[msqueri]

Well, their attendance definitely improved as the season went on and victories piled up...and they played more exciting opponents; e.g., 24k+ for UC Davis in a stadium that nominally fits 21,195, though the attendance more than cut in half for the first round of the playoffs.

You noted "* I can never quite tell how warm or not Taylor's relationship with his former Sacramento State mates is. He speaks about it all very positively but at times it seems more rote than heartfelt. It certainly was eye-opening that all of his top assistants decided to stay at Sacramento State (with the three top ones not even seeming to have to think twice about it, even before knowing which of them would get the head coach job, with Taylor's long-time right hand/Folsom co-head coach Richardson among them). "

Is it possible that they weren't asked or considered? If you look at their resumes objectively, does it suggest that they would be capable FBS coaches?

Yes, I think that is a very real possibility. I had that in mind when I referred to my "curiosity whether the coaches who did or didn't come with Taylor to Stanford were fully Taylor's decision, fully the assistants' decisions, or mutual." I think it's possible Taylor didn't want these three. Maybe he didn't think they were Power Five level coaches. Maybe he didn't get along with them as well as one would assume from their record. Maybe what they told the press about their and their wives' synergy together was evident to him and he knew they wouldn't want to leave Sacramento. Maybe in Thompson's case it was what I speculated that Taylor was leaving room for having Lance Anderson forced on him and/or being able to upgrade with a more Power Five credible defensive coordinator (arguably what we did). Maybe in Richardson's case it was a desire to bring in an NFL pedigree OL coach (recall Taylor brought in Klayton Adams before Adams bailed and Taylor was forced to scramble with this two OL coach arrangement), or maybe Taylor felt his odd high school model relationship/former co-head coaching with Richardson had run its course. Maybe in Fresques' case Taylor was leaving room for having Tavita Pritchard forced on him and/or preferring Pritchard (who does have a better resume than Fresques). All of this is plausible. At the same time, I've picked up on faint undertones of anti-Taylor vibes and/or subtle/complex relationships with regard to some of the former assistants, so I think there are other possibilities too.

Among the Sacramento State assistants who didn't come, I thought special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeremy LaPan and his extensive Utah special teams background was a pretty natural fit and I wouldn't have minded him being on staff rather than Byham, but LaPan was not part of the top three assistant/Taylor-tied triumvirate that is the main source of intrigue, and I have to believe Taylor consciously left LaPan behind. Otherwise, the assistant I was somewhat intrigued by was defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Cherokee Valeria, but it totally makes sense Taylor would let the DC have input in the staff and we ended up with a guy, Williams, with a better resume.

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If he had a bell cow I bet he'd play that guy more than we're seeing. I think the comment about each of our four RBs being different but all bringing something pretty much says it: the mix of attributes and utility among these four is more attractive than giving one or even two guys extensive run. The mention of Irvin being less experienced but also talented seemed like an acknowledgement that it's a top three right now more than a top four, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Irvin get more run at some point.

Or maybe, just maybe, you have a guy who, in fact, is a bell cow, but also had a major injury and wasn't needed against a G5 team. In the first half against SC, EJ Smith had six or seven touches/targets. Yurosek had five touches/targets over the same time period (and you'll never convince me the second half mattered one bit).

My opinion is that EJ will be one of two Stanford players drafted next year, so I think highly of the guy. There's another Stanford running back with over 140 carries and a pedestrian 4.5 ypc. He's had a nice start to the year, but feed EJ (career 6.2 ypc), please.

LOL at the idea EJ Smith is a bell cow. The guy who has played in only 14 of the 32 games he's been on campus for? Who is in his fourth year and has had more than five carries in a game three times and only once has had more than 11 carries? Who is in his fourth year and is sitting at an almost irrelevant 565 career yards from scrimmage? Who the only time we've ever tried to make him RB1 fumbled more than practically any RB in history (think about how impressive it is to play less than two games in a season (knocked out late in the third quarter of the second game) and finish 12th in the nation among RBs in fumbles for the entire season)?

I think Smith has skills. I hope he has his best year this year. It's not a high bar to clear. But in no way can his health history, fumble history, high school usage, body, skill set, mentality, confidence level - a single thing - make him a bell cow. There's no world in which we just feed Smith like we would have with Austin Jones or Cameron Scarlett or certainly Christian McCaffrey or Bryce Love. He is what he always was, a talented and if healthy dynamic change of pace/third down/receiving-centric kind of option. I bet he can do some things this year, if he stays healthy and can take care of the ball, both big questions. But no, he's not a bell cow.

[msqueri]

Well, their attendance definitely improved as the season went on and victories piled up...and they played more exciting opponents; e.g., 24k+ for UC Davis in a stadium that nominally fits 21,195, though the attendance more than cut in half for the first round of the playoffs.

You noted "* I can never quite tell how warm or not Taylor's relationship with his former Sacramento State mates is. He speaks about it all very positively but at times it seems more rote than heartfelt. It certainly was eye-opening that all of his top assistants decided to stay at Sacramento State (with the three top ones not even seeming to have to think twice about it, even before knowing which of them would get the head coach job, with Taylor's long-time right hand/Folsom co-head coach Richardson among them). "

Is it possible that they weren't asked or considered? If you look at their resumes objectively, does it suggest that they would be capable FBS coaches?

Yes, I think that is a very real possibility. I had that in mind when I referred to my "curiosity whether the coaches who did or didn't come with Taylor to Stanford were fully Taylor's decision, fully the assistants' decisions, or mutual." I think it's possible Taylor didn't want these three. Maybe he didn't think they were Power Five level coaches. Maybe he didn't get along with them as well as one would assume from their record. Maybe what they told the press about their and their wives' synergy together was evident to him and he knew they wouldn't want to leave Sacramento. Maybe in Thompson's case it was what I speculated that Taylor was leaving room for having Lance Anderson forced on him and/or being able to upgrade with a more Power Five credible defensive coordinator (arguably what we did). Maybe in Richardson's case it was a desire to bring in an NFL pedigree OL coach (recall Taylor brought in Klayton Adams before Adams bailed and Taylor was forced to scramble with this two OL coach arrangement), or maybe Taylor felt his odd high school model relationship/former co-head coaching with Richardson had run its course. Maybe in Fresques' case Taylor was leaving room for having Tavita Pritchard forced on him and/or preferring Pritchard (who does have a better resume than Fresques). All of this is plausible. At the same time, I've picked up on faint undertones of anti-Taylor vibes and/or subtle/complex relationships with regard to some of the former assistants, so I think there are other possibilities too.

Among the Sacramento State assistants who didn't come, I thought special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jeremy LaPan and his extensive Utah special teams background was a pretty natural fit and I wouldn't have minded him being on staff rather than Byham, but LaPan was not part of the top three assistant/Taylor-tied triumvirate that is the main source of intrigue, and I have to believe Taylor consciously left LaPan behind. Otherwise, the assistant I was somewhat intrigued by was defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Cherokee Valeria, but it totally makes sense Taylor would let the DC have input in the staff and we ended up with a guy, Williams, with a better resume.

---

If he had a bell cow I bet he'd play that guy more than we're seeing. I think the comment about each of our four RBs being different but all bringing something pretty much says it: the mix of attributes and utility among these four is more attractive than giving one or even two guys extensive run. The mention of Irvin being less experienced but also talented seemed like an acknowledgement that it's a top three right now more than a top four, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Irvin get more run at some point.

Or maybe, just maybe, you have a guy who, in fact, is a bell cow, but also had a major injury and wasn't needed against a G5 team. In the first half against SC, EJ Smith had six or seven touches/targets. Yurosek had five touches/targets over the same time period (and you'll never convince me the second half mattered one bit).

My opinion is that EJ will be one of two Stanford players drafted next year, so I think highly of the guy. There's another Stanford running back with over 140 carries and a pedestrian 4.5 ypc. He's had a nice start to the year, but feed EJ (career 6.2 ypc), please.

LOL at the idea EJ Smith is a bell cow. The guy who has played in only 14 of the 32 games he's been on campus for? Who is in his fourth year and has had more than five carries in a game three times and only once has had more than 11 carries? Who is in his fourth year and is sitting at an almost irrelevant 565 career yards from scrimmage? Who the only time we've ever tried to make him RB1 fumbled more than practically any RB in history (think about how impressive it is to play less than two games in a season (knocked out late in the third quarter of the second game) and finish 12th in the nation among RBs in fumbles for the entire season)?

I think Smith has skills. I hope he has his best year this year. It's not a high bar to clear. But in no way can his health history, fumble history, high school usage, body, skill set, mentality, confidence level - a single thing - make him a bell cow. There's no world in which we just feed Smith like we would have with Austin Jones or Cameron Scarlett or certainly Christian McCaffrey or Bryce Love. He is what he always was, a talented and if healthy dynamic change of pace/third down/receiving-centric kind of option. I bet he can do some things this year, if he stays healthy and can take care of the ball, both big questions. But no, he's not a bell cow.