David Shaw Press Conference: Holder done for the season, QB Switch, and more

Stanford had a rough game last week against the Colorado Buffaloes. As a result of the Cardinal offense’s inability to put points on the board David Shaw announced in Tuesday’s press conference that Stanford will be making a switch at quarterback. Keller Chryst will be the starting QB against Arizona Saturday night instead of Ryan Burns. Coach Shaw offered plenty of praise for Ryan Burns and reiterated that it would be easy if the offensive woes were just at the QB position but the fact remained that the offense is not getting it done.

Alijah Holder had initially been injured back in September against UCLA. After several missed games he was finally able to return to action against Colorado. Unfortunately that return was cut short as Holder suffered another injury and this time he is done for the season. Holder along with Quenton Meeks made a formidable secondary for the Cardinal. Coach Shaw has said he is not sure yet who will take Holder’s place but he did say that several guys have played really well in his absence. Shaw said he would see how the week goes before making a decision on the position.

Offensive lineman David Bright who was out for the Colorado game is questionable for Arizona Saturday night Shaw said they will evaluate him later in the week. Guard Johnny Caspers is also questionable for Arizona. Caspers was banged up during the Colorado game but did return to finish the game. Caspers will also be evaluated later in the week. Shaw is not sure if he will bring in Nate Herbig or some other combination of players, it will depend on how things go in practice this week. Daniel Marx is still injured but “trending upward” as David Shaw put it. Marx has already missed several games and may still need a couple more weeks to heal but Shaw is not considering a medical redshirt for Marx yet.

Christian McCaffrey is healthy and available so Shaw expects that the offense will use plenty of McCaffrey and Bryce Love on offense. Preparing last week was difficult because they were not sure whether McCaffrey would play or not so they were not sure who they were going to use. Hopefully for Stanford this tandem can make things happen to take pressure off of the injured and struggling offensive line as well as the new starting quarterback. Shaw said they need to get first downs and sustain drives in order to get receivers like Michael Rector and the tight ends more touchdowns. Love and McCaffrey frequently touch the ball on first down so getting this tandem going can really help sustain drives and spread the ball around.

You can watch the full press conference below:

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