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February 12, 2020 13 mins
On the Stanford edition of the 2020 Inside Pac-12 Football Signing Day Special, Pac-12 Networks’ Mike Yam & Yogi Roth interview Stanford head coach David Shaw on the highlights of the Cardinal recruiting class.
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(00:10):
Oh, we are all about theStanford Cardinal. It's signing day. Welcome
to Sun of San Francisco Studios.Mike Am and Yogi Rof with you.
David Shaw. We will hear fromhim in just a couple of moments.
You don't I think it's just likean under the radar kind of deal because
I haven't. I've read a tonof the national stuff and Sanfords Dame hasn't
been necessarily been popping up. Butthe last couple of days you and I've
been texting, You've been raving aboutwhat David Show was able to do well.

(00:32):
I don't think. I think ifit's under the radar, you're not
doing your job because you look atthese players and they I think have the
best offensive lineman of Miles Hinting inthis class. They add to the offensive
line group, they add a defensivelineman today, they have Tanner McKee coming
back. They bring in Emmett Smith'sson EJ a gifted player running back.
I mean this team to me,Mike, and then John Humphreys, who's
my number one overall wide receiver inthis group, so I think they're I

(00:55):
think they're loaded in this class.And last year. Record wise, it
was a boy. I don't thinkthat is a constant. I think Stanford
gets back to where we've been accustomedto seeing walking wounded in a lot of
ways. You continue to talk aboutinjuries with this team from a season go.
If they stay healthy, could bea very different result. The head
coach of the Cardinal, David Shaw, is with us now. Coach,
congratulations on the class before we eventalk about your team. How cool is

(01:18):
it when you watch the biggest gameon the plane at the Super Bowl and
you see a guy like Richard Sherman, Samon Thomas, those guys that are
connected to this program out there ina game like that. It's so exciting.
I wasn't able to make it,but I've been there in the past
to watch our guys. I watchedRichard win a Super Bowl with Doug Baldwin
and his crew up in Seattle.Such pride. And you talk about John

(01:40):
Lynch, who former teammate of mine, who helped put that team together with
Kyle and get that mentality of beinga great football team. Just pride And
text with John on Super Bowl morning, told him how proud we are of
him and how excited we were forhim not just for this year, but
a lot of those guys are comingback. You don't have a lot of
expiring contracts on that team, sohe's put together a team that can battle

(02:01):
for a long time. Speaking ofbattling for a long time, I look
at what you've done on both frontsand how you finish in this class.
Lance Kenney, to me, wasjust a blast to watch on take great
bloodlines there, his parents being collegeathletes. And then James I don't want
to butcher his last name. Youcall him Pogo as a nicknamed Pogo relch
and the offensive front. How doyou think you've finished with those two guys

(02:23):
in the rest of your class.Well, we targeted two defensive linemen.
We needed to add two defensive linemento this class, and Tobin Phillips in
the first signing class, big physical, interior guy, and we wanted an
edge rusher, and that's what Keenleyis. He is quick, he is
explosive, he's long, he's awrestler. My man, big Pogo Pogo.

(02:43):
We watched him playing basketball last week. He is big, he is
long, he's got good feet,and most importantly, he is nasty.
He likes to put people on theground. Um, he is physical and
strong and a great fit for ouroffensive line room. Does Jared has going
to check in? You mentioned basketball? Is that is that happening? He
doesn't need our help. We're doingreally well where they are, a big,

(03:05):
big, big upset win last week. I'm excited excited for for that
team to get in the tournament.Because you want to follow up on this
offensive line group that you have,because I think what you guys do on
your visits is really unique. Youhave a huge weekend where everybody comes.
The old line bond is already superunique to just college football in general.
What have you noticed from last year? He signed a big group we all
play and this year's group, whichis a large group as well. Yes,

(03:29):
and I give Kevin Carberry a lotof credit for that. When he
got here, we didn't have enoughguys there and we had to We knew
back to back classes we're going tohave to add numbers, but they couldn't
just be guys. They need tobe real guys. We need in length,
we need athleticism, we need tackles, We needed centers, we need
guards, and he and our staffdid a great job of putting that group
together, So back to back classesA five offensive lineman that are going to

(03:53):
set the table for everything that wedo in all our skill positions. But
as we all know, that's wherefootball starts, and I think we're gonna
be good for a long time upthere. Coach, have you had to
just based off of it, andit sounds like there was a concentration odd
getting big up front. I justcan't help but think just being there on
campus and you pointing out some differentplayers on your offensive line, just knowing

(04:14):
how the season finished with a lotof those guys not even healthy enough to
play. Do you manage your classesdifferently in terms of maybe loading up on
a certain position based off of previousresults, or do you just look at
injuries as kind of like a flukeything and you just kind of dictate your
classes accordingly every single year. Yeah, last year it was a big fluke.
There was no correlation amongst the differentinjuries. There were all different injuries

(04:38):
at different times the different guys,but in particularly offensive line. But the
silver lining was those young guys camein and got a ton of experience,
played extremely well. Sometimes I madesome mistakes, which are learning opportunities,
but when you look at this roomright now, if you walked in our
offensive line room, you see size, you see length, you see athleticism,
you see physical nature, and yousome guys that are that are kind

(05:00):
of upset about how they finished lastyear, and they want to be one
of the reasons why we win nextyear. Coach year, the son of
a coach. You've been around peoplewho have famous parents who've played in in
the NFL. I've had a lotof success. You signed one this year
in EJ. Smith. I wantto play a clip for you and get
your reaction from his dad on signingday when he was asked a pointing question

(05:21):
about his son's journey, I canwear this hat. He doesn't have to
wear this hat. You know,his daddy went here. That doesn't mean
that my son has to go there. At the end of the day,
my son has his own journey andit is his journey, not my journey.

(05:42):
That just makes me so excited andso proud. Emmett and Pat did
a great job raising an outstanding youngson and EJ. And they talk a
lot about that path and helping himand guiding him on his path. But
it's his path, and you know, I'd love to give Emmett a microphone
and talk to a lot of parentsaround the country and talk about how to

(06:02):
support your young people. Because hecould have stood there and pounded his fist
on the table and said, myson is going to my school. But
they found out where the best bestschool for their son was and they helped
him, and they guided him,and they led him to Stanford, and
we're excited to get him this summer. You'll get Emmett to where Stanford had
though right at some point, ohabsolutely, I've already seen him in one.

(06:25):
He may not wear it all thetime. He still got his Florida
gear and he's proud of his timeat Florida, which he should be.
But at the same time, heknows the Stanford's the best place for EJA.
Another level of commitment. Now,once you get a guy like Emma
Smith to rock that Stanford baseball cap. I also want to ask you about
the portal. Can you just explainto media because I think every coach handles
it differently with their players who decideto enter the portal. What are the

(06:48):
conversations you have with your guys whodecide to put themselves out there for potential
movement. So I'm glad you askedthat question of taking a lot of flak
about the portal, and this isa great opportunity for people to understand.
We've had zero underclassmen in the portal. We've had no underclassmen in the portal.
These are all graduate transfers, sofast, first and foremost, our

(07:12):
guys are on course to graduate.And for every single one of these guys,
especially this year, we weren't ina bowl game. So I told
him from December until early January,if you want to jump in the portal,
great, jump in the portal.I'll help you. If you think
there's a better situation for you.You've already done everything I've asked you to
do. You've been here for fouryears, you've handled your business on and
off the football field, You've graduated, and if you're looking for a different
degree, someplace else, or adifferent football experience, then great, I'll

(07:35):
help you find that. We've hadsome guys jump in the portal and stay
in the portal. Some guys jumpin the portal and come back out and
come back to us. I believeif a young man a young woman has
gone to school for four years andgraduates. They should be able to do
whatever they want with no restrictions fromthe coaches. So I helped those guys.
I advise those guys, and I'mexcited for some of these guys that
are finding places to go in theircollege career in an environment that they want

(07:59):
to be in. JJ and MikeLeach, did you see that one coming?
What are your what are your reactionand thoughts to that? Or a
guy that you've known since he wassixteen? Not surprising? Not surprising.
kJ and I have talked a wholebunch about finding the best spot for him,
and I knew that was probably ontop of his top three or four
places. And UM, I didn'tget involved in the process, and he

(08:22):
once he felt great about that andpulled the trigger. UM, I'll tell
you one thing. I think they'regonna throw the ball a lot. I
agree. I got a chance tocall a game where David Smells threw the
ball a lot a year ago againstWashington State. We've talked a ton about
his ability. How is he inthe development around his discernment the instinct some
of the pillars of the quarterback position. Now that it is you know,

(08:43):
presumptuously his team. He's ready,he's ready, he's locked in. He's
excited about being the quarterback. He'sexcited about leadership that we're gonna put on
his shoulders. The guy can makeevery single throw. Athletically, he can
do some really special things. Also, he's dealt with some injuries and now

(09:03):
he's probably the healthiest he's been,honestly since he's been here. And I'm
staring hearing whispers from some of theguys that ball's coming out nice, and
I think he's gonna do well thisyear. Coach, I always the telltale
sign from you. I think there'stwo one if I get a phenomenal and
then two if you give me thecoy smile when I'm on campus about the

(09:26):
upcoming season. So we're approaching thespring game, so I'll find out kind
of where you really think your teamis depending on how some of those interviews
go. But nonetheless, congrats onthis class. Looking forward to seeing you
guys in a couple of weeks.Thanks a lot, guys. Can I
just circle back to David's response onthe portal, I haven't heard one coach
say something like that. We knowStanford's a unique place, but to hear

(09:46):
the head coach hammer home that point. I mean, I've read so many
articles about all you know, allthese guys are leaving Stanford. It makes
a great point, like it's notit's guys that have graduated. David Show
to me is like the de factocommissioner in college athletics, not just college
football. Mic I mean, he'sgot such an awareness around the sport,
around student athletes, and he knowsthat Stanford is one of the most epic

(10:09):
places to go in the world.You quote that I read about last week.
Stanford is a destination. Stanford isa goal. Stanford is also a
place you have to really work hardto get to. Guys do they graduate
they a degree from Stanford, andthen maybe they don't. Maybe they may
not start as a fifth year senior. Maybe they want to explore something else
in their life. That's the pointof what Stanford is. You go on
campus and you walk around and youtalk to whether it's Andrew Luck or Christian

(10:33):
McCaffrey, Solomon Thomas, and theyall say the same thing. I sit
next to somebody who just started afortune five hundred company or started Snapchat.
It's about opportunity, It's about beingdiverse. So these guys want opportunities where
it can be diverse in their footballcareer. Kudos to supporting and championing that
versus saying, you know what,No, guys, you can't go do
that. That's not what I soldyou at seventeen years old. I'm gonna

(10:56):
flip it right now. He doesn'tdo that, and that's why I admire
him, and I think all offootball admires David Shaw. I was on
a radio station this morning. Itcovers Mississippi State and they had asked about
kjen as like, you're getting agreat leader. But it's a different deal.
It was just at Stanford. Everytime we talked to him, it
was about the workshops that did withConna Leaves a Rice and those types of
deals. So and granted, theconversations with David Shaw, Vida Pritchard,

(11:16):
those guys are gonna be vastly differentthan the conversations is gonna have with Mike
Leach. But as David Shaw said, they're going to throw the football a
ton. They have a guy.I feel like you Evan more guys that
follow this program really closely rave aboutwhat Davis Mills can do for this team.
Knowing that the keys to the carreally are his at this point.
I would imagine that takes a littlebit of a load off in terms of

(11:37):
the pressure. Yeah, and Ithink it's a healthy quarterback room. You
know, Coach Shaw has talked alot about this as well, of the
numbers in the quarterback room, likeyou have to be able to breathe a
little bit. And you look attheir room now with Jack West being in
there, obviously, Davis Mills,Tannard Key comes back off his mission.
Davis will be able to be thehealthiest he's been, the freshest he's been,
and own it and know what he'sdoing. He's gonna play with command.

(12:01):
He's gonna play with the sermon.I mean, did you hear and
see David Chaw's eyes when he's ready? He's ready? I mean that's period
at the end of both of thosestatements. So I like this offense.
You add in John Humphrey freshman widereceiver, the players they've recruited. I
mean, you look at Seeming Fok, who's got a chance to be a
star at wide receiver in this conference. So everybody's gonna sleep on Stanford or

(12:22):
people in pundance they will write theseridiculous articles of Hey, Stanford, maybe
the runs over. You're not payingattention. You're not paying attention to the
way they've recruited and developed. Andnow they'll be healthy, they'll take a
run at the pactwelve North like weshould expect them to do every year,
to be a flashback to as longas they're healthy, which I think is
a major k we even self holseAnibo banged up at different times coming back.
It's another major weapon for David Shaw. I think there's a lot of

(12:46):
reason for excitement on the farm,partly because, as David Shaw said,
you're in the basketball program. They'regonna be the NCAA tournament this year.
Yeah, I said it. Saturday, April first Cardinal and White Spring Game.
Got your Carford pactwelve Network and thepactwelve now app
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