Toby Gerhart is on his way to NFL millions.
Stanford is on its way to a conundrum that could define its 2010 season: how do the Cardinal replace the All-American’s production?
Gerhart’s total yardage accounted for over a third of Stanford’s offense output in 2009; his 1,871 rushing yards shattered his own school record. But beyond statistics, he was a rock that powered Stanford to wins (see: Notre Dame) and kept the team competitive in close games when others faltered (see: Cal, Oklahoma).
The Cardinal’s task — to account for both the tangible and intangible losses — is tall, and while there are certain elements of the offense that may look the same, there will have to be changes to the overall attack if Stanford wishes to retain its top 20 national yardage ranking.
Stanford’s approach originated from Gerhart’s physical style of play. There is no back currently on the roster who can emulate that. But the other pieces are still there. The offensive line, for instance, loses only Chris Marinelli and Allen Smith, as both Matt Kopa and James McGillicuddy are expected to earn medical redshirts. Kopa, the expected starter at left tackle in 2009 before injuries, may be able to slide into Marinelli’s spot on the right side, which would give Stanford’s line a largely similar look. Tight end Jim Dray, who blocked like a tackle, is gone, but the two main reserve components of the powerful diesel package — McGillicuddy and Bert McBride — will return.
But the men they will be blocking for are still largely undetermined, at least in terms of the hierarchy. Stepfan Taylor and Tyler Gaffney both saw time as true freshmen this season. Taylor served as Gerhart’s change-of-pace back while Gaffney, who was recruited as a fullback by some schools, displayed a nice combination of both power and speed. Both received opportunities because Jeremy Stewart went down with an injury early in the year; before then, the junior was effective when spelling Gerhart and, like Anthony Kimble a year before him, was having the most success of his career in that reserve role.
All three will factor into the running game, but it’s essentially a free-for-all. And they’re not the only ones involved. There’s Usua Amanam and Andrew Stutz, both of whom redshirted this season. Amanam was a highly regarded recruit who dealt with a foot injury all season; Stutz was a walk-on who won the Cardinal’s award for best offensive scout team player.
Then there are the current recruits. Namely, Brandon Bourbon, the nation’s leader in yards per carry, and four-star back Anthony Wilkerson. Both have committed to Stanford; they may ultimately be joined by another runner, Ricky Seale, who is still choosing his school.
Of course, an eight running back rotation isn’t in the works. Some may be better suited for the other side of the ball — Bourbon at linebacker and Amanam in the defensive backfield, for instance. Or, there could be exogenous roles. Amanam, for instance, could be an X-back similar to Delano Howell in 2008. Though so much is uncertain, it is not likely that the Cardinal sticks with one feature back, at least at the beginning of the season, as they did throughout 2009 — multiple players will get opportunities.
This has both positive and negative connotations. Stanford will be able to keep players fresh and throw out different combinations of runners with varying skill sets — a prime way to keep a defense guessing. On the other hand, the authoritative beating that Gerhart issued on a play-by-play basis, as well as his record-breaking production, will be hard to match.
But the Cardinal can make up the loss through the air, too. Andrew Luck now becomes the focal point of the Stanford offense after a stellar debut season. For the Cardinal to have similar success in 2010, he will have to carry the team far more than he was asked to in 2009, when deference to Gerhart was often an optimal strategy.
Fortunately, outside of Dray, he returns every single primary receiving threat. Ryan Whalen and Chris Owusu should hold down starting positions at wide receiver. Drew Terrell and Jamal-Rashad Patterson had seemingly minimal roles as true freshmen, but the game experience and subsequent orientation to the collegiate level is invaluable. And the tight end position — led by the dynamic Coby Fleener, along with Konrad Reuland and presumably at least one of the four freshmen who redshirted this season — will provide plenty of threats, too.
The point being: Luck has the talent around him to be successful, most of it held over from this year, and the running game has enough talent to replicate a fair portion of Gerhart’s success. But whereas the Cardinal offense was oriented around a grind-it-out mentality in 2009, it will surely be more open in 2010.
Replacing an All-American is a difficult job, but Stanford is not in a boat without a paddle. There are options; it’s simply a matter of optimizing them.
It’s always football season in Wyndam Makowsky’s world. If you want to visit this magical land, send visa applications to makowsky “at” stanford.edu.
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