of shrugged his shoulders when he admitted that Seale could probably be the starter at any number of schools, but it will simply be hard to get him on the field this season. This was one of the more interesting moments of the night. He said he doesn't even like to look at Seale because he feels so awful about a kid with that much talent but no place to play. He doesn't know how he'll be able to close the gap and catch Taylor, Gaffney, Wilkerson, and Kelsey Young. Unfortunately, I never thought to ask him about Remound Wright, and I didn't hear anyone else ask, either.

[Hank 91]

I asked him if he was holding that left tackle spot open for one of the freshmen, but he gave the standard answer -- they'll be able to come in and compete for the job. I think that's what he has to say, even if he secretly is holding the job. I also asked him if he ever finds himself rooting for a particular guy to win a position battle, not because he likes one guy better than another, but specifically if he'd rather have a younger guy win the job for more long term stability, or if he'd like the older guy to win so the freshman can spend a red shirt year getting bigger, stronger, and smarter. Again, the predicted response: he wants everyone to compete, and all that matters is that someone separates himself and wins the job.

He also talked about Ricky Seale and kind of shrugged his shoulders when he admitted that Seale could probably be the starter at any number of schools, but it will simply be hard to get him on the field this season. This was one of the more interesting moments of the night. He said he doesn't even like to look at Seale because he feels so awful about a kid with that much talent but no place to play. He doesn't know how he'll be able to close the gap and catch Taylor, Gaffney, Wilkerson, and Kelsey Young. Unfortunately, I never thought to ask him about Remound Wright, and I didn't hear anyone else ask, either.

[socalstanfan1]

He also talked about Ricky Seale and kind of shrugged his shoulders when he admitted that Seale could probably be the starter at any number of schools, but it will simply be hard to get him on the field this season. This was one of the more interesting moments of the night. He said he doesn't even like to look at Seale because he feels so awful about a kid with that much talent but no place to play. He doesn't know how he'll be able to close the gap and catch Taylor, Gaffney, Wilkerson, and Kelsey Young.

I sincerely hope it works out for Ricky Seale here at Stanford, but at this point, could anyone blame him if he chose to transfer?  He was also highly regarded as a DB coming out of HS.  I wonder if he would have any better shot at getting on the field there?

[socalstanfan1]

He also talked about Ricky Seale and kind of shrugged his shoulders when he admitted that Seale could probably be the starter at any number of schools, but it will simply be hard to get him on the field this season. This was one of the more interesting moments of the night. He said he doesn't even like to look at Seale because he feels so awful about a kid with that much talent but no place to play. He doesn't know how he'll be able to close the gap and catch Taylor, Gaffney, Wilkerson, and Kelsey Young.

I sincerely hope it works out for Ricky Seale here at Stanford, but at this point, could anyone blame him if he chose to transfer?  He was also highly regarded as a DB coming out of HS.  I wonder if he would have any better shot at getting on the field there?

[Hank 91]

If I remember, more schools saw him as a defensive back. I think he's gotta make some kind of switch, whether it's to another position or another school. Then again, there could be worse things than getting a free Stanford education. Perhaps that's entering into his thinking.

[Hank 91]

If I remember, more schools saw him as a defensive back. I think he's gotta make some kind of switch, whether it's to another position or another school. Then again, there could be worse things than getting a free Stanford education. Perhaps that's entering into his thinking.

[BobK]

Actually you don't have to declare for the Draft.  My guess Gaffney goes about the 10th round.  Great OB% and did hit 325 or so last year. 

[BobK]

Actually you don't have to declare for the Draft.  My guess Gaffney goes about the 10th round.  Great OB% and did hit 325 or so last year.