Michael Rector will be out of commission for an unspecified amount of time due to disciplinary reasons. Reported by David Lombardi of ESPN late this evening, David Shaw "wouldn't indicate how long" the suspension would be.
Stanford WR Michael Rector will be out for an unspecified amount of time because of a disciplinary issue. Shaw wouldn't indicate how long
With the news of Michael Rector being suspended until further notice, here are some possible replacements:
Francis Owusu- Owusu is the next man up on the depth chart, so he is the logical choice to replace Rector. Owusu is a junior and his only year of playing was last year. Last year he racked up 138 yards on 11 catches, which is pretty good because he averaged 12.5 yards per catch. Yes this sample size is small, but it shows Owusu has big play ability. He has the height advantage on almost all corners, being 6'3, and he has a bit of speed for a tall guy. He might not be Rector, but Owusu is the only receiver that has the experience to qualify him for the job.
Trent Irwin- Can Trent Irwin steal this job opening from Owusu even though he has been around the program three years longer than him? Irwin is a true freshman who was highly recruited and was the #8 wide receiver in the country. He has great hands and great speed, maybe not as good as Rector's, and his 6'2 frame makes him even more dangerous. The downside of Irwin's play is his lack of experience. He did not enroll early so his exposure to the college game has been very limited. One aspect of the college game is the speed. Some players have a hard time adjusting to the speed of play, which cause them to struggle during their early year. The experience will come in time so that doesn't worry me too much, but Irwin needs to learn quickly if he wants to be WR2.
There are more senior replacements for Rector, but they combined for 1 reception and 10 yards last season. The only receivers who caught at least 10 passes last year were Ty Montgomery, Devin Cajuste, Michael Rector and Francis Owusu. This is a huge blow to the Cardinal receiving core who already don't have much depth. Coach Shaw will have to rely on Austin Hooper and Eric Cotton to pick up for Rector's slack if these two receivers can't produce as well as Rector would have. This is just another challenge Stanford will have to overcome to regain the Pac-12 title.
