Stanford coach Troy Taylor won't reveal starting QB before Hawaii opener
Stanford head coach Troy Taylor is not making any announcement on his team’s starting quarterback ahead of Friday’s season opener.
Hawaii — and everyone else — will have to wait until the Cardinal takes the field for the first time. This offseason, Stanford brought in Justin Lamson (Syracuse transfer) and Myles Jackson (3-star freshman) to compete with Ari Patu and Ashton Daniels for the starting job.
“I’m not gonna announce anything,” Taylor said Monday when he met with reporters for his first game-week press conference. “I think it’s become more and more clear for us, but I won’t make any announcement. Everybody will know right when the game starts.”
Tanner McKee dominated the snaps last fall. Patu threw just nine passes. Daniels threw just six, though he did register 25 rushing attempts and found the endzone three times.
The 6-foot-4 Patu also only had 16 attempts in two appearances during the 2021 season.
Lamson didn’t play as a true freshman in 2021 and briefly emerged as Syracuse’s backup quarterback in the spring of 2022 before suffering a season-ending injury that kept him off the field.
Whoever it is for Stanford, it’ll be a work in progress.
“Our guys just don’t have a lot of experience, so how are they gonna respond in a game-like situation,” Taylor said. “Quarterbacks typically either get a lot better or they can get worse in a game. Quarterbacks are like teabags, you don’t really know what you’ve got until you put them in hot water. We’ll find out about our quarterbacks a little bit more, and our team in general.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s not going to be perfect, but we’re going to learn a ton about ourselves.”
Stanford faces Hawaii in Honolulu on Friday, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network.