02-01-2023, 09:01 PM
Reactions to the press conference:
* I'm still getting to know Taylor and can't yet read him like I feel I could read Shaw, so I don't know what to make of his declining to offer an opening statement and then sticking to pablum when initially asked about the class. I don't know whether he's understated, shy, privately un-enthused about the class, cannily speaking in generic sound bites knowing the purpose these quotes will ultimately be used for, or what. It does jump out to me that he's very far from the chest-thumping, energetic hype man. I just don't know if we can glean anything about his views on the class from that.
* He emphasized experience as what jumps out about Mayberry and Bank. I think that makes a lot of sense. If these were guys we thought were total studs I think he would have framed it a bit differently. The way he answered this gave the impression he acutely appreciates the critical importance of age, experience, strength, etc. for a lineman and that the principal thing these two offer is injecting some veteran experience into a line that lost a lot of it.
* On transfers more generally, it was perhaps a revealing humility and recognition of the ups and downs he's experienced so far with transfers that his main theme was that we're sorting it out and navigating based on the unique constraint of having to get guys who are academic fits as well. To me it sounded like somebody who wishes the transfer dynamic had been smoother the last six weeks but did not sound hopeless. "Sorting it out" seems like the genuine bottom line read. Again in the category of Matt isn't fluent in Troyspeak, I can't tell whether there might be any frustration with certain prospects falling by the wayside due to the academic screen.
* Taylor lit up when prompted on Bachmeier. This is the second or third thing I've picked up on that suggests Bachmeier is a Taylor guy. And then later in the press conference came the third or fourth such data point, which was Bachmeier being the only player Taylor singled out when asked who in the class has jumped out to him. Taylor clearly can't wait to work with Bachmeier on the field. Also notable how definitive the coach was that Bachmeier will have a role this year. Pretty early to be saying that! I really think this is the guy we should think of as the first player of the Taylor era, much how Marecic was the first player of the Harbaugh era. It's not lost on me how even the positions and personalities align with the ethos of the coaches - Marecic the fullback avatar Harbaugh wanted for a lunch pail mentality, Bachmeier the humble and hard working receiver Taylor needs for his spread-out spacing offense.
* The repeated references to Bernadel's high football IQ struck me as a fairly specific compliment, especially at this early pre-spring stage. "brobdingnagian pickup for us" seemed very genuine. Bernadel is the personnel story of the off-season to me and I think he is essentially a lock to start. The question is how much D'Onofrio and April can make of Bernadel. One of the players I'm most excited to see this fall.
* Taylor is struck by how many frequent flyer miles our national recruiting requires. One hopes he leans into it and doesn't tire of it as the novelty wears off. At least as of this snapshot, he appeared to share his jetsetting itinerary (California, Arizona, Boston, Connecticut, Detroit, Georgia, Tennessee, back to Georgia) out of enthusiasm rather than fatigue. It's not clear to me how much Shaw actually criss-crossed the country like this and hopefully Taylor does as much as he's allowed.
* He claimed that Stanford's brand precedes him and his staff and has been well-received on the recruiting visits. I admit to a cynical hearing of this in light of how incredibly little traction he got in closing the 2023 class, but this is mostly a comment about 2024 and beyond and maintaining relationships at high schools across the country so I'll try to temper the cynicism.
* Still talking about academic fit more than I'd like to see. Sounds a lot like Shaw so far. I hope there's no trimming of sails (Willingham and Teevens definitely did this) or hesitation to go for the football-first studs. Too early to judge but I'm seeing more Stanford Man than We Bow to No Program.
* The Hampton answer reinforced my sense that Hampton is a better baseball prospect than football prospect and the main story here is Taylor continuing the Stanford tradition of accommodating two-sport athletes. Taylor said nothing that made me think Hampton is likely to be a factor for Stanford at running back.
* i was interested to hear Taylor talk about the walk-on program being really good and important to his program when he was at Sacramento State. I didn't know that. I wonder if anybody here knows more about that. Taylor spoke at some length and with some apparent conviction about walk-ons having the opportunity to earn scholarships. Certainly we'll have the room. (I currently figure 8+ open scholarships) It will be fun to see the first walk-ons elevated to scholarship status, usually a morale builder for any program and will hopefully be done thoughtfully under the Taylor regime.
* He sounds like somebody with a healthy dose of realism about the QB room and its lack of experience, which one can tell from listening to multiple Troy Taylor media availabilities he places a high premium on. He values mental processing above all, it seems, and knows that practice reps are necessary (and helpful) but insufficient. This is a premature thought but it occurs to me that this might not be a coach who will be inclined toward clarity in the QB room until they see some live bullets this fall. For those wondering, he previewed that spring will be mostly live with the exception of the QBs.
* Fun reference to the open scholarships: "we still have money in our pockets." He clearly plans/wants to bring in more transfers. Notably, he also referenced the April opening of the second transfer portal window. Papa wants to shop. He expressed openness to all positions but especially offensive and defensive line. Those depth charts must strike him as unsatisfactory, which is totally unsurprising given the OL attrition and the Wisconsin base defense needing more DL than Stanford is accustomed to.
* I'm still getting to know Taylor and can't yet read him like I feel I could read Shaw, so I don't know what to make of his declining to offer an opening statement and then sticking to pablum when initially asked about the class. I don't know whether he's understated, shy, privately un-enthused about the class, cannily speaking in generic sound bites knowing the purpose these quotes will ultimately be used for, or what. It does jump out to me that he's very far from the chest-thumping, energetic hype man. I just don't know if we can glean anything about his views on the class from that.
* He emphasized experience as what jumps out about Mayberry and Bank. I think that makes a lot of sense. If these were guys we thought were total studs I think he would have framed it a bit differently. The way he answered this gave the impression he acutely appreciates the critical importance of age, experience, strength, etc. for a lineman and that the principal thing these two offer is injecting some veteran experience into a line that lost a lot of it.
* On transfers more generally, it was perhaps a revealing humility and recognition of the ups and downs he's experienced so far with transfers that his main theme was that we're sorting it out and navigating based on the unique constraint of having to get guys who are academic fits as well. To me it sounded like somebody who wishes the transfer dynamic had been smoother the last six weeks but did not sound hopeless. "Sorting it out" seems like the genuine bottom line read. Again in the category of Matt isn't fluent in Troyspeak, I can't tell whether there might be any frustration with certain prospects falling by the wayside due to the academic screen.
* Taylor lit up when prompted on Bachmeier. This is the second or third thing I've picked up on that suggests Bachmeier is a Taylor guy. And then later in the press conference came the third or fourth such data point, which was Bachmeier being the only player Taylor singled out when asked who in the class has jumped out to him. Taylor clearly can't wait to work with Bachmeier on the field. Also notable how definitive the coach was that Bachmeier will have a role this year. Pretty early to be saying that! I really think this is the guy we should think of as the first player of the Taylor era, much how Marecic was the first player of the Harbaugh era. It's not lost on me how even the positions and personalities align with the ethos of the coaches - Marecic the fullback avatar Harbaugh wanted for a lunch pail mentality, Bachmeier the humble and hard working receiver Taylor needs for his spread-out spacing offense.
* The repeated references to Bernadel's high football IQ struck me as a fairly specific compliment, especially at this early pre-spring stage. "brobdingnagian pickup for us" seemed very genuine. Bernadel is the personnel story of the off-season to me and I think he is essentially a lock to start. The question is how much D'Onofrio and April can make of Bernadel. One of the players I'm most excited to see this fall.
* Taylor is struck by how many frequent flyer miles our national recruiting requires. One hopes he leans into it and doesn't tire of it as the novelty wears off. At least as of this snapshot, he appeared to share his jetsetting itinerary (California, Arizona, Boston, Connecticut, Detroit, Georgia, Tennessee, back to Georgia) out of enthusiasm rather than fatigue. It's not clear to me how much Shaw actually criss-crossed the country like this and hopefully Taylor does as much as he's allowed.
* He claimed that Stanford's brand precedes him and his staff and has been well-received on the recruiting visits. I admit to a cynical hearing of this in light of how incredibly little traction he got in closing the 2023 class, but this is mostly a comment about 2024 and beyond and maintaining relationships at high schools across the country so I'll try to temper the cynicism.
* Still talking about academic fit more than I'd like to see. Sounds a lot like Shaw so far. I hope there's no trimming of sails (Willingham and Teevens definitely did this) or hesitation to go for the football-first studs. Too early to judge but I'm seeing more Stanford Man than We Bow to No Program.
* The Hampton answer reinforced my sense that Hampton is a better baseball prospect than football prospect and the main story here is Taylor continuing the Stanford tradition of accommodating two-sport athletes. Taylor said nothing that made me think Hampton is likely to be a factor for Stanford at running back.
* i was interested to hear Taylor talk about the walk-on program being really good and important to his program when he was at Sacramento State. I didn't know that. I wonder if anybody here knows more about that. Taylor spoke at some length and with some apparent conviction about walk-ons having the opportunity to earn scholarships. Certainly we'll have the room. (I currently figure 8+ open scholarships) It will be fun to see the first walk-ons elevated to scholarship status, usually a morale builder for any program and will hopefully be done thoughtfully under the Taylor regime.
* He sounds like somebody with a healthy dose of realism about the QB room and its lack of experience, which one can tell from listening to multiple Troy Taylor media availabilities he places a high premium on. He values mental processing above all, it seems, and knows that practice reps are necessary (and helpful) but insufficient. This is a premature thought but it occurs to me that this might not be a coach who will be inclined toward clarity in the QB room until they see some live bullets this fall. For those wondering, he previewed that spring will be mostly live with the exception of the QBs.
* Fun reference to the open scholarships: "we still have money in our pockets." He clearly plans/wants to bring in more transfers. Notably, he also referenced the April opening of the second transfer portal window. Papa wants to shop. He expressed openness to all positions but especially offensive and defensive line. Those depth charts must strike him as unsatisfactory, which is totally unsurprising given the OL attrition and the Wisconsin base defense needing more DL than Stanford is accustomed to.