Top Stanford Recruit's Status Uncertain Against Hawaii

After a long offseason and a full summer of training camp, it is finally time for some Stanford football. This week, the Stanford Cardinal are shifting focus on preparing for a Week Zero matchup against Hawaii, where a contest against the Rainbow Warriors is expected to be a good test for the rebuilding Cardinal.

But even through an offseason with a lot of change, the mission for the Cardinal has not changed, with focus on the task at hand at an all-time high.

Interim head coach Frank Reich met with the media on Monday morning to discuss the state of affairs ahead of Stanford's opening week matchup. Speaking on a variety of topics, Reich gave off confidence that the Cardinal will be a competitive team in college football this season. Here are five takeaways from coach Reich's first-ever game week press conference as the Stanford football head coach.

Commanding the offense was key in decision to name starting quarterback

Last week, the Cardinal announced that Oregon State transfer, Ben Gulbranson, would be the program's starting quarterback and would lead the team in the huddle in Week Zero. While the decision came as sort of a surprise at the time, Reich has revealed what went into naming a starter, with taking command and control of the offense being a major deciding factor.

"I think the whole room, it was very competitive [and] very good," Reich said. "[I] feel great about the whole room. But then, Ben just did a really good job at the whole thing. Good command and mastery of the offense, did a really good job.

"Accurate passer, strong arm guy that could get the ball to all parts of the field. I thought he had good command and control of decision making, had good poise in the pocket. So really showed a lot of positive attributes that we're looking for."

Reich's offense is much more complex than what the Cardinal have run in the past and with Gulbranson bringing over five years of experience in college football, having a veteran lead the charge to start things off was in the best interest of the program reaching its potential this season.

Stanford's defensive backs will have their hands full

Last season, the Cardinal struggled in a variety of areas but one particular area that the Cardinal really struggled in was defending the pass. And while the Cardinal's defense still has a lot of questions, it is very possible that they will get some answers against Hawaii, with the defensive backs expected to face a major test against a good Rainbow Warriors receiving core.

"Very competitive," Reich said. "And they have a very good pass game. Really excited to see our secondary at work against this unit. They present some interesting challenges, they spread the ball around. They spread the field very well.

"Quarterback does a good job of, in the short to intermediate pass game, and yet has the arm strength to get the ball down the field. So, you know, we're going to have to be on point and play good, good coverage. We'll likely mix things up, try to put our guys in the best position. Ultimately, I think the test comes down to just being disciplined play after play."

Knowing what they have perso nnel wise on defense will be important and given how good of a passing conference the ACC is, preparing the defensive backs for a busy season is something that the Cardinal will want to do as soon as possible.

Play calling will be a collaborative effort

A longtime NFL coach with a Super Bowl ring as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, Reich knows a thing or two about putting together high-powered offenses. And while he is an offensive guru, Reich is also a first-time college head coach who is still adjusting to coaching at the NCAA level.

Luckily for him, Reich has a good staff around him for this season and will make sure to utilize them as resources whenever he can. That is why when it comes to play calling, Reich will not be doing that alone.

"Nate Byham [Stanford offensive coordinator] will be up in the box," Reich said. "On offense, it will be a collaborative effort. I will have a play call sheet in my hand, and he and I will be the primary guys calling it together. There's times we're collaborating with the whole staff in between series and even certainly sometimes in drive might be asking a guy an opinion or two, but basically, it'll be Nate and I calling it."

Byham joins the ranks as the program's offensive coordinator after previously spending time as the tight ends coach. While he has minimal experience as the head of an offense, Reich has full confidence that Byham can help the offense reach new heights.

JonAnthony Hall's status is still TBD for this week

2025 will feature a Stanford roster that looks vastly different from last season, with the program experiencing a lot of roster turnover--particularly at the receiver position. But the Cardinal invested heavily in bringing in new guys to fill the void left by the departed, utilizing the transfer portal to find new talent.

But they also brought in a big group of freshman that they expect to play big roles right away. One of those players, JonAnthony Hall, is expected to play a big role at wide receiver this season and make up for the loss of Elic Ayomanor.

But, dealing with an injury during camp, it is possible that the Cardinal will have to wait a little longer for Hall to make his debut, with his status against Hawaii still TBD. Fortunately, Reich did not rule him out and instead said that Hall's status could be much clearer in the coming days.

"He's made good progress," Reich said. "So, we'll see. We'll just take it day by day. But really in the last few days, I feel like he's continued to make good progress. [He's] been out for a while so we just want to make sure that we're doing the right thing for the player and for the team. So I think over the next two, three days, that should clear itself up, one way or the other. But I really give him a lot of credit for how he has approached getting everything ready to go."

The Cardinal want to be fully healthy going into the first game of the se ason and while it is important to monitor Hall's injury and not bring him back too soon, having him for the first game of the season will be very important if the program wants to take home a win in Honolulu.

The defensive unit could be poised for a massive step forward

Defensively, the Cardinal had some issues last season, struggling to find a rhythm for a majority of the season. And in a high powered offensive conference like the ACC, good defenses are key for success.

This season, the Cardinal have made improving the defense a top priority, and Reich is pleased with the direction that the coaching staff has the defense going, oozing confidence that a step forward is coming.

"Coach Thompson and coach April are outstanding," Reich said. "They've done a great job of working together. Obviously, coach April having been here for a l ittle bit and coach Thompson coming in last year, and so collaborating in a way that can come up with a unique approach to what we're going to do, and that's really being collaborative with the whole defense.

"You know, it's been fun for me to see as an offensive coach, going up against our scheme every day in training camp and seeing what we do well on defense and excited about the challenges that [we] could give to the opponents we play."

Stanford's defense experienced a lot of turnover as well, but given the guys that the program had for depth last season, the hope is that they can step up and turn Stanford's defense into one of college football's best.