Oct 19, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; A view of the goal post pad before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

With spring practices getting underway for Stanford football, I thought it would be good to provide a list of five things to look for as year one of the Tavita Pritchard era gets under way. Let’s get after it!

#1. How does Tavita Pritchard go about establishing his culture and vision for the offense? With it being the first year with Tavita Pritchard as the head coach at Stanford, it’s really important that Pritchard gets his culture established during this spring period. It’ll be interesting to see how that culture takes shape. On the field, it’ll be of note to see what kind of offense Pritchard looks to run and how that side develops as well.

#2. How does the quarterback room take shape? Stanford is going to have a different looking quarterback room this spring with Davis Warren, Mike Mitchell Jr., Charlie Mirer, and Dylan Rizk. Warren and Mitchell are presumably the two guys that will be competing for the starting job with Warren as the favorite. While it’ll be most interesting to see who of those two emerges as the starter, the entire room will be worth paying attention to. Rizk being a rising redshirt junior is a guy who hopefully will have improved enough to at least make a bit of a push for the starting job or at least compete for the backup spot while Mirer looks to bring a calming, veteran presence with some mobility.

#3. How do the early enrollees do? Stanford has the following early enrollees and by early enrollees, I mean freshmen that have enrolled early to practice this spring: Athlete Dre Pollard, defensive back Zaiden McDonald, inside linebacker Wassie Lugolobi, outside linebacker Keysaun Eleazer, quarterback Mike Mitchell Jr., wide receiver Langdon Horace, and wide receiver Zion Robinson. I look forward to seeing how all of those guys do this spring and what kind of impact they appear to be ready to make in their first season on The Farm.

#4. How does Kris Richard’s defense unfold? On the defensive side, I look forward to seeing how that side of things takes shape under the coaching of new defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Kris Richard. Similar to Pritchard, Richard is going to have to establish the culture and identity of his defense as well as the scheme. How both of those things come together will be something to watch.

#5. How do the Yale wide receivers look? Two guys I’m excited to see are former Yale wide receivers David Pantelis and Nico Brown. Pantelis was on the team last season but was out the whole year due to injury. And then Brown just transferred in and is listed on the spring roster. Both guys have the potential to make a serious impact on the wide receiver room this year. It’ll be exciting to see how this duo looks in the spring and get a glimpse of what they’re going to bring come the fall.

Note: Cardinal Sports Report has you covered for all the latest news on Stanford as they begin the Tavita Pritchard era.

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