Gap Down Backer.

[Soapy]

Stanford quarterback Alex Rowe among four Cardinal to enter the transfer portal
Chris Wallace -- 247Sports Stanford Football Insider

Stanford quarterback Alex Rowe, who led the team to their first ever ACC Championship, has entered the transfer portal, as first confirmed by ESPN.

Rowe, a redshirt sophomore, joins tight end Dorian Droogsma, linebacker Tiquan Quin and cornerback Alexander Layne as Stanford players that have entered the transfer portal amid the post-spring transfer window.

The transfer is a culmination of months and potentially years of uncertainty at the position, dating back to when incumbent starter Josh Ghee entered the portal two seasons ago instead of taking over for Tavien St. Clair as many expected. Stanford then brought in Zach Hoppes, who beat out Rowe in spring and fall camp, and was a starter for a season before transferring as well to Louisiana-Monroe where, similar to Ghee at Michigan, he failed to win the starting job.

The Utah native took over for Hoppes last season and seemed to be in line to be the starter this season before the Cardinal were big players in the transfer portal market, going after top quarterback Henry Delos who ultimately chose Ohio State. Stanford still brought in Wake Forest's Earl Ninehuis, a redshirt sophomore with no snaps at the college level, who initially seemed to be competing for the backup job but as spring progressed, it became clearer that it was an open competition which likely led to Rowe's departure.

With Rowe's transfer, Stanford has four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in Nienhuis and three redshirt freshmen in Tevita Luck, who finished the Ohio State game last year in the playoffs when Rowe went down with an injury, D.J. Sapp and LaMarcus Hook.

2030 Players Leaving » Season Stats
#4 Alex Rowe (QB, Rs Junior): Transfer Portal » 66 Cmp%, 3427 Yds, 23 TD, 10 INT
#82 Dorian Droogsma (TE, Rs Sophomore): Transfer Portal » 15 Rec, 131 Yds
#26 Tiquan Quin (LB, Junior): Transfer Portal » No stats
#31 Alexander Layne (CB, Rs Freshman): Transfer Portal » No stats

[Captain Canada]

Glad you stepped your bars up. Compete.

Rowe learned that Mack ain't loyal to no signal caller and got up outta there

[Soapy]

Glad you stepped your bars up. Compete.

Rowe learned that Mack ain't loyal to no signal caller and got up outta there

the game is the game

[Caesar]

Stanford did Alex Rowe dirty but that's typical for Bubba Mack.

[Soapy]

Stanford did Alex Rowe dirty but that's typical for Bubba Mack.

at least he had the decency to let him go somewhere else instead of wasting away a year due to "personal reasons"

[Soapy]

Projecting season total, roles for Stanford's newcomers following spring practices
Chris Wallace -- 247Sports Stanford Football Insider

Jobs might not be won (sole) in the spring but they are certainly lost as seen by the departure of quarterback Alex Rowe and it's the last opportunity that coaches will have to assess players in pads until fall camp.

It was also the first time that the coaching staff got to see the incoming players, both high school recruits and transfer portal adds, and play with their new toys. Here are some projections and over/under for what would be a successful season for these players.

2031 Stanford Cardinal Transfer Recruiting Class
No. 23 Nationally
D.J. Baas [LT #1]: 6'6", 297lbs | Westerville, OH 4-star (Soph)
2030 Stats Did not play
Projected Role Starter
Comparable Prospect OT Dom Bullocks
O/U Total 10 Sacks Allowed
Analysis The potential has always been there for Baas which is how he ended up at Penn State after transferring in from Marshall but he failed to win the starting job there. He seems to have a strange hold on that left tackle spot, bumping Joe Nunn to right tackle after Nunn started several games last year in place of the injured Neil Pryor.

Stanford brought in Baas to replace Nunn and in his last full season as a starter, Nunn allowed eleven sacks so that's a fair target to set for Baas who, the last time he started, gave up eighteen sacks at Marshall in a season.

Earl Nienhuis [QB #3]: 6'3", 220lbs | Shelby, OH 4-star (Fr)
2030 Stats Did not play
Projected Role Starter
Comparable Prospect QB Alex Rowe
O/U Total 25 Passing TDs
Analysis Nienhuis for all intents and purposes is Stanford's starting quarterback, unofficially set in place by Alex Rowe transferring and even before then, it seemed to be trending towards that direction as the two began splitting reps more and more in non-public portions of practices.

Nienhuis is probably the most talented quarterback that Stanford has had since Tavien St. Clair as he's a better passer than both Zach Hoppes and Rowe and he's more athletic as well than Rowe. The lack of experience is a concern and while Rowe was a first-time starter as well last year, he at least had been in the offense for two seasons as a backup.

Shaquille Duke [FS #5]: 6'2", 187lbs | Largo, FL 3-star (Jr)
2030 Stats 70 Tkl, 4 PBU
Projected Role Starter
Comparable Prospect CB Erik Hook
O/U Total 5 PBU
Analysis The Cardinal lose a lot of talent and leadership on defense and while the focus has been on the loss of linebackers Isaiah Lanovoi and Manu Toomer, safety Jimmie Winston was actually the most experienced player on defense last season.

Duke is experienced in his own right as a starter at three different schools (UNLV, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan) and outside of an injury riddled season with the Eagles which he only played three games and got redshirted, he's registered at least fifty-five tackles in each of his seasons.

We know he'll be a reliable tackler but the playmaking and coverage ability is the concern, an area that Winston excelled at as a cover safety. He's had eight career pass breakups compared to the five that Winston had just last season along so that'll be a mark that he'll need to hit for a successful season.

Eric Levrone [OLB #3]: 6'2", 243lbs | Cartersville, GA 3-star (Soph)
2030 Stats 6 Tkl
Projected Role Rotational Player
Comparable Prospect ILB J.T. Brazell
O/U Total 6 TFL
Analysis One area in the portal that the Cardinal weren't as aggressive at was many expected was linebacker where they went after a few developmental type players, such as Levrone, instead of established players such as Miami's J.T. Brazell, who ended up at Florida, an opponent of the Cardinal this season.

Levrone figures to be in the competition for that starting linebacker spot vacated by Toomer and Lanovoi but Richard Caussin remains the favorite for at least one of those spots and James Gattis and Desmond Spann are also likely candidates for that other.

Last year, as the third linebacker, Caussin had eleven tackles for loss and Spann had two so Levrone, whose a better athlete than both, splits the difference and should aim for six tackles for loss on the year as an impact rotational player.

Athya Shade [DT #16]: 6'4", 319lbs | Miami, FL 3-star (Jr)
2030 Stats 41 Tkl, 9 TFL, 3.5 Sacks
Projected Role Starter
O/U Total 5 Sacks
Analysis Outside of Duke, Shade is the most productive player that Stanford landed in the portal and might have the highest floor.

He'll come right into that starting nose tackle role in the Cardinal's odd front and has enough pass rushing ability to also play one of the defensive tackle spots in even fronts. It's a big jump from playing Conference USA to playing a schedule littered with SEC, Big Ten and Big XII opponents but Shade has NFL potential and if he lives up to them, he could be in line for an All-American type season.

Taylor Bagent [OLB #6]: 6'2", 208lbs | Jackson, TN 3-star (Fr)
2030 Stats Did not play
Projected Role Special Teams
Comparable Prospect OLB Jose Elliss
O/U Total None
Analysis It's hard to see Bagent figuring into the rotation at linebacker. He's just as unproven as the other young players on the roster and doesn't have the benefit of having been in the system like them. He's likely looking at special teams action only, if any, in 2031.

Wayne Hoffmann [RG #18]: 6'1", 295lbs | Lilburn, GA 3-star (Soph)
2030 Stats 13 GP, 0 Sacks Allowed
Projected Role Potential Starter
Comparable Prospect G Glenn Wendt
O/U Total 5 GS
Analysis Hoffman was a fallback option in the portal after whiffing on Notre Dame's Glenn Wendt and Penn State's Jimmy Wells in the portal with Wendt ending up at Clemson and Wells returning to Penn State

Hoffmann is a live competitor in two different positional battles heading into the summer, both at center and the right guard spot. He might have the most experienced compared to the others such as Brenton Rahman and Lawrence Hepburn at center or Shontrelle Madu at guard but he's also the most physically limited of the bunch.

Antwan Weeks [CB #57]: 6'0", 196lbs | Albuquerque, NM 3-star (Fr)
2030 Stats 33 Tkl, TFL, PBU
Projected Role Special Teams
Comparable Prospect CB Jalen Fuller
O/U Total 2 PBU
Analysis Weeks is another fallback option as ideally, Stanford would have landed one of Eric Head, Jalen Fuller or Erik Hook but they landed none of them and brought in Weeks who had some decent production as a redshirt freshman at Cincinnati.

Weeks never managed to crack the rotation during the spring and it's hard to imagine him leapfrogging any of the returning starters in J.T. Kipper (redshirt senior), Chauncey Ankrah (redshirt senior) or Kentrall Marvin (sophomore), who might the best of the bunch.

He'll be in the running with Benjamin Streeter and Juan Becht, two sophomores, for that fourth cornerback spot.

Mike Thomas [ILB #27]: 6'3", 237lbs | Tacoma, WA 3-star (Fr)
2030 Stats 13 Tkl, 3 TFL, 2.5 Sacks
Projected Role Backup
Comparable Prospect S Nathan Crook
O/U Total 10 Tkl
Analysis Do not let projected role fool you as Thomas is an investment into the future and could end up being the best player in the class.

He's a raw talent that is making the switch from inside linebacker to safety and at six-foot-two and 234 pounds, he has the potential to turn into a monster. He won't play much this season, most likely, behind Duke but he could make a few plays here and there that will showcase his potential to be a future starter and even a star.

2031 Stanford Cardinal Recruiting Class
No. 39 Nationally
Malik Marshall [HB #3]: 6'0", 186lbs | Hyattsville, MD | 5-star
Projected Role Rotational Backup
Comparable Prospect HB Ian Orji
O/U Total 850 Rushing Yds
Analysis As a true freshman, Rashawn Crouse had 839 rushing yards and that was behind a 2,000-yard rusher in Trumaine Lasike. Marshall, a different type of running back, could be in line for a similar workload after leaving Notre Dame at the altar and ultimately signing with Stanford.

Carl Shakir [RT #5]: 6'7", 313lbs | Arvada, CO | 4-star
Projected Role Rotational Backup
Comparable Prospect RT Jaylen Little
O/U Total 5 GP
Analysis I fully expect Shakir to play in some games this season as he really impressed in the spring and was firmly in the rotation at right tackle. The big question is whether or not the coaching staff will try to preserve his redshirt but if Shakir is the talent they think he is, he's probably gone after four years max anyway so it might do them much good.

Trevon Winbush [HB #12]: 5'10", 179lbs | West Bloomfield, MI | 4-star
Projected Role Backup
Comparable Prospect HB Scotty Shazier
O/U Total 200 Rushing Yds
Analysis Winbush could be a potential redshirt candidate as he is, at best, fourth in the rotation and potentially fifth behind Fernando Hooey. We haven't seen Stanford use more than three running backs at a time but an exception could be in place for Winbush as they try to stave off the portal with him.

David Okuayinonu [DT #4]: 6'4", 294lbs | San Leandro, CA | 4-star
Projected Role Redshirt
Comparable Prospect DT Paris Moronkola
O/U Total N/A
Analysis Stanford brought in three freshmen defensive tackles last season in Cameron Drake, Tim Bing and Deontae Shorter who are all ahead of Okuayinonu in addition to veterans Shade, Shaquille Pullard and James Mankins so a redshirt is likely in order for Okuayinonu.

Jeffrey Redman [C #3]: 6'1", 286lbs | Michigan City, IN | 4-star
Projected Role Redshirt
Comparable Prospect RG Jamar Dacus
O/U Total N/A
Analysis Redman is a but undersized at 286 pounds and will need a few years of seasoning and strength program to get him ready to play SEC and Big Ten offensive lineman but the future is bright for Redman.

Kevin Macklin [ILB #32]: 6'1", 205lbs | Red Bank, NJ | 3-star
Projected Role Special Teams
Comparable Prospect ILB Najee Berryman
O/U Total 5 Tackles
Analysis The coaching staff is extremely high on Macklin and have spoken about him glowingly, usually a tell tell sign that he's someone that they're going to find a way to get on the field, likely on special teams. Similar to Redman and Okuayinonu, he's probably a year or two away from making a big impact but is a priority for the staff.

Jaron Azumah [ATH #36]: 6'2", 224lbs | Anderson, CA | 3-star
Projected Role Special Teams
Comparable Prospect OLB Ramon Creed
O/U Total 5 GP
Analysis We'll see where Azumah ultimately ends up as he came in as a linebacker and cross trained at safety as well. If he does end up at safety, he's a similar mold to Mike Thomas and could have a role as a box safety option for the Cardinal depending on the offensive matchup.

Joseph Paschal [G #22]: 6'2", 286lbs | Roswell, GA | 3-star
Projected Role Redshirt
O/U Total N/A
Analysis The Bubba Mack Special. A Georgia native with a good physical and athletic profile that you let bake for a few years and see how it turns out.

Trevante Punga [CB #47]: 5'9", 179lbs | Mission Viejo, CA | 3-star
Projected Role Redshirt
O/U Total N/A
Analysis He had a tough spring so a redshirt is in store and likely necessary.

Emanuel Araiza [CB #50]: 5'10", 186lbs | Lubbock, TX | 3-star
Projected Role Backup
O/U Total 5 GP
Analysis The move to safety does open the door for Araize to play as a true freshman in case of injury. They don't have a lot of quick guys in that safety room like Araiza so if one of the top guys such as Angel Bass were to go down, Araize could slide into a role earlier than expected. If not, he could be another candidate for a redshirt.

Shaquille Zimmons [WR #175]: 5'9", 172lbs | Los Angeles, CA | 3-star
Projected Role Redshirt
O/U Total N/A
Analysis We'll see what Zimmons develops into as he fits the profile of what slot receivers have been in this offense.

Colt Mixon [TE #30]: 6'2", 223lbs | Manassas, VA | 3-star
Projected Role Starter
Comparable Prospect TE John Fine
O/U Total 50 Receptions
Analysis The hottest take of them all might be that Mixon, the lowest ranked player in the class, not only ends up being the most productive freshman of this bunch but that he ends up having the better season, and eventually career, than four-star tight end John Fine who chose Auburn over Stanford.

The coaching staff fell in love with Mixon during the recruiting process and made him a priority and the fact that he got first team reps as a true freshman in the spring, coupled with the departure of Dorian Droogsma, the projected starter, are all signs that point to a monster freshman season for Mixon.

Tyrone Hoyt was a similar, low ranked prospect for Kennesaw State that had 66 receptions as a true freshman for Mack and Tyrone Nicks was a no-name redshirt sophomore when Mack got to Stanford and in his first season in this offense, he won the Mackey.

[ShireNiner]

I was hoping Rowe would win the position and have a huge year of redemption. Mack is ruthless.

[djp73]

Going to be interesting seeing how the offense performs this season with all the changes

[Soapy]

I was hoping Rowe would win the position and have a huge year of redemption. Mack is ruthless.

almost 1300 posts in and no championship appearance. need to lock in.

Going to be interesting seeing how the offense performs this season with all the changes

Yes indeed, I have a feeling this offense is going to be similar to our 2nd season where it was spread out, no real star of the team

[Soapy]