[BostonCard]

In case it is not known, Jet Toner is/wants to come back for his 5th year.

I will be very happy if I see him kick again.  That was a brutal injury.

BC

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OK, to make this more simple then...

If Stratford is still included, everyone in the 2020 class included, and nobody in the portal included, Stanford is at 85 scholarships.

The only final year guys it really doesn't make sense to bring back for a 5th year are Butler and Parson. There is no need for 11 CBs and 9 Safeties. Better roster balance would subtract these two and replace them with Swann and Williams.

Stanford will have a pretty deep 2020 team if these guys return as the logic seems to dictate.

Succinct and well-put, OF. Thanks for this. Also of note, assuming the roster stays pat as is (i.e. counting Parson), we'll have 5 walk-ons-turned-scholarships on the team, but that includes starting P Ryan Sanborn so it's really more like 4. 80-81 bonafide scholarship players is MUCH, MUCH better than we've done recently. Of course the class balance is still a little whack (skews young), but that's a separate concern and of course bodes well for the future.

As Bob said, we can't "not ask Stratford back" yet as he'll be a junior. We ought to count him as a member of the team until he isn't.

Though I don't see Swann or Williams returning (not based on any inside information beyond gut feel), I also agree with your hypothetical in terms of balancing the roster. That's why staff is going after 3+ DL in the '21 class (but really should've done so in '20...2 is treading water, but it should've been 3).

Overall, the roster balance actually seems quite close to ideal. To me, your 2 DB --> 2 DL conversion, swapping a WR for a QB, and swapping a FB for another OL (counting Stratford that would make 15, i.e. 3 deep) would fully balance the roster in terms of sheer position numbers.

Yeah, having 84 or 85 guys on scholarship is much better than we have had, but we should really be aiming for one or two of those guys to be former walk-one, not four or five.  And yeah, the lack of defensive linemen is an ongoing issue.  To be fair, this is generally a tough nut for Stanford to crack, as admissible defensive linemen are not exactly plentiful.  But I really wish that adequate depth didn’t depend on redshirt seniors coming back.  Hope the class of 2021 is as bountiful as you project.

I never did understand why we wanted to move Fox to OLB.

BC

[BostonCard]

In case it is not known, Jet Toner is/wants to come back for his 5th year.

I will be very happy if I see him kick again.  That was a brutal injury.

BC

---

OK, to make this more simple then...

If Stratford is still included, everyone in the 2020 class included, and nobody in the portal included, Stanford is at 85 scholarships.

The only final year guys it really doesn't make sense to bring back for a 5th year are Butler and Parson. There is no need for 11 CBs and 9 Safeties. Better roster balance would subtract these two and replace them with Swann and Williams.

Stanford will have a pretty deep 2020 team if these guys return as the logic seems to dictate.

Succinct and well-put, OF. Thanks for this. Also of note, assuming the roster stays pat as is (i.e. counting Parson), we'll have 5 walk-ons-turned-scholarships on the team, but that includes starting P Ryan Sanborn so it's really more like 4. 80-81 bonafide scholarship players is MUCH, MUCH better than we've done recently. Of course the class balance is still a little whack (skews young), but that's a separate concern and of course bodes well for the future.

As Bob said, we can't "not ask Stratford back" yet as he'll be a junior. We ought to count him as a member of the team until he isn't.

Though I don't see Swann or Williams returning (not based on any inside information beyond gut feel), I also agree with your hypothetical in terms of balancing the roster. That's why staff is going after 3+ DL in the '21 class (but really should've done so in '20...2 is treading water, but it should've been 3).

Overall, the roster balance actually seems quite close to ideal. To me, your 2 DB --> 2 DL conversion, swapping a WR for a QB, and swapping a FB for another OL (counting Stratford that would make 15, i.e. 3 deep) would fully balance the roster in terms of sheer position numbers.

Yeah, having 84 or 85 guys on scholarship is much better than we have had, but we should really be aiming for one or two of those guys to be former walk-one, not four or five.  And yeah, the lack of defensive linemen is an ongoing issue.  To be fair, this is generally a tough nut for Stanford to crack, as admissible defensive linemen are not exactly plentiful.  But I really wish that adequate depth didn’t depend on redshirt seniors coming back.  Hope the class of 2021 is as bountiful as you project.

I never did understand why we wanted to move Fox to OLB.

BC