The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs

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The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Snorlax94 - 09-07-2025

So a week ago was my personal low thinking about recent Stanford quarterbacks.

Former Stanford recruit Bear Bachmeier led BYU to win 69-0 in their opener, and analysts heaped praise on Cal’s true freshman Sagapolutele, who looked relaxed and in command as he threw gorgeous, perfectly placed dimes in his collegiate debut. Even Hawaii fans were calling Alejado the next Tu’a.

And yet, Stanford seems like they cannot get a quarterback who can throw the ball to a receiver and not into the ground or to a wide-open defensive back.

But this is not a recent thing. It’s not just a Reich thing, it’s not just a Taylor thing and it plagued Shaw (I still argue, Hogan was not a consistently accurate passer).

Stanford used to be called “Quarterback U” and even Stenstrom played some in the NFL.

But it feels like since Luck (!!), Stanford has been unable to recruit and develop a qb who consistently can look relaxed and throw accurate balls. There were moments (Kevin Hogan beating Notre Dame at home), but it seems like for a long time across multiple coaches, using different systems, Stanford QBs look jittery. I find it particularly instructive (and depressing!), to contrast the mechanics, ease, and placement of Cal’s Sagapolutele, playing as a true freshman in his collegiate debut, to recent Stanford quarterbacks.

So my question is, why? And can it be fixed?

I asked this question years ago before, and, not surprisingly, people blamed David Shaw and Tavita Pritchard. They said those two can’t recruit, can’t evaluate, can’t develop, turtled up and psychologically scarred our quarterbacks, and ran systems too complex for the human mind and were unable to scheme anything.

Well, Shaw is now the passing game coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Pritchard is now the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders, and Stanford quarterbacks are still throwing the ball into the dirt or worse.

I ask this because I wonder if there is something across all these coaching staffs that has changed that can be undone.

Maybe we still use the STRIVR system, and maybe there’s just something off about it where qbs are losing their physical rhythm and flow. Maybe our qbs shouldn’t have their playbooks on an ipad and should go back and use paper copies. Maybe there is some other newfangled technology, workout routine or other practice that we’ve been using across the last three coaches that just isn’t a good fit for a young, developing college QB. (We try a lot of new technologies at Stanford).

It just seems like there’s been this lack of relaxation, an inconsistency, and and a breakdown in rhythm that has plagued us across different coaches and different schemes, and I wonder if there’s something we can change or go back to.

We used to be Quarterback U. Stanford has earth’s finest student athletes, amazingly talented, dedicated and hard working players, a gorgeous campus where it’s beautiful to toss the ball around. We should be able to be Quarterback U again, and although of course we can recruit better, I know we can develop better, and get more out of the talent we have.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Goose - 09-07-2025

(09-07-2025, 01:07 PM)Snorlax94 Wrote: We used to be Quarterback U. Stanford has earth’s finest student athletes, amazingly talented, dedicated and hard working players, a gorgeous campus where it’s beautiful to toss the ball around. We should be able to be Quarterback U again, and although of course we can recruit better, I know we can develop better, and get more out of the talent we have.

I submit that all the recent evidence show that in fact at the QB position we cannot recruit better and cannot get more out of the talent we have. This problem has pretty monotonically become worse over the tenure of our last 3 coaches.

There are IMO lots of reasons for this. One of them is that often very good coaches are quite ill equipped to coach players that lack basic skills. These coaches have never had to do that. They were always far enough up the food chain that their recruited QBs didn't frequently throw swing passes into the ground. These coaches have no idea how to "fix" that. They are also used to having an OL that can at least hold its own in pass blocking. This years OL is still unfortunately a bit short of that goal.The run blocking isn't good enough to combine with our running backs to pose a credible threat of a running game. 42 yards rushing by the backs isn't going to cut it. BYU isn't exactly a defensive juggernaut. So far, there is every reason to believe our offense is noticeably worse than last year.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - BostonCard - 09-07-2025

Hogan had a career 67% completion percentage:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/kevin-hogan-2.html

His completion percentage is 1% lower than Luck’s.

BC

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - qwerty49 - 09-07-2025

You both make excellent points.

Belaboring the obvious, good coaching and “having the horses” help a lot. And good coaching is obviously a combo of recruiting, development, motivation, X’s and O’s, and planning. “Having the horses” is important, but let’s remember we never went to a bowl game with Elway at QB.

In retrospect, we were blessed when EUTM came to town. It even coaxed a great performance out of Tavita in the Greatest Upset Ever. Those teams had both talent and grit.

And yes, Walsh got the most out of his QBs, IMHO.

Who’s really coaching our QBs now?

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - old spanish trail - 09-07-2025

(09-07-2025, 04:22 PM)qwerty49 Wrote: You both make excellent points.

Belaboring the obvious, good coaching and “having the horses” help a lot. And good coaching is obviously a combo of recruiting, development, motivation, X’s and O’s, and planning. “Having the horses” is important, but let’s remember we never went to a bowl game with Elway at QB.

In retrospect, we were blessed when EUTM came to town. It even coaxed a great performance out of Tavita in the Greatest Upset Ever. Those teams had both talent and grit.

And yes, Walsh got the most out of his QBs, IMHO.

Who’s really coaching our QBs now?

A guy who has never coached QB's, I think.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - 82lsju - 09-07-2025

(09-07-2025, 05:04 PM)old spanish trail Wrote:
(09-07-2025, 04:22 PM)qwerty49 Wrote: You both make excellent points.

Belaboring the obvious, good coaching and “having the horses” help a lot. And good coaching is obviously a combo of recruiting, development, motivation, X’s and O’s, and planning. “Having the horses” is important, but let’s remember we never went to a bowl game with Elway at QB.

In retrospect, we were blessed when EUTM came to town. It even coaxed a great performance out of Tavita in the Greatest Upset Ever. Those teams had both talent and grit.

And yes, Walsh got the most out of his QBs, IMHO.

Who’s really coaching our QBs now?

A guy who has never coached QB's, I think.

Quote:Thomas Merkle is in his sixth season on The Farm, having served a variety of roles on the football staff since the 2020 season. After five seasons as a graduate assistant and quality control analyst, he was promoted to the Kevin M. Hogan Quarterbacks Coach ahead of the 2025 season.

No stranger to Stanford football, Merkle began working with the offensive line in 2020 before focusing on wide receivers and gunners in 2021. He played an integral role in running drills during practice and providing scouting reports to position groups and the offense as a whole.

Merkle began his collegiate football career as a quarterback at Kenyon College in Ohio, where he set 14 conference and school records over the course of 40 starts under center. He was named the NCAC Rookie of the Year in 2016 and was selected to the All-Conference team in 2019.

Following his playing career, Merkle earned his Bachelor of Arts in History & German in 2020 from Kenyon College and recently completed his Master's Degree in Liberal Arts from Stanford.

https://gostanford.com/staff/thomas-merkle1

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - TonyLima - 09-07-2025

82lsju dateline='[url=tel:1757295114' Wrote: 1757295114[/url]']

old spanish trail dateline='[url=tel:1757289881' Wrote: 1757289881[/url]']

qwerty49 dateline='[url=tel:1757287355' Wrote: 1757287355[/url]']
You both make excellent points.

Belaboring the obvious, good coaching and “having the horses” help a lot. And good coaching is obviously a combo of recruiting, development, motivation, X’s and O’s, and planning. “Having the horses” is important, but let’s remember we never went to a bowl game with Elway at QB.

In retrospect, we were blessed when EUTM came to town. It even coaxed a great performance out of Tavita in the Greatest Upset Ever. Those teams had both talent and grit.

And yes, Walsh got the most out of his QBs, IMHO.

Who’s really coaching our QBs now?

A guy who has never coached QB's, I think.

Quote:Thomas Merkle is in his sixth season on The Farm, having served a variety of roles on the football staff since the 2020 season. After five seasons as a graduate assistant and quality control analyst, he was promoted to the Kevin M. Hogan Quarterbacks Coach ahead of the 2025 season.

No stranger to Stanford football, Merkle began working with the offensive line in 2020 before focusing on wide receivers and gunners in 2021. He played an integral role in running drills during practice and providing scouting reports to position groups and the offense as a whole.

Merkle began his collegiate football career as a quarterback at Kenyon College in Ohio, where he set 14 conference and school records over the course of 40 starts under center. He was named the NCAC Rookie of the Year in 2016 and was selected to the All-Conference team in 2019.

Following his playing career, Merkle earned his Bachelor of Arts in History & German in 2020 from Kenyon College and recently completed his Master's Degree in Liberal Arts from Stanford.

https://gostanford.com/staff/thomas-merkle1

Now I’m really depressed.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - 82lsju - 09-07-2025

(09-07-2025, 06:52 PM)TonyLima Wrote: Now I’m really depressed.

Quote:The Krishnamurthi Wide Receivers Coach • Passing Game Coordinator • Assistant Quarterbacks Coach

Tyler Osborne finished his second season as Stanford’s The Krishnamurthi Wide Receivers Coach and Assistant Quarterbacks Coach in 2024. Osborne added the title of Passing Game Coordinator to his resume heading into the 2025 season.

Osborne was named to the AFCA 35 Under 35 Leadership Institute in December 2022. In August of 2023, Osborne was named to 247Sports 2023 30 Under 30 class, recognizing college football’s best coaches and personnel under the age of 30 each year. Later in August of 2023, Osborne was ranked as the top recruiter in the Pac-12, per 247Sports.

Stanford's offense continued to lean heavily on youth in 2024, with 83.6% of the team's receiving yards coming from underclassmen, the highest mark by far in FBS. For the second year in a row, a freshman receiver burst onto the scene and finished as one of the team's leading receivers. Emmett Mosley V tied for the team lead with six touchdowns and put up the most receiving yards by a true freshman at Stanford since Richard Sherman in 2006. His breakout game, similar to Elic Ayomanor's in 2023, came in a ranked win over No. 22/19 Louisville, where he caught 13 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns. His 13 catches and three receiving touchdowns are the most in a single game by a true freshman Stanford receiver. Mosley finished the season fifth in the country in receiving yards per game amongst all freshmen.

In 2024, two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American Elic Ayomanor received all-conference honors for the second year in a row, as he was named to the ACC Second Team as a wide receiver. Elic finished the season ranked sixth in the ACC in receiving yards per game. He finished second in the country in receiving yards per game amongst all sophomores. Ayomanor went on to be drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Osborne has also elevated the Cardinal's recruiting prowess in his short time on The Farm. JonAnthony Hall, at the time of his commitment to Stanford, was ranked the 52nd overall player in the country by 247Sports, which was tied with Mark Bradford as the highest-rated wide receiver to ever sign at Stanford according to 247Sports. In addition, Osborne was integral in the signing of Elijah Brown, a four-star recruit ranked amongst the top quarterbacks in the country.

In 2023, the Stanford wide receivers saw a noticeable jump with Osborne on staff. The group was led by redshirt freshman breakout receiver Elic Ayomanor, who recorded 62 receptions for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns. Ayomanor led the nation amongst all freshmen in receiving yards per game and ranked fourth overall in the Pac-12. He also set the single-game program record for receiving yards in a game with 294 at Colorado. In addition, Ayomanor’s 84.4 receiving yards per game was the most in the country for a freshman wide receiver in the past 5 years.This led to Ayomanor receiving All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors, as well as being named Freshman First Team All-America (PFF) and the 2023 recipient of the Jon Cornish Trophy, given annually to the best college football player from Canada. Ayomanor was also named to the Fred Biletnikoff Award watchlist, given annually to the best receiver in college football.

Also under Osborne's watch was the emergence of true freshman wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier, who led the Pac-12 in receptions and receiving yards by a true freshman. Bachmeier ranked seventh and ninth in the NCAA in both categories, respectively.
Big plays were a theme of the Stanford offense all season long, as the team doubled its amount of 40+-yard passing plays from the 2022 season, and the team's most since 2019. Five of the team's 11 passing touchdowns went for 40 yards are more.

Prior to Stanford, Osborne was Sacramento State’s wide receivers coach under Troy Taylor from 2019-22, helping the program to a 30-8 record in three seasons, with three Big Sky championships, three Top-10 finishes and a 23-1 mark in conference action. Osborne coached wide receiver Pierre Williams to Big Sky Conference first team honors all three seasons.

In 2019, Osborne coached a group of receivers that combined with Hornet quarterbacks to set the school record for passing yards in a single season (3,832). Williams had a team-high 931 receiving yards on 54 catches. Nine different wide receivers caught passes during the year and the group combined for 18 touchdown receptions. In 2021, Williams again led the team in receiving after catching 50 passes for 764 yards and three touchdowns. The freshmen trio of Chris Miller, Jared Gipson and Devin Gandy all saw significant action in their collegiate debut season combining for 59 receptions for 1,003 yards and five TDs. In 2022, Williams led all Hornet wide receivers with 47 catches for 723 yards and nine touchdowns.

Osborne previously served as a graduate assistant coach at Washington in 2017 and 2018. In that role, he worked closely with the Husky wide receivers and was part of a staff which won 10 games both years. The 2017 team played in the Fiesta Bowl while the 2018 team won the Pac-12 title and moved on to the Rose Bowl. In 2017, Washington ranked 17th in the country in scoring offense. During his final season with the Huskies, Osborne helped coach a pair of receivers who had at least 55 catches and nearly 600 receiving yards during the year. He also coached Dante Pettis in 2017 before he was selected 44th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Draft.

Osborne came to Washington after spending five years at Oregon. He started in 2012 as an undergraduate assistant coach for four years before serving as offensive analyst, focusing on quarterbacks, in 2016. As an undergrad, Osborne spent his first season directly under Chip Kelly and assisted him in coaching the slot receivers. The next four seasons he assisted coaching the Ducks’ quarterbacks. During that time, he helped coach Voldemort Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, Vernon Adams, and Justin Herbert. Mariota and Herbert both ended up being drafted top-10 overall, Mariota second to the Titans and Herbert sixth overall to the Chargers.

During his time on the Oregon staff, the Ducks went to a CFP national championship game, a Rose Bowl, a Fiesta Bowl and two Alamo Bowls. Oregon ranked in the top five nationally four years in a row (2012-2015) in both scoring offense and total offense.
Osborne is the son of longtime college football coach Tom Osborne, a former Washington State wide receiver who spent 36 seasons coaching at Washington State, Portland State, Boise State, Arizona State and Oregon. The elder Osborne was known mostly as the Ducks’ tight ends and special teams coach for 16 seasons over two stretches.

He attended Sheldon High in Eugene, Ore., where he played football and baseball. A wide receiver, quarterback and defensive back on the football team, he helped Sheldon to the state title game in 2011.

Osborne earned a degree in finance and sports business from Oregon in 2016. He completed his master’s degree in intercollegiate athletics leadership at Washington in June of 2018. He and his wife, Anneke, live in Palo Alto.

https://gostanford.com/staff/tyler-osborne

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - GK3 - 09-08-2025

(09-07-2025, 08:40 PM)82lsju Wrote:
(09-07-2025, 06:52 PM)TonyLima Wrote: Now I’m really depressed.

Quote:The Krishnamurthi Wide Receivers Coach • Passing Game Coordinator • Assistant Quarterbacks Coach

Tyler Osborne finished his second season as Stanford’s The Krishnamurthi Wide Receivers Coach and Assistant Quarterbacks Coach in 2024. Osborne added the title of Passing Game Coordinator to his resume heading into the 2025 season.

Osborne was named to the AFCA 35 Under 35 Leadership Institute in December 2022. In August of 2023, Osborne was named to 247Sports 2023 30 Under 30 class, recognizing college football’s best coaches and personnel under the age of 30 each year. Later in August of 2023, Osborne was ranked as the top recruiter in the Pac-12, per 247Sports.

Stanford's offense continued to lean heavily on youth in 2024, with 83.6% of the team's receiving yards coming from underclassmen, the highest mark by far in FBS. For the second year in a row, a freshman receiver burst onto the scene and finished as one of the team's leading receivers. Emmett Mosley V tied for the team lead with six touchdowns and put up the most receiving yards by a true freshman at Stanford since Richard Sherman in 2006. His breakout game, similar to Elic Ayomanor's in 2023, came in a ranked win over No. 22/19 Louisville, where he caught 13 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns. His 13 catches and three receiving touchdowns are the most in a single game by a true freshman Stanford receiver. Mosley finished the season fifth in the country in receiving yards per game amongst all freshmen.

In 2024, two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American Elic Ayomanor received all-conference honors for the second year in a row, as he was named to the ACC Second Team as a wide receiver. Elic finished the season ranked sixth in the ACC in receiving yards per game. He finished second in the country in receiving yards per game amongst all sophomores. Ayomanor went on to be drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Osborne has also elevated the Cardinal's recruiting prowess in his short time on The Farm. JonAnthony Hall, at the time of his commitment to Stanford, was ranked the 52nd overall player in the country by 247Sports, which was tied with Mark Bradford as the highest-rated wide receiver to ever sign at Stanford according to 247Sports. In addition, Osborne was integral in the signing of Elijah Brown, a four-star recruit ranked amongst the top quarterbacks in the country.

In 2023, the Stanford wide receivers saw a noticeable jump with Osborne on staff. The group was led by redshirt freshman breakout receiver Elic Ayomanor, who recorded 62 receptions for 1,013 yards and six touchdowns. Ayomanor led the nation amongst all freshmen in receiving yards per game and ranked fourth overall in the Pac-12. He also set the single-game program record for receiving yards in a game with 294 at Colorado. In addition, Ayomanor’s 84.4 receiving yards per game was the most in the country for a freshman wide receiver in the past 5 years.This led to Ayomanor receiving All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors, as well as being named Freshman First Team All-America (PFF) and the 2023 recipient of the Jon Cornish Trophy, given annually to the best college football player from Canada. Ayomanor was also named to the Fred Biletnikoff Award watchlist, given annually to the best receiver in college football.

Also under Osborne's watch was the emergence of true freshman wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier, who led the Pac-12 in receptions and receiving yards by a true freshman. Bachmeier ranked seventh and ninth in the NCAA in both categories, respectively.
Big plays were a theme of the Stanford offense all season long, as the team doubled its amount of 40+-yard passing plays from the 2022 season, and the team's most since 2019. Five of the team's 11 passing touchdowns went for 40 yards are more.

Prior to Stanford, Osborne was Sacramento State’s wide receivers coach under Troy Taylor from 2019-22, helping the program to a 30-8 record in three seasons, with three Big Sky championships, three Top-10 finishes and a 23-1 mark in conference action. Osborne coached wide receiver Pierre Williams to Big Sky Conference first team honors all three seasons.

In 2019, Osborne coached a group of receivers that combined with Hornet quarterbacks to set the school record for passing yards in a single season (3,832). Williams had a team-high 931 receiving yards on 54 catches. Nine different wide receivers caught passes during the year and the group combined for 18 touchdown receptions. In 2021, Williams again led the team in receiving after catching 50 passes for 764 yards and three touchdowns. The freshmen trio of Chris Miller, Jared Gipson and Devin Gandy all saw significant action in their collegiate debut season combining for 59 receptions for 1,003 yards and five TDs. In 2022, Williams led all Hornet wide receivers with 47 catches for 723 yards and nine touchdowns.

Osborne previously served as a graduate assistant coach at Washington in 2017 and 2018. In that role, he worked closely with the Husky wide receivers and was part of a staff which won 10 games both years. The 2017 team played in the Fiesta Bowl while the 2018 team won the Pac-12 title and moved on to the Rose Bowl. In 2017, Washington ranked 17th in the country in scoring offense. During his final season with the Huskies, Osborne helped coach a pair of receivers who had at least 55 catches and nearly 600 receiving yards during the year. He also coached Dante Pettis in 2017 before he was selected 44th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Draft.

Osborne came to Washington after spending five years at Oregon. He started in 2012 as an undergraduate assistant coach for four years before serving as offensive analyst, focusing on quarterbacks, in 2016. As an undergrad, Osborne spent his first season directly under Chip Kelly and assisted him in coaching the slot receivers. The next four seasons he assisted coaching the Ducks’ quarterbacks. During that time, he helped coach Voldemort Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, Vernon Adams, and Justin Herbert. Mariota and Herbert both ended up being drafted top-10 overall, Mariota second to the Titans and Herbert sixth overall to the Chargers.

During his time on the Oregon staff, the Ducks went to a CFP national championship game, a Rose Bowl, a Fiesta Bowl and two Alamo Bowls. Oregon ranked in the top five nationally four years in a row (2012-2015) in both scoring offense and total offense.
Osborne is the son of longtime college football coach Tom Osborne, a former Washington State wide receiver who spent 36 seasons coaching at Washington State, Portland State, Boise State, Arizona State and Oregon. The elder Osborne was known mostly as the Ducks’ tight ends and special teams coach for 16 seasons over two stretches.

He attended Sheldon High in Eugene, Ore., where he played football and baseball. A wide receiver, quarterback and defensive back on the football team, he helped Sheldon to the state title game in 2011.

Osborne earned a degree in finance and sports business from Oregon in 2016. He completed his master’s degree in intercollegiate athletics leadership at Washington in June of 2018. He and his wife, Anneke, live in Palo Alto.

https://gostanford.com/staff/tyler-osborne

Don't forget Davis Mills and Tanner McKee, they were not that long ago. Then there was a 5 year gap back to Kevin Hogan. We had our QB and he now plays for BYU. I think in today's world QB's in particular want to go where they think they can shine, win a lot of games and have a chance to sign a big contract. I am amazed we even managed to sign Bachmier. Considering we have a head coach who was a great quarterback in his time and a GM who was perhaps an even better one I am not buying we can't coach them, but I do think we are going to have a lot of problems trying to recruit top QBs after these last years of wandering in the desert. We really need to hit the Portal hard and bring in a number of proven OLine guys. We can't win unless we can give our QB time to throw and block consistently for the running game. Harbaugh turned things around this way, but we don't have time to recruit high school kids and turn them into good OLine guys over two more years.
I simply do not understand why the player who put together these stats doesn't get a chance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Brown_(American_football)#:~:text=As%20a%20sophomore%2C%20he%20led,National%20Sophomore%20of%20the%20Year.

42 and 2 over 4 years against the toughest high school schedule around. I have a hard time he can't be or isn't better than QB1. His frosh year stats are certainly no worse than QB1's

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Goose - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 07:14 AM)GK3 Wrote: I think in today's world QB's in particular want to go where they think they can shine, win a lot of games and have a chance to sign a big contract. I am amazed we even managed to sign Bachmier.

I totally agree. I would add that many of them want that "big contract" soon. They want to start on day 1. That makes coaching QBs difficult because in order to keep them happy you may need to play them even if there aren't "ready" and are not actually the best QB on the team at that moment in time. If you don't, they leave. Bachmier had a good situation because the "early entry" option allowed him to kick the tires and move on if he didn't think the Stanford opportunity was good enough. Bachmier also benefited from the previous BYU starter being involved in a scandal that forced him to leave BYU. That eventual outcome was not a given when Bachmier elected to leave Stanford. It may be BYU made promises based on what was going on behind the scenes, but given what the public knew at the time Bachmier wasn't a lock to be a starter.

Quote:Considering we have a head coach who was a great quarterback in his time and a GM who was perhaps an even better one I am not buying we can't coach them,

First, neither the head coach nor the GM have a primary job description of coaching QBs. Second, the success rate of very highly talented ex-players operating as coaches is not good, very mixed at best. They often had no trouble at all executing the physical mechanics of their position because they simply had tons of raw talent. There is no reason at all to believe these players know how to coach up others, particularly when those others can't come close to doing what someone like Andrew Luck (or better example, John Elway) could do instinctively from day one. Pass rush getting close, no problem, just throw it 65 yards across your body on the run :-). Players who can do that have no idea what it is like for guys who can't do that. That is why players like Tavita are often more successful coaches. They know what it takes to survive (and somewhat thrive) without the gifts of a star.

Quote:but I do think we are going to have a lot of problems trying to recruit top QBs after these last years of wandering in the desert. We really need to hit the Portal hard and bring in a number of proven OLine guys. We can't win unless we can give our QB time to throw and block consistently for the running game. Harbaugh turned things around this way, but we don't have time to recruit high school kids and turn them into good OLine guys over two more years.

Agree, but Stanford right now is also not a great destination for OLine guys. Most of the guys in the portal want to move up in visibility and publicity, not down. The number of players who can actually help and will be willing to come is IMO very small. They also have to get accepted. Right now, filling the large talent gaps we have team-wide through the portal is a reach. We are almost certainly relegated to targets of opportunity/best available athlete choices. They may not be OLine players.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Mick - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 07:58 AM)Goose Wrote: [quote="GK3" pid='436598' dateline='1757340878']

Quote:but I do think we are going to have a lot of problems trying to recruit top QBs after these last years of wandering in the desert. We really need to hit the Portal hard and bring in a number of proven OLine guys. We can't win unless we can give our QB time to throw and block consistently for the running game. Harbaugh turned things around this way, but we don't have time to recruit high school kids and turn them into good OLine guys over two more years.
Agree, but Stanford right now is also not a great destination for OLine guys. Most of the guys in the portal want to move up in visibility and publicity, not down. The number of players who can actually help and will be willing to come is IMO very small. They also have to get accepted. Right now, filling the large talent gaps we have team-wide through the portal is a reach. We are almost certainly relegated to targets of opportunity/best available athlete choices. They may not be OLine players.

This is probably what I understand least about Stanford's football downfall. Offensive linemen routinely test out as the smartest or second-smartest position group of players. I don't understand why we don't get at least two if not four four-star and five-star OLinemen every single year. It seems to me that Stanford shouldn't be a difficult sell to that position group.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Maple Leaf - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 10:03 AM)Mick Wrote:
(09-08-2025, 07:58 AM)Goose Wrote: [quote="GK3" pid='436598' dateline='1757340878']

Quote:but I do think we are going to have a lot of problems trying to recruit top QBs after these last years of wandering in the desert. We really need to hit the Portal hard and bring in a number of proven OLine guys. We can't win unless we can give our QB time to throw and block consistently for the running game. Harbaugh turned things around this way, but we don't have time to recruit high school kids and turn them into good OLine guys over two more years.
Agree, but Stanford right now is also not a great destination for OLine guys. Most of the guys in the portal want to move up in visibility and publicity, not down. The number of players who can actually help and will be willing to come is IMO very small. They also have to get accepted. Right now, filling the large talent gaps we have team-wide through the portal is a reach. We are almost certainly relegated to targets of opportunity/best available athlete choices. They may not be OLine players.

This is probably what I understand least about Stanford's football downfall. Offensive linemen routinely test out as the smartest or second-smartest position group of players. I don't understand why we don't get at least two if not four four-star and five-star OLinemen every single year. It seems to me that Stanford shouldn't be a difficult sell to that position group.

To be successful in recruiting really good O-linemen you need to have an excellent O-line coaching. Really good O-line coaches are not easy to come by and many of them have the desire to move up the coaching ranks. The last one at Stanford in my opinion was Mike Bloomgren who left to take the head coaching job at Rice (he was fired a year or two ago). He did have the advantage of having some very talented players when he arrived but was also successful in recruiting some very players himself.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - ADPinWDC - 09-08-2025

So, then I come back to a standing offer $1 million NIL deal for starting O-Line at Stanford ("TWU Club").
That catalyzes better QBs and RBs, plus WRs.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Ratmandoo - 09-08-2025

(09-07-2025, 01:07 PM)Snorlax94 Wrote: So a week ago was my personal low thinking about recent Stanford quarterbacks.

Former Stanford recruit Bear Bachmeier led BYU to win 69-0 in their opener, and analysts heaped praise on Cal’s true freshman Sagapolutele, who looked relaxed and in command as he threw gorgeous, perfectly placed dimes in his collegiate debut. Even Hawaii fans were calling Alejado the next Tu’a.

And yet, Stanford seems like they cannot get a quarterback who can throw the ball to a receiver and not into the ground or to a wide-open defensive back.

But this is not a recent thing. It’s not just a Reich thing, it’s not just a Taylor thing and it plagued Shaw (I still argue, Hogan was not a consistently accurate passer).

Stanford used to be called “Quarterback U” and even Stenstrom played some in the NFL.

But it feels like since Luck (!!), Stanford has been unable to recruit and develop a qb who consistently can look relaxed and throw accurate balls. There were moments (Kevin Hogan beating Notre Dame at home), but it seems like for a long time across multiple coaches, using different systems, Stanford QBs look jittery. I find it particularly instructive (and depressing!), to contrast the mechanics, ease, and placement of Cal’s Sagapolutele, playing as a true freshman in his collegiate debut, to recent Stanford quarterbacks.

So my question is, why? And can it be fixed?

I asked this question years ago before, and, not surprisingly, people blamed David Shaw and Tavita Pritchard. They said those two can’t recruit, can’t evaluate, can’t develop, turtled up and psychologically scarred our quarterbacks, and ran systems too complex for the human mind and were unable to scheme anything.

Well, Shaw is now the passing game coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Pritchard is now the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders, and Stanford quarterbacks are still throwing the ball into the dirt or worse.

I ask this because I wonder if there is something across all these coaching staffs that has changed that can be undone.

Maybe we still use the STRIVR system, and maybe there’s just something off about it where qbs are losing their physical rhythm and flow. Maybe our qbs shouldn’t have their playbooks on an ipad and should go back and use paper copies. Maybe there is some other newfangled technology, workout routine or other practice that we’ve been using across the last three coaches that just isn’t a good fit for a young, developing college QB. (We try a lot of new technologies at Stanford).

It just seems like there’s been this lack of relaxation, an inconsistency, and and a breakdown in rhythm that has plagued us across different coaches and different schemes, and I wonder if there’s something we can change or go back to.

We used to be Quarterback U. Stanford has earth’s finest student athletes, amazingly talented, dedicated and hard working players, a gorgeous campus where it’s beautiful to toss the ball around. We should be able to be Quarterback U again, and although of course we can recruit better, I know we can develop better, and get more out of the talent we have.

So a little pushback on this. We've had a couple of decent QBs since who could run an offense and comfortably complete passes to open receivers (and not counting Kevin Hogan):
- KJ Costello (certainly in 2018 when he threw for 3500+ yards and 29 TDs)
- Davis Mills (who is still in the NFL backing up CJ Stroud in Houston)
- Tanner McKee (also in the NFL backing up Jalen Hurts in Philly and crushed the preseason this year for whatever that's worth)

And frankly, I would take Kevin Hogan over Steve Stenstrom any day of the week. Sure, Stenstrom was the more accurate passer but Hogan was a better college QB.

A question too for the board in general but what school has had an immaculate run of QBs for 10 - 15 consecutive years this century (where a team's fanbase is happy / satisfied / ok with their QB for even 3 or 4 cycles)? I just had this discussion with my wife who is a Georgia alum. Her question is why doesn't Georgia always have a good QB (this was after watching Gunner Stockton barely be able to complete passes 5 yards past the line of scrimmage again Austin Peay where Georgia clearly has a talent advantage at every position).

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Goose - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 01:36 PM)Ratmandoo Wrote: So a little pushback on this. We've had a couple of decent QBs since who could run an offense and comfortably complete passes to open receivers (and not counting Kevin Hogan):
- KJ Costello (certainly in 2018 when he threw for 3500+ yards and 29 TDs)
- Davis Mills (who is still in the NFL backing up CJ Stroud in Houston)
- Tanner McKee (also in the NFL backing up Jalen Hurts in Philly and crushed the preseason this year for whatever that's worth)

I mostly agree with your pushback. I would however point out that KJ actually completed a LOT of passes to receivers that were not open. The receiver was bigger and could jump higher than the DBs and Stanford took advantage of that. It was a bit of a "gimmick" and without that advantage KJ wasn't a very good QB. Way too many INTs. The teams these QBs played on did not have great OLs and Stanford had a very limited running game at the same time. Tanner McKee in particular got banged up pretty bad. These downsides undoubtedly made it difficult to recruit QBs going forward. They saw that pretty good QBs had a hard time winning at Stanford. Why go there?

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - ADPinWDC - 09-08-2025

So does Elijah Brown start on Saturday vs BC, or not?
At press notes today, Reich said "We don't name the starter early in the week -- SOP"

I don't think Reich has decided.
But, I cannot see staying with Gulbranson now.

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - BostonCard - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 01:36 PM)Ratmandoo Wrote: And frankly, I would take Kevin Hogan over Steve Stenstrom any day of the week. Sure, Stenstrom was the more accurate passer but Hogan was a better college QB.

Steve Stenstrom’s career completion percentage was 63.1%. That’s very good, but it doesn’t make him more accurate than Hogan, who had a career completion percentage of 65.9%. Hogan also had a better yards per attempt (8.5) than Stenstrom (7.8), and a marginally lower interception rate (2.6% compared to Stenstrom’s 2.7%).

To be fair, they competed in different eras, but I just don’t think it is accurate to say that Stenstrom is the more accurate quarterback, at least by standard metrics of accuracy.

Hogan continues to be the most underrated quarterback in Stanford history.

BC

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Spiny_Norman - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 03:10 PM)BostonCard Wrote:
(09-08-2025, 01:36 PM)Ratmandoo Wrote: And frankly, I would take Kevin Hogan over Steve Stenstrom any day of the week. Sure, Stenstrom was the more accurate passer but Hogan was a better college QB.

Steve Stenstrom’s career completion percentage was 63.1%. That’s very good, but it doesn’t make him more accurate than Hogan, who had a career completion percentage of 65.9%. Hogan also had a better yards per attempt (8.5) than Stenstrom (7.8), and a marginally lower interception rate (2.6% compared to Stenstrom’s 2.7%).

To be fair, they competed in different eras, but I just don’t think it is accurate to say that Stenstrom is the more accurate quarterback, at least by standard metrics of accuracy.

Hogan continues to be the most underrated quarterback in Stanford history.

BC

I'm right there with you, BC. Hogan is the winningest QB in Stanford history. We saw him win games with his arm. We saw him win games with his legs. We saw him win games with his poise. Isn't that enough for folks?

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Mick - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 01:36 PM)Ratmandoo Wrote:
(09-07-2025, 01:07 PM)Snorlax94 Wrote: So a week ago was my personal low thinking about recent Stanford quarterbacks.

Former Stanford recruit Bear Bachmeier led BYU to win 69-0 in their opener, and analysts heaped praise on Cal’s true freshman Sagapolutele, who looked relaxed and in command as he threw gorgeous, perfectly placed dimes in his collegiate debut. Even Hawaii fans were calling Alejado the next Tu’a.

And yet, Stanford seems like they cannot get a quarterback who can throw the ball to a receiver and not into the ground or to a wide-open defensive back.

But this is not a recent thing. It’s not just a Reich thing, it’s not just a Taylor thing and it plagued Shaw (I still argue, Hogan was not a consistently accurate passer).

Stanford used to be called “Quarterback U” and even Stenstrom played some in the NFL.

But it feels like since Luck (!!), Stanford has been unable to recruit and develop a qb who consistently can look relaxed and throw accurate balls. There were moments (Kevin Hogan beating Notre Dame at home), but it seems like for a long time across multiple coaches, using different systems, Stanford QBs look jittery. I find it particularly instructive (and depressing!), to contrast the mechanics, ease, and placement of Cal’s Sagapolutele, playing as a true freshman in his collegiate debut, to recent Stanford quarterbacks.

So my question is, why? And can it be fixed?

I asked this question years ago before, and, not surprisingly, people blamed David Shaw and Tavita Pritchard. They said those two can’t recruit, can’t evaluate, can’t develop, turtled up and psychologically scarred our quarterbacks, and ran systems too complex for the human mind and were unable to scheme anything.

Well, Shaw is now the passing game coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Pritchard is now the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders, and Stanford quarterbacks are still throwing the ball into the dirt or worse.

I ask this because I wonder if there is something across all these coaching staffs that has changed that can be undone.

Maybe we still use the STRIVR system, and maybe there’s just something off about it where qbs are losing their physical rhythm and flow. Maybe our qbs shouldn’t have their playbooks on an ipad and should go back and use paper copies. Maybe there is some other newfangled technology, workout routine or other practice that we’ve been using across the last three coaches that just isn’t a good fit for a young, developing college QB. (We try a lot of new technologies at Stanford).

It just seems like there’s been this lack of relaxation, an inconsistency, and and a breakdown in rhythm that has plagued us across different coaches and different schemes, and I wonder if there’s something we can change or go back to.

We used to be Quarterback U. Stanford has earth’s finest student athletes, amazingly talented, dedicated and hard working players, a gorgeous campus where it’s beautiful to toss the ball around. We should be able to be Quarterback U again, and although of course we can recruit better, I know we can develop better, and get more out of the talent we have.

So a little pushback on this. We've had a couple of decent QBs since who could run an offense and comfortably complete passes to open receivers (and not counting Kevin Hogan):
- KJ Costello (certainly in 2018 when he threw for 3500+ yards and 29 TDs)
- Davis Mills (who is still in the NFL backing up CJ Stroud in Houston)
- Tanner McKee (also in the NFL backing up Jalen Hurts in Philly and crushed the preseason this year for whatever that's worth)

And frankly, I would take Kevin Hogan over Steve Stenstrom any day of the week. Sure, Stenstrom was the more accurate passer but Hogan was a better college QB.

A question too for the board in general but what school has had an immaculate run of QBs for 10 - 15 consecutive years this century (where a team's fanbase is happy / satisfied / ok with their QB for even 3 or 4 cycles)? I just had this discussion with my wife who is a Georgia alum. Her question is why doesn't Georgia always have a good QB (this was after watching Gunner Stockton barely be able to complete passes 5 yards past the line of scrimmage again Austin Peay where Georgia clearly has a talent advantage at every position).

I know you asked for this century, and I can't answer that. But I like this 16-year stretch (by NFL draft year or camp):

'71 Plunkett (Rose Bowl champ, 2x Super Bowl champ, Hiesman, 15 years NFL)
'72 Bunce (Best Player on Pacific Coast, Rose Bowl win, passed on NFL, played in CFL, went to med school)
'74 Boryla (four years NFL, set Stanford passing TD record vs. Washington, a game my dad missed because he had to take me to get stitched up...as he reminds me every so often)
'77 Cordova (the exception that proves the rule)
'78 Benjamin (NCAA passing champion, Sammy Baugh winner, AA, six years in NFL)
'79 Dils (Sammy Baugh winner, 10 years in NFL)
'80 Schonert (11 years in NFL, including practice squads)
'82 John Elway (#2 Hiesman, 2x Super Bowl CHamp, 16 years in NFL)
'87 John Paye (I played against him in HS, so I'm including him. Holds single game passing completion record. And if his arm wasn't ruined at Stanford, who knows?)

RE: The Mystery of Recent Stanford QBs - Ratmandoo - 09-08-2025

(09-08-2025, 03:46 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote:
(09-08-2025, 03:10 PM)BostonCard Wrote:
(09-08-2025, 01:36 PM)Ratmandoo Wrote: And frankly, I would take Kevin Hogan over Steve Stenstrom any day of the week. Sure, Stenstrom was the more accurate passer but Hogan was a better college QB.

Steve Stenstrom’s career completion percentage was 63.1%. That’s very good, but it doesn’t make him more accurate than Hogan, who had a career completion percentage of 65.9%. Hogan also had a better yards per attempt (8.5) than Stenstrom (7.8), and a marginally lower interception rate (2.6% compared to Stenstrom’s 2.7%).

To be fair, they competed in different eras, but I just don’t think it is accurate to say that Stenstrom is the more accurate quarterback, at least by standard metrics of accuracy.

Hogan continues to be the most underrated quarterback in Stanford history.

BC

I'm right there with you, BC. Hogan is the winningest QB in Stanford history. We saw him win games with his arm. We saw him win games with his legs. We saw him win games with his poise. Isn't that enough for folks?

BC / Spiny - Look I completely agree with you guys. I was just taking Hogan out of the list because of Snorlax's comment. I will say from an "old school / traditional drop back quarterback perspective", Stenstrom fits that mold better than Hogan. And if you were to switch eras, I think Stenstrom's completion percentage would be higher than Hogan's. However, quarterback play is so much more than that, especially today and, I repeat, I would take Hogan over Stenstrom every day of the week.

But my overall point is that every program has struggled to string together a run of good quarterbacks unless anyone can think of a school that did have that run of QBs this century (Mick's list of Stanford QBs in the 70s and 80s is pretty great). It just isn't easy to do (and probably harder now with the portal / NIL when a good QB won't want to sit for 2 - 3 years to wait for their turn to start... And I also don't blame them)