Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov has been suspended by coach David Shaw for the Aug. 31 season-opening game against San Jose State as a result of his driving-under-the-influence arrest in January, but he will be eligible to play the rest of the season, the school announced Friday.
This is exactly the punishment that was expected ever since the arrest was made, and the Cardinal figures to be able to handle the Spartans without Skov.
The bigger question for Skov is a health issue: Will his surgically-repaired knee allow him to be as quick and aggressive as he was before the injury? Skov may be the Cardinal's best defensive player -- at least he was before he tore the anterior-cruciate ligament in the Sept. 17 game against Arizona last season.
With Andrew Luck gone, the Cardinal will rely more heavily on a defense that depends on putting pressure on the quarterback. Skov, an inside linebacker, and outside linebacker Chase Thomas are the team's top pass-rushers, and Skov needs to be at full speed for the Cardinal to be effective defensively. His limitations won't be evident until he plays in the Sept. 8 game against Duke. Stanford needs him to be a force in the Sept. 15 game against USC, and it's asking a lot of a player to be in prime form in his second game after such a long layoff.
"His rehab is going very well and he is close to being at 100 percent,” said Shaw.
Even if his knee is 100 percent, it will take Skov several games to regain the timing and confidence necessary to play with the abandon that characterizes his style.
