We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the likes of Stepfan Taylor and Chase Thomas this season, but replacing Andrew Luck and the other members of last year's 11-win squad will require a team effort. Over the next 12 days we'll profile 12 less heralded Cardinal players whose ability to adjust to larger roles could determine whether Stanford is competing for a third straight BCS invite or settling for a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Previously Featured: Drew Terrell | Anthony Wilkerson | Henry Anderson | Ed Reynolds | Kevin Danser | Brendon Austin

Name: James Vaughters
Position: ILB
Year: So.
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/246
Career Stats: 13 games played, 11 total tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack
Shoes to Fill: Shayne Skov

Where He Came From: Vaughters came to the Farm from Tucker High School in Tucker, Georgia, where he was a four-star recruit. Rivals deemed him the 4th-best linebacker in the country and the 54th-best player in America. Vaughters turned down offers from Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Ohio State, USC and others to attend Stanford, and while many thought he might retract his commitment when Vic Fangio left for the 49ers with Jim Harbaugh, Vaughters never wavered and arrived on the Farm in 2011 to major fanfare.

What He’s Done: Vaughters came onto the scene last year with a lot of hype, but didn’t really get the chance to contribute to the Cardinal’s base defense in his freshman year because AJ Tarpley and Jarek Lancaster played admirably as fill-ins for the injured Shayne Skov. Vaughters did play and play pretty well on special teams, but sometimes looked a little lost and overly technical when he had his chances to play middle linebacker. He registered a season-high four tackles against Duke, and picked up his only sack of the season against Arizona.

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We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the likes of Stepfan Taylor and Chase Thomas this season, but replacing Andrew Luck and the other members of last year's 11-win squad will require a team effort. Over the next 12 days we'll profile 12 less heralded Cardinal players whose ability to adjust to larger roles could determine whether Stanford is competing for a third straight BCS invite or settling for a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Previously Featured: Drew Terrell | Anthony Wilkerson | Henry Anderson | Ed Reynolds | Kevin Danser

Name: Brendon Austin
Position: OL
Year: RS Fr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-6/300
Career Stats: None. Redshirted last season.
Shoes to Fill: Jonathan Martin

Where He Came From: Austin was a bulldozer of an offensive tackle at Chaparral High School in Parker, Colo., and was rated as the top recruit in the state when he committed to Stanford over Colorado and UCLA in 2010. Jim Harbaugh cryptically announced Austin's commitment via Twitter: "I received a Big call, Strong news that leaves the Cardinal riding Tall in the saddle tonight!" At 6-foot-6, Austin was the tallest member of Harbaugh's recruiting class at the time.

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We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the likes of Stepfan Taylor and Chase Thomas this season, but replacing Andrew Luck and the other members of last year's 11-win squad will require a team effort. Over the next 12 days we'll profile 12 less heralded Cardinal players whose ability to adjust to larger roles could determine whether Stanford is competing for a third straight BCS invite or settling for a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Previously Featured: Drew Terrell | Anthony Wilkerson | Henry Anderson | Ed Reynolds

Name: Kevin Danser
Position: OG
Year: RS Jr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-6/298
Career Stats: 18 games played, no starts
Shoes to Fill: David DeCastro

Where He Came From: Danser, who played alongside future Stanford teammate Usua Amanam at Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, was rated as the 37th-best offensive tackle in the Class of 2009 and the No. 49 overall prospect in California by Rivals.com. In January of 2009, Danser chose Stanford over offers from Arizona and Washington.

What He's Done: After redshirting, Danser received some playing time off the bench in six games of the 2010 season. He was expected to be the starter going into 2011, but he struggled with dehydration and lost out on the job to David Yankey in camp. He still managed to see game action in 12 of Stanford's 13 games, usually as part of the jumbo package.

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We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the likes of Stepfan Taylor and Chase Thomas this season, but replacing Andrew Luck and the other members of last year's 11-win squad will require a team effort. Over the next 12 days we'll profile 12 less heralded Cardinal players whose ability to adjust to larger roles could determine whether Stanford is competing for a third straight BCS invite or settling for a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Previously Featured: Drew Terrell | Anthony Wilkerson | Henry Anderson

Name: Ed Reynolds
Position: FS
Year: RS So.
Ht./Wt.: 6-2/207
Career Stats: None. Did not see action in 2010, missed all of 2011 season with a torn ACL.
Shoes to Fill: Delano Howell, Michael Thomas

Where He Came From: Reynolds came to Stanford from Woodberry Forest HS in Woodberry Forest, Virginia. Rated as a three-star player coming out of high school, Reynolds was part of a 2010 class that was ranked by Rivals as the 26th-best class in the country. The 2010 class features a lot of players who are set to become defensive starters (or big-time contributors) like Henry Anderson, Barry Browning, Devon Carrington, Blake Lueders and A.J. Tarpley.

What He's Done: There’s not much to say about Reynolds’ career at Stanford thus far – he didn’t play in 2010, his freshman year, and missed the entire 2011 season after tearing his ACL. However, that hasn’t stopped him from having a spring camp that made the coaching staff and the players single him out as a rising star. The reason Reynolds makes this year’s 12 for '12 list is because his spring camp was so shockingly impressive. You never expect too much when a guy comes off an ACL injury – the long, difficult rehab process makes it hard to project just how a player will look when he returns to action – but Reynolds looked both strong and fast in the spring. More specifically, head coach David Shaw said Reynolds was the best safety in spring camp, and defensive coordinator Derek Mason complimented his ability to "handle the mental aspects of the game."

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We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the likes of Stepfan Taylor and Chase Thomas this season, but replacing Andrew Luck and the other members of last year's 11-win squad will require a team effort. Over the next 12 days we'll profile 12 less heralded Cardinal players whose ability to adjust to larger roles could determine whether Stanford is competing for a third straight BCS invite or settling for a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Previously Featured: Drew Terrell | Anthony Wilkerson

Name: Henry Anderson
Position: DE
Year: So.
Ht./Wt.: 6-6/278
Career Stats: 6 tackles (1 solo), fumble recovery
Shoes to Fill: Matt Masifilo

Where He Came From: Anderson, a Georgia fan who played at Woodward Academy just outside of Atlanta, was rated the 27th-best defensive end in the Class of 2010 by Rivals.com. He chose Stanford over more than a dozen other schools, including Georgia Tech, and said Jim Harbaugh was the only guy he'd met who was more competitive than him.

What He's Done: Anderson redshirted in his first year on the Farm and added some bulk to his 6-foot-6 frame. He appeared in all 13 games last season, finishing with six tackles, two QB hurries and one memorable fumble recovery. In the season opener against San Jose State, Chase Thomas forced a fumble and Anderson scooped up the loose ball. He rumbled 37 yards before getting tripped up inches from the goal line. "I didn’t want to run up and try to grab it too quick and kick it out of bounds, so I wanted to make sure I had the ball first," Anderson said afterward. "I probably took a little too long trying to pick that up, but the coaches always tell us if there’s no one around the ball you can try and scoop it and run with it."

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We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the likes of Stepfan Taylor and Chase Thomas this season, but replacing Andrew Luck and the other members of last year's 11-win squad will require a team effort. Over the next 12 days we'll profile 12 less heralded Cardinal players whose ability to adjust to larger roles could determine whether Stanford is competing for a third straight BCS invite or settling for a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Previously Featured: Drew Terrell

Name: Anthony Wilkerson
Position: RB
Year: Jr.
Ht./Wt.: 6-1/218
Career Stats: 144 carries, 691 yards, 6 TDs
Shoes to Fill: Jeremy Stewart, Tyler Gaffney

Where He Came From: Wilkerson, who played at Tustin (Calif.), was rated as the No. 21 running back in the Class of 2010 by Rivals.com. He considered offers from Colorado, Washington, UCLA and Utah before committing to Stanford in the summer of 2009. "I think I'm violent on the field because I'm not going to try to juke you," Wilkerson said at the time. "If I've got the ball and you're in my way I'll run you over."

What He's Done: Wilkerson ran over a few would-be tacklers as a true freshman, carrying the ball 89 times for 408 yards, which ranked second third on the team behind Stepfan Taylor and Andrew Luck. Wilkerson was used sparingly in the first eight games of the season, but had double-digit carries in each of the Cardinal's final four regular-season games. While Wilkerson carried only two times in Stanford's blowout win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, he seemed poised to compete for a more prominent role as a sophomore.

Wilkerson opened 2011 with eight carries for 14 yards in the Cardinal's rout of San Jose State and had only 20 carries over the next five games. He had a big game against Washington--who didn't?--with 93 yards and two touchdowns, but saw limited action the rest of the year.

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We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the likes of Stepfan Taylor and Chase Thomas this season, but replacing Andrew Luck and the other members of last year's 11-win squad will require a team effort. Over the next 12 days we'll profile 12 less heralded Cardinal players whose ability to adjust to larger roles could determine whether Stanford is competing for a third straight BCS invite or settling for a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Name: Drew Terrell
Position: WR
Year: Sr.
Ht./Wt.: 5-11/180
Career Stats: 11 catches, 91 yards, TD
Shoes to Fill: Griff Whalen, Chris Owusu

Where He Came From: Rated as the 57th-best wide receiver in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com, Terrell, a standout at Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton, chose Stanford over Arizona State. He arrived on the Farm as the least touted of the three receivers in Jim Harbaugh's '09 class, a group that included fellow seniors Jemari Roberts and Jamal-Rashad Patterson.

What He's Done: Terrell appeared in 10 games as a true freshman, almost all of them as a punt returner. While he wasn't a major contributor, he proved quite prescient. "We're going to be the group that takes charge and puts Stanford on the map," Terrell said during the week leading up to the Cardinal's thrilling 51-42 win over No. 7 Oregon. "The time is now." Terrell's time, at least as a wide receiver, would have to wait. He had two catches for 11 yards and earned an all-Pac-10 honorable mention nod as a punt returner in 2010. He caught eight passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, and led the Pac-12 in punt return average last season.

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Jon Wilner unveils his first Top 25 poll. Stanford checks in at No. 23, four spots behind Utah. | Mercury News

The Cardinal is No. 13 in ESPN's power rankings. | ESPN

Stanford needs receivers like Drew Terrell and Jamal-Rashad Patterson to step up. | Stanford Football Blog

Of all the inside linebackers on the roster, Stanford assistant coach David Kotulski says AJ Tarpley is at the top of the heap. | GoStanford

Jordan Williamson think he'll be able to handle the pressure better after his Fiesta Bowl misses. | SF Chronicle

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