[SamuelMcF]

Seems to me there are maybe four main reasons to transfer:
1) Academic opportunities (MBA from a school that might not require experience, getting a masters in a program that Stanford doesn't have, etc.)
2) Personal reasons (moving closer to family, etc.)
3) Football opportunities (chance to be a starter, compared to back-up at Stanford)
4) Programmatic issues (everything from friction with the head or position coach, unhappiness with the direction of the program, desire to go to a place with a chance to compete for a championship, feeling that development/coaching will be better elsewhere, dissatisfaction at the handling of an injury, etc.)

One through three (or a combination thereof) should not raise concern.  I wouldn't begrudge a player who had been over-recruited by a younger player, or someone transferring to get a master's or professional degree in a program that is not available at Stanford, or not easy to get into.  However, the number of players who are projected to be starters who have transferred points to #4, and that is a genuine concern.  I particularly worry about a few position groups: we've had multiple offensive linemen transfer for several years now.

BC

I think #3 is the answer for many/most of the transfers. While Swann and Williams likely would have been starters, I don't think it is a guarantee that previous starters such as Hamilton or Hattis would have been starters next year. IMO, the freshmen OL played mostly pretty well (exception being UCLA game), all things considered. While I think Hamilton or Hattis would certainly have been included in the two-deep, and as such, likely received fifth-year opportunities, I am not sure they would want to spend their final year here if there wasn't a guarantee/they weren't pretty confident that they would be starters; for them, a better chance to start elsewhere might be more appealing.

Hamilton would 100% have started. Though it's possible Little is returning and Hamilton wants to spend his final year at tackle somewhere else rather than at guard here.

[SamuelMcF]

Seems to me there are maybe four main reasons to transfer:
1) Academic opportunities (MBA from a school that might not require experience, getting a masters in a program that Stanford doesn't have, etc.)
2) Personal reasons (moving closer to family, etc.)
3) Football opportunities (chance to be a starter, compared to back-up at Stanford)
4) Programmatic issues (everything from friction with the head or position coach, unhappiness with the direction of the program, desire to go to a place with a chance to compete for a championship, feeling that development/coaching will be better elsewhere, dissatisfaction at the handling of an injury, etc.)

One through three (or a combination thereof) should not raise concern.  I wouldn't begrudge a player who had been over-recruited by a younger player, or someone transferring to get a master's or professional degree in a program that is not available at Stanford, or not easy to get into.  However, the number of players who are projected to be starters who have transferred points to #4, and that is a genuine concern.  I particularly worry about a few position groups: we've had multiple offensive linemen transfer for several years now.

BC

I think #3 is the answer for many/most of the transfers. While Swann and Williams likely would have been starters, I don't think it is a guarantee that previous starters such as Hamilton or Hattis would have been starters next year. IMO, the freshmen OL played mostly pretty well (exception being UCLA game), all things considered. While I think Hamilton or Hattis would certainly have been included in the two-deep, and as such, likely received fifth-year opportunities, I am not sure they would want to spend their final year here if there wasn't a guarantee/they weren't pretty confident that they would be starters; for them, a better chance to start elsewhere might be more appealing.

Hamilton would 100% have started. Though it's possible Little is returning and Hamilton wants to spend his final year at tackle somewhere else rather than at guard here.