The way I see it, with all of the hype surrounding Stanford’s explosive offense going in to this season, their formidable defense has been seriously overlooked. Defensive Coordinator Lance Anderson is in his 12th year on The Farm, and with the dynamic mixture of veterans and young talent returning in ’18-’19, there is no reason this D unit cannot hold their own in a run for the Rose Bowl.
For starters, the Cardinal linebacking corp is as solid as any in the conference this year, and 5th year senior Bobby Okereke (6’4” / 234 lbs) leads the group by his instinctual play on the field. Unquestionably a great tackler, he has both the speed to play sideline-to-sideline, and the size and strength to take on the run effectively. It is this ideal combination of skill sets that lands Okereke on the Butkus Award, Bednarik Award, and Lott Impact Trophy preseason watch lists. Equally impressive and of note, the young man is an Eagle Scout.
Fellow 5th year senior outside linebacker Joey Alfieri (6’4” / 242 lbs) has battled injuries throughout his career, but was still named All-PAC 12 Honorable Mention the past two seasons. Alfieri is a big hitter who gets off blocks well, and he should be a dominant physical presence on the outside for the Cardinal again this year. Senior Casey Toohill (6’4” / 252 lbs), and juniors Jordan Fox (6’3” / 229 lbs) and Curtis Robinson (6’4” / 234 lbs) will also contribute at OLB for Stanford, and all have extensive playing experience under Coach Anderson.
Inside linebacker Jordan Perez (6’3” / 232 lbs), yet another 5th year senior for the Cardinal, brings great speed and a nose for the ball to the heart of this defense. A big question mark though is senior inside linebacker Sean Barton (6’4” / 228 lbs), who is coming back from a season-ending injury he suffered last year versus San Diego State. When healthy he is a solid contributor in every sense, and all in Palo Alto will be hoping for his successful return to action this fall.
The Stanford defensive backfield has been an asset for nearly a decade now, and this year will be no different. 5th year senior cornerbacks Alijah Holder (6’3” - 191 lbs) and Alameen Murphy (6’0” - 200 lbs) are both show stoppers on the outside, and together create one of the best CB tandems in all of college football. Along those lines, both have been named to preseason watch-lists for the Bednarik Award and Wuerffel Trophy respectively.
In the secondary, seniors Frank Buncom (6’3” - 211 lbs) and Ben Edwards (6’1” - 202 lbs) each have a wealth of experience in big games, and are collectively ready to break out this season. Also in the mix, 5th year senior Brandon Simmons (6’0” - 201 lbs) is a quality option in both the slot and at either safety position, and will serve as the ideal insurance policy on the back end for the Cardinal.
Stanford’s D-line is the youngest piece to their defensive puzzle, but they have several outstanding athletes who have quietly been waiting their turn to shine. While no one man could ever fill the void left by the legendary Harrison Phillips, sophomore DT Dalyn Wade-Perry (6’4” - 321 lbs) is the best possible option. Throughout the offseason, Coach Shaw has referenced the young man’s ability with an optimism he rarely entertains, and Perry’s size and strength speak for themselves. Also on the inside, junior DT Michael Williams (6’3” - 299 lbs) will see action both spelling Perry and in goal-line situations.
At defensive end, senior Dylan Jackson (6’6” - 266 lbs) and junior Jovan Swann (6’3” - 277 lbs) both started significant games last year for the Cardinal, and will both look to take it to the next level as key aspects of this D unit.
As I wrote in my article last week, and covered here, this Stanford team has the strength, talent, and character to make a run for ‘The Roses’ in 2019. Write it down.
Comments
Wow, a Positive Review of the Stanford Defense
The only reason everybody (and I do mean everybody) rates Stanford behind Washington is the perceived weakness of the Stanford defense. So it is nice to see a positive spin for once. A few comments on the above-observations, though.
Gabe Reid will probably be in the mix for outside linebacker playing time. At the Spring game, he showed a good deal of promise as a solid tackler. And he has the speed needed at that position. I’m also guessing that Curtis Robinson may finally show some results from his 5 star potential.
The bigger if’s are in the inside linebacker slots. Everyone is touting Bobby O as the chosen one, but he needs to improve his run stoppage. He didn’t shed blocks all that well last year (none of the linebackers did) and that is absolutely necessary against San Diego State, USC, Washington, and several other games with run-first mentalities. As for Sean Barton, Stanford has a storied tradition (Jeff Siemons, Shane Skov, and others) of middle linebackers suffering knee injuries and coming back. So I expect he’ll do the same and, if he does, his exceptional speed should lead to more QB sacks and hurries. That leaves Perez, who has played a lot, but not all that well. He always seems to be a step out of position or late. His "nose for the ball" was usually with his head turned chasing the runner or receiver. If he improves his formation recognition, he could be a force.
The d-backs are surprisingly receiving little respect in the pre-season press. Holder is healthy again and remains one of the best lock down CB’s in the country. Murphy showed considerable growth last year and I imagine he came back to show he has NFL potential. But the article above failed to mention Adebo, who would have started at the end of last year but for the desire not to waste a red shirt year. Regardless of who emerges as the starter between Murphy and Adebo, the non-started gives Stanford a very, very good nickel back.
Everyone discounts the safeties because Reid has left. But Buncom has excellent size for a safety (as does redshirt sophomore Stuart Head) and the other two have enough experience to fill in the other slot nicely. And their play will be enhanced by the expected coverage ability of the CB’s. I see the defensive backfield as a strength, not weakness.
Soooooooooo, that brings us to the defensive line. So what is Lance Anderson thinking? Well, one reason why Soloman Thomas was so successful his last year was that Harrison Phillips plugged up the middle, allowing Thomas to roam around. No questions Wade-Perry can do that. He will lack the strength of Harrison (who doesn’t?) to allow him to shed blockers and make as many tackles, but he will plug up the middle of the line. Williams, maybe, maybe not. He’s had significant health issues that weakened him immensely. When he played last year, he didn’t show much. Which means that the effectiveness of the D-line depends upon the ends. And Stanford has a lot. Two highly touted freshmen will probably see action in the late season games. But there is no question that the line needs more from Jackson and Swann. Shaw raves about Swann. [By the way, where do you get the idea that Shaw shows "an optimism he rarely entertains"? Shaw always says everyone is doing great, when they often don’t do all that well when the season arrives.] Swann is a bit short, but does seem to have some speed, so we’ll see. Jackson, on the other hand, has great size, decent edge speed, but needs to step up in several ways. Hopefully, he’s added some upper body strength to bull rush when needed, improved the use of his hands to shed blocks (particularly on runs), and taken to heart the idea of fighting until the whistle blows. All too often last year, he stopped after being engaged. Both Swann and Jackson need to sufficiently disruptive to open some lanes for outside linebacker blitzes, which I imagine we’ll see a lot more of this year than last.
I think Anderson will take all the criticisms and negative predictions about his defense personally. I guess we’ll see how much when San Diego State arrives.
By SU74 on 08.08.18 6:35pm
Well said, and I agree completely in regard to Adebo. He will be a another strong piece to this secondary. Cheers, and Go Stanford.
By Max McArthur on 08.09.18 2:48pm