Tristan Sinclair and Stanford football seem to be synonymous. The 6-foot 1-inch, 221-pound linebacker is entering his sixth and last year, and his teammates have been giving him nicknames that highlight his age.

“Unc is a big one,” Sinclair said smiling. “[Connor] McLaughlin calls me grandpa. He’s a fifth-year so he’s an old guy too, [but] he’s always giving me crap for that. They got all types of stuff they call me.”

But beyond his seniority, Sinclair provides the physical presence that Stanford needs in its linebacking room. The California native was second on the Stanford defense in 2023 with 71 tackles, including five tackles for loss. In an often porous defense, Sinclair was a rare bright spot, cleaning up behind an inexperienced defensive line. Nowhere was this more evident than last year’s Big Game. Sinclair was wrecking California’s offensive plans until a targeting call, which was eventually overturned, saw him ejected in the second half. 

This season, Sinclair will feature in a much more experienced defense, as head coach Troy Taylor and defensive coordinator Bobby April enter their second years with the program. With most of the defense now having a season with April’s system under their belt, the Cardinal hope to produce a much stronger result on that side of the ball. 

“Everything works together. The whole ‘one unit’ thing is so true,” Sinclair said. “Our corners are solid and our safeties are solid. I’m super excited about the secondary. Those guys are gonna fly around and make plays. The outside linebackers [are] bringing the pash rush, and that’s something we’ve got a lot better at.”

The defense will also be aided by the Cardinal’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), where they won’t have to face the same caliber of high powered offenses like they did in the Pac-12. Last year, Stanford faced five of the top ten passing offenses in the country. This year, none of those five teams are on their schedule, and only one team from last year’s top ten will face the Cardinal — the TCU Horned Frogs on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

“They have a great offense and a great offensive scheme,” Sinclair said. “They like to distribute the ball out on the perimeter and the run game was pretty solid last year. A lot of those guys are gone though. The whole offensive line is gone and the running back that jumped out on tape to me is gone.”

“But they do have their star receiver [Savion Williams] back.”

Sinclair expressed the desire to “be let off the chain,” as team practices often protect the quarterbacks and running backs to a greater extent than what they experience in a real game. Certainly the TCU game will give the sixth-year linebacker ample opportunities for hits, as the Horned Frogs like to put their playmakers in space.

But Sinclair is playing for something beyond his individual stats. The son of former Stanford offensive lineman Andy Sinclair ’88 wants bring the program back to its glory days in the 2010s, when the Cardinal rattled off ten straight seasons with at least eight wins.

“I think that the culture here was winning, when coach [Jim] Harbaugh came in and turned it around and coach [David] Shaw took over,” Sinclair said. “When the culture is strong in a place, and the coaches are fostering it, it is easy to have continued success in a place. I think we’ve gotten off track, [but] last year we laid the foundation for building a better culture and getting back to winning.”

“This year is our year to prove it now.”

For Stanford, Friday represents the start of the second season of a rebuilding era for the program. For Sinclair, Friday is his last first day — and the beginning of what he hopes will be his best season yet.