(03-19-2021, 09:02 AM)BostonCard Wrote: ... The idea that Fehoko was not used as a deep threat really is just "I have a narrative about David Shaw's offense, and I'm not going to let facts get in the way of my narrative."
While the idea that Stanford didn't use Fehoko as a deep threat is obviously wrong, there is an issue with respect to his use at Stanford I have been wondering about.
By my memory, Stanford put him in just a little his frosh year after coming back from a two year mission.
Sophomore year it seemed the plan was to make him an important part of the offense but he didn't play well early on (drops, wrong routes, etc). That year he was mostly used only as a deep threat, averaging a ridiculous 23.6 yds/catch - though he really should have had more catches. He came on a bit at the end of the year, with half his 24 catches in the final three games and a quarter in the very last game.
I don't really question his use up to this point. He just wasn't performing well enough to get more targets.
Junior year (this past season), he seemed to start the year as the third option behind Wilson and Weddington. He got yards, but not a ton of receptions. Then other options got injured, and again he had his best game the final game of the season.
So, I wonder if Fehoko could have contributed more from the get-go last season. It seems he was the top athlete in the receiving room, and the final few games showed he could produce.
I'm not sure, but I wonder if Stanford would have been a better offense with Fehoko getting the ball three times more per game over the first five games.
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If I were to guess anyone other than Troy Walters (who Bob already took), I'd go with DeRonnie Pitts. But my memory is Pitts year after Walters was tons of short catches with not so many yards.
