Head football coach David Shaw and star quarterback Andrew Luck both spoke on Tuesday in Los Angeles as Stanford’s delegation to the Pac-12 Media Day. Each team in the conference sent a head coach and one player to the event.
While most teams had to address questions about roster building or potential NCAA rules violations, most of the Stanford discussion centered on the transition from former head coach Jim Harbaugh to Shaw. Luck, who had worked closely with Harbaugh to develop as a quarterback, expanded on the strong relationship with his new head coach.
“Shaw’s been huge [in my career]; he recruited me here,” Luck said. “My redshirt year, when I wasn’t playing, it always seemed like it would be coach Shaw that would take me aside every now and then during practice and say, ‘Remember, you’re preparing yourself to play, don’t just take the scout team reps like they’re nothing.’… He was instrumental in teaching me the West Coast system and everything with this offense.”
Despite Shaw’s experience as a Cardinal player and coach, many fear that he lacks the fiery personality that worked so well for Harbaugh. Shaw agreed with this evaluation while stressing the similarities between himself and his predecessor.
“My job is to maintain the competitive spirit,” he said. “That’s one of the main things that Harbaugh and I have in common. We’re going to compete; we’re going to fight. [Harbaugh and I] have different personalities, but at the same time—and you can ask the guys—when somebody crosses a line, I’ll be nose to nose with them. I might not be yelling at them, but there’s a standard that we need to play up to, and it’s my job to make sure we do that.”
Shaw also explained that he planned to use that standard to determine personnel and schemes for the season to come, especially among the generally inexperienced wide receivers.
“The best thing we’ve got hanging over our heads is that we’ve got a very talented tight-end group,” he said. “If the receivers don’t step up, we’ll throw the ball to the tight ends. We don’t care, it’s all about competition.”
There’s another change in the works that Stanford fans probably hadn’t been anticipating, and it’s taking place on Luck’s face, which has sprouted a beard in recent weeks. While the facial hair added some humor to Media Day, it might not be permanent.
“I honestly haven’t thought past tomorrow about what to do with it,” Luck said. “I’ve never had a beard—I’m hesitant to call it a beard, I don’t think it’s quite there yet—but I don’t know. I’ve never done it before, so why not try? We’ll see if it lasts. When I get annoyed of it, I’ll shave it.”
“I just hope his helmet fits,” Shaw added.
-Joseph Beyda