Once-mighty Cardinal trying to reverse course with 'clean slate'

Editor's Note: This is the last of 11 Pac-12 football 2023 team previews — one for each of Arizona's conference brethren. Next up: Stanford (3-9 overall, 1-8 Pac-12 a year ago). The Cardinal was picked to finish 12th in the conference's preseason media poll.

STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford football was in need of a major reboot after the program that had been the best on the West Coast for a decade plummeted in recent years.

Out went coach David Shaw and a stagnant offensive philosophy, and in came Troy Taylor and a fast-paced, more wide-open style that the Cardinal hope will reverse the recent free-fall that has led to back-to-back nine-loss seasons.

“I would say it gives us a clean slate, but it also gives us a chip on our shoulder,” running back E.J. Smith said about the coaching change. “Everybody is down on us this year, which they should just because of our past. But it’s our job to change that. We stayed here for a reason.”

Between graduation, transfers and the coaching change, the Cardinal underwent a complete overhaul following last year's disappointing season, with only a handful of starters returning for the beginning of the Taylor era.

Taylor, the former quarterback at rival California, got a late start in college coaching but shot up the ranks from high school to an assistant at Eastern Washington to Sacramento State, where he turned a two-win team into a playoff team in his first year with the Hornets.

The rebuilding process at Stanford may take more time, but Taylor expects to see progress in Year 1.

“Every team’s been a little bit different, some faster than others,” he said. “It definitely can happen in the first year. But there’s big steps that you got to make just because at first you’re really thinking through things, logically what I’m supposed to do. The second time maybe you’re getting a good feel for it and then hopefully the third and fourth time you’re playing without thinking, which is what we want to get to.”

Healthy back

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Smith, the son of NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, is back after going down with a season-ending knee injury in the second game last season. Smith has had only 56 carries in his three seasons with the Cardinal but averaged 6.1 yards on those attempts. His versatility fits well into Taylor's offense.

“He’s really smart,” Taylor said. “He’s competitive. At that position we use that particular running back position will put him out of the backfield. He’ll be a route runner, he’ll carry the ball. It’s a really important position and he’s perfectly fit for that position.”

QB quandry

The biggest question on offense for the Cardinal is at quarterback, with three untested options competing for the starting role. Ari Patu and Ashton Daniels have thrown a combined 31 passes as backups for the Cardinal, with Daniels being mostly used as a runner last year. The other option is Syracuse transfer Justin Lamson, who hasn't thrown a pass in college.

Just for kicks

The Cardinal don't have much to worry about when it comes to the kicking game, with Joshua Karty returning after a stellar season. Karty made all 18 field goal tries last season, including three from beyond 50 yards.

“It’s an unbelievable weapon,” Taylor said. “You cross the 50 and you’re feeling like you’re in field-goal range.”

Schedule stuff

The out-of-conference schedule for the Cardinal is a little lighter than usual with a trip to Hawaii for the opener and a matchup against Taylor's old Sacramento State team in Week 3. Stanford hosts Notre Dame in the traditional odd-year season finale. The Cardinal have an early tough test against USC on Sept. 9, but get both Oregon and Washington at home.