Stanford Spring Game: Luck Looks Solid in San Francisco

A crowd of 7,000 came out to San Francisco's Kezar Stadium to watch Stanford's Cardinal & White Spring Game today, and while the ESPN3 cameras were focused on the field for much of the afternoon, I'm guessing there were a lot of smiles among the crowd.

Most importantly, no one appeared to get injured during the game, which featured four, 12-minute quarters, and matched the first team offense against the second team defense, and vice versa. Not surprisingly, Stanford's first teamers prevailed, 42-3.

Andrew Luck started at quarterback for the Cardinal team and led three consecutive touchdown drives, two of them culminating in TD passes to tight end Zach Ertz. Luck, who tossed a third touchdown to Ertz on the first drive of the second half, finished 16-for-22 for 165 yards. Who else impressed? Here are a few players whose performances stuck out:

• RB Ricky Seale: The redshirt freshman carried seven times for 52 yards and served notice that Stanford's crowded backfield might need to make room for one more this fall. Stepfan Taylor and Anthony Wilkerson both had touchdown runs, and Wilkerson looked especially good in rushing for 65 yards on six carries. He showcased the burst that could earn him a bigger role in the offense in 2011 with runs of 20 and 31 yards.
• H-Back Ryan Hewitt: The sophomore, who is expected to fill the role of "Mr. Versatility" with the departure of Owen Marecic, caught a pass from Luck on the game's first play and finished with four catches for 61 yards.
• DB Usua Amanam: The former running back looked comfortable at his new position, as did former quarterback Darren Daniel, who has converted to wide reciever and made a nice catch over his head.
• K Eric Whitaker: Nate's younger brother booted the opening kickoff, which may have been wind-aided, for a touchback, and connected on a 38-yard field goal for the White team's only points of the game.

More coverage:

Tyler Mabry, Sam Schwartzstein, and Kevin Danser joined David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin on the starting offensive line. Shaw, who praised Danser before the game, says Khalil Wilkes and Cameron Fleming could still claim starting jobs in training camp. | Mercury News

Josh Nunes, who completed 12 of 19 passes for 180 yards, has the upper hand over Robbie Picazo for the No. 2 quarterback spot, but that competition will also carry into training camp. | SF Chronicle

Ben Gardner and Shayne Skov were impressive on defense for Stanford. | Daily Axe

"We're not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination," head coach David Shaw said. "But I like that guys are playing with confidence, and Andrew has a lot to do with that." | AP