Kevin Hogan and Andrew Luck have been the last two great Stanford quarterbacks, and the two have led Stanford to five BCS bowls while dominating teams in their way. Andrew Luck came close to winning the Heisman trophy twice, and Kevin Hogan is the program's winningest quarterback. Undeniably, Stanford has depended on an experienced quarterback, and whoever fills in for Kevin Hogan will have big shoes to fill.
Stanford seems to have two options with a possible third. Keller Chryst will be the favorite heading into Spring practices, but Ryan Burns will give him some competition. Both quarterbacks were highly touted out of high school. Burns was a four star on multiple recruiting sites and succeeded throughout his high school career. Once at Stanford, Burns redshirted his freshman year and will become a redshirt junior next year. Last year, Burns saw minimal time behind Hogan and Chryst.
Serving as the primary backup last year, all signs indicate Chryst will be the next quarterback to follow Hogan's footsteps. After throwing eighty five touchdowns in high school, Keller Chryst was no doubt Stanford's highest ranked quarterback recruit ever. Chryst was a four star on every recruiting service and ranked as high as the nation's second best pro-style quarterback. The redshirt sophomore has the size and strength to be an NFL quarterback; Chryst is 6'5" and weighs 237 lbs, and according to Tom Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Chronicle, he can throw the ball roughly 70 yards. Also, Chryst comes from a football family. His dad is the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers while his uncle is the head coach for Wisconsin.
On the field last year, Chryst showed promise after throwing four for four against Arizona for 39 yards and a touchdown. Chryst even showed his physicality after an awesome block against an Arizona defender while blocking for Christian McCaffery. If Chryst can adapt the knowledge of his family, he can pair it with his size to become a serious threat for defenses.
Although unlikely, K.J. Costello could be another possibility for Stanford. K.J. will be a true freshman next year, but he shined in high school, where the four star from Santa Margarita High School, broke many school records and was an Army All-American. Costello seems like an unlikely candidate for this year's starting job but could be a star in years to come.
Stanford has many good options for quarterback next year. Ryan Burns and Keller Chryst both will be able to fill in, but Chryst seems to be leading at the moment. Either way, David Shaw will have an able quarterback under center next year. Stanford should have stability at the quarterback for the next few years.
Comments
Chryst not the highest rated recruit
Trent Edwards (5 star by rivals), Chris Lewis, and John Elway were all QBs off the top of my head that were more highly ranked than Chryst was, and I would not be surprised if a lot of other QBs could also fit that bill. I’m not disparaging Chryst, I’m actually excited to see how he and/or Burns will play, but the statement "highest ranked quarterback recruit ever" is just false. It would actually be the subject of an interesting article to trace the history of Stanford QB recruits.
By SN94703 on 03.07.16 12:14pm
Glad to hear Chryst showed a little something against AZ
I only saw in him the UCLA and Colorado games where he was a combined 0-4. What was worse, he just didn’t look that accurate. But I realize it’s a small sample size, and I’m glad he looked better in other settings.
I’m curious if anyone has stats correlating high school ranking to college success, but it would be interesting to know how often they’re ‘right.’
By g8tgod on 03.07.16 12:57pm
Predicting QB Success
SB Nation just had a great article on this, and QB rankings are only moderate predictors of success: http://www.footballstudyhall.com/2016/1/29/10868002/national-signing-day-five-star-quarterback-jacob-eason-shea-patterson
By SN94703 on 03.07.16 1:00pm
Playbook knowledge
My only concern in this QB battle is Shaw’s insistence on playbook knowledge over projecting who the better talent is. It’s obvious that both fit the bill regarding the offense with their pocket presence and mobility, with burns being more mobile and chryst being the better deep ball passer. Rather than tailoring a shortened playbook for the projected starter there is an overload which can always confuse young QBs and end up in situations like Hogan 2012.
One can only hope that coach has learned from that experience. We have been extremely blessed that the historic stanford run has seen just 2 QBs unlike programs that cycle through a QB a year. In that sense chryst provides ideal situation if he stays 2 or more years. With our trenches reloading and the skill talent like never before (quick salute to Love who is going to absolutely tear apart defenses that key in on mcaffrey) we should be set
By layman on 03.07.16 2:58pm