Head coach David Shaw told reporters after practice on Wednesday that fifth-year senior cornerback Ronnie Harris is “really doubtful” to play in the Cardinal’s upcoming matchup against No. 4 Notre Dame.
In Harris’ absence last Saturday, Stanford’s secondary gave up a season-high 397 yards through the air to Cal quarterback Jared Goff and his air raid offense. Sophomore Alijah Holder initially started as the Cardinal’s top cornerback alongside sophomore Alameen Murphy before suffering an injury of his own and leaving the game. Sophomore Terrence Alexander assumed Holder’s duties upon the latter’s exit from the game.
Shaw said that the team is “still holding out hope” on Holder, who ran around for a good chunk of Wednesday’s practice before being held out for the remainder of the session. Shaw will look to better evaluate Holder’s health on Friday and make a decision then.
“He looked good when he was running today, but we cautiously pulled him out,” Shaw said.
Earlier in the week, Shaw announced at his Tuesday press conference that sophomore fullback Daniel Marx will miss the remainder of the season with a lower leg injury suffered in the Cardinal’s 35-22 win over California.
“It’s tough,” Shaw said. “Daniel has had a phenomenal year. This is a guy who is going to play on Sundays. He’s that good — a very versatile football player.”
The loss of the 6-foot-2, 254-pound sophomore means that senior Chris Harrell will start at fullback for the Cardinal for the remainder of the season. When Marx limped off of the field during the Cal game, Harrell, who had previously only seen garbage-time action, filled in for Marx adequately.
“We have a lot of faith in Chris,” Shaw said. “We have a combination of guys we may use at that position. Chris has prepared as a starter.”
Marx’s efforts have been a significant contributor to sophomore running back Christian McCaffrey’s Heisman Trophy campaign, in which he leads the Pac-12 with 1,549 rushing yards and just eclipsed the 2,700-yard mark in all-purpose yardage.
Marx has also been instrumental in setting up Stanford’s goal-line success with Remound Wright in the “ogre” package, in which Marx is one of two fullbacks in the backfield, along with offensive lineman Brandon Fanaika. Wright currently leads the conference with 12 rushing touchdowns, all of which have come in goal-to-go situations.
Shaw insists that the loss of Marx will not have any effect on the way he approaches short-yardage and goal-line situations.
Contact Do-Hyoung Park at dhpark ‘at’ stanford.edu.