Could JonAnthony Hall be a Secret Weapon for Stanford Football?

Enduring four weeks of training camp, the Stanford Cardinal are slowly getting into game mode, with a Week Zero matchup against Hawaii just over a week away. But before the Cardinal officially open the 2025 season, there are still things that they need to hammer out as they go through their final week of camp.

Coming off of a fourth straight 3-9 season, everyone is putting in the work in an effort to have a resurgent season. They'll also be heading into the season with a new quarterback under center.

Interim head coach Frank Reich met with the media after the first practice of the week to discuss the state of affairs and talk about where the Cardinal are at as they get ready for their first game. From the quarterback situation to where the defense stands, Reich spoke on various different topics surrounding the program. Here are the most notable takeaways from his August 11th press conference.

Game prep starts now

The Cardinal may still be in camp mode, but very soon, they will shift to their in-season schedule and begin preparing for their game against Hawaii. And even though they have not officially begun game prep, that has not stopped the coaching staff from getting ahead of the curve to ensure that each and every player is locked in and ready to take home a win to begin the new year.

"It'll be the end of this week," Reich said. "This will finish all of our preparation stuff for the season. And we won't formally get into Hawaii until the beginning of next week, we've got plenty of time. We've been introducing things here and there. Coaches have been getting ahead, but really we just want the players locked in on who we're going to be. The most important thing is who are we going to be so this is another week to take a step for that."

Stanford is beginning its season a little earlier than usual, and while that can present some challenges, the Cardinal have looked ready and fired up to get the 2025 campaign underway.

Offensive line is starting to come together

As the old saying goes, 'it all starts up front.' And over the last couple of seasons, the Cardinal have endured some major struggles in the trenches, particularly on the offensive line, which has been plagued by both injuries and inconsistent play, severely affecting how the offense operates.

But this season, putting together a formidable offensive line has been a major priority, with Reich expressing confidence at how things are looking up front so far.

"The offensive line unit is shaping up great," Reich said. "I feel good about our depth, I feel good about the unity and camaraderie between that group, their work ethic. I like the progress we're making. Coach Netter's doing a great job with those guys. I think we've got good leadership in that room and just need to keep making progress."

A good offensive line goes a long way, and if Stanford is able to establish a core group, its offensive attack could reach new heights and see its once high octane offense return to being one of the nation's best--just like how it was during the Andrew Luck era.

The defensive back group could feature a lot of youth this season