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Previewing the 2009 Stanford quarterbacks
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It was once thought to be the biggest competition of training camp. The highly recruited, strong armed, redshirt freshman versus the experienced veteran senior with 19 career starts and one of the all time great Stanford victories under his belt. As of now, it is the youngster that will win.
Look for Andrew Luck to be Stanford’s starting quarterback this year. It is apparent that he has all the tools to become a great quarterback for the Cardinal. The coaching staff came close to putting him in last year but held off. Given the way spring practice went, he has assumed the lead in “the competition.”
Even coach Jim Harbaugh has ended some of the suspense. In his appearance on Chronicle Live, Harbaugh for a second time this offseason virtually named Luck the starter. “It is a fluid situation. Andrew Luck is our starter out of spring ball, but Pritchard has 19 career starts and some big wins like against USC. He will compete.”
For a team that has lacked depth, quarterback could be a very deep spot for Stanford. A youngster like Luck can start but if he struggles, you have a veteran like Tavita Pritchard to come off the bench. Pritchard does not have the arm nor accuracy of Luck, but in many instances, he just gets the job done. Ask USC and CAL back in 2007.
But Pritchard has been inconsistent and that is what opened up the door last year to a bit of a quarterback controversy. Pritchard last season was 147/254, 1633 yards with 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. With his experience and knowledge of the offense, it would be possible to see Pritchard off the bench as a relief pitcher of sorts if Luck struggles in a game. It would add a dimension that Stanford has not had for awhile.
Luck seems the logical choice if he can take his same game from the practice field and translate it onto the field. He is a mobile quarterback, with a gun for an arm, and very accurate as well. He has all the tools. His abilities should open up the offense. With defenses sure to be focused on stopping the run game and specifically Toby Gerhart, Luck will have many opportunities early in the season to prove that he is ready to take the Stanford offense to a new level. With what is expected to be a good offensive line and improved receiving corp, Luck could really make this a dynamic offense.
Of course the million dollar question becomes how does the youngster handle the transition to game speed? He has a ton of expectation on his shoulders, but especially with two road games to open the season his margin for error will not be great.
Stanford is deep at quarterback in experience with Pritchard as the backup, but they are not deep in numbers. Alex Loukas blew out his knee in spring ball and is likely gone for the season. That makes true freshman Josh Nunes the 3rd quarterback. Nunes was a big recruit for Stanford but the hope will be that this will be a redshirt year for him.
The quarterback position seems well stocked for 2009 with Luck, Pritchard and Nunes. There will be a lot of pressure on Luck to keep the starting job in training camp, and then show the world what he has shown his teammates in practice. But to break in a new quarterback, having a run game led by Gerhart is about as good as one could get it.
More success from the quarterback position this year will translate into more wins for the Cardinal.
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