STANFORD, Calif. — Spring practice for the Stanford Cardinal is already halfway through, with seven of the team’s 15 scheduled practices completed. With attention to detail serving as the primary focus on both sides of the ball, the growth of the team from week one to week two is evident.
The second week of spring ball means the second week with Nate Byham as the Andrew Luck Director of Offense, a change in title while retaining his position as tight ends coach. After leading the successful growth of tight ends on The Farm like Sam Roush, Byham takes on a larger role under interim coach Frank Reich, serving as the offensive play-caller.
This is not the first time in Byham’s career that he has been in this position. In 2022 at the University of Albany, Byham was the co-offensive coordinator and helped lead the growth of Great Dane quarterback Reese Poffenbarger to freshman All-America status.
It’s a unique position to be in, with most of the coaching staff returning but a new head coach for 2025 in place. It’s taken a lot of consideration from the coaching staff to figure out what should remain in place and what should change, and as spring ball begins, that’s coming to a front.
“This is a merging point. A lot of things are staying the same, but a good chunk of things are going to be different,” Byham explained. “The key is making things coachable to the players and not just wiping things out and changing it.”
“We’re starting with what was here because that’s what makes sense,” continued Reich, building off of what Byham stated. “As coaches, we are working together to figure out what the players do best. Let’s put our minds together on the best of what they’ve done. The key for us is: don’t overwhelm the players. Find the small pockets where we can make a significant difference.”
The journey of spring football from the first week to the final week is a long one, but an important one, especially in a transitory year like 2025 for the Cardinal. In Byham’s first year calling plays on The Farm, he has a clear vision of what he wants to see during spring practices.
“I want to make sure we are establishing the run with multiple variations and schemes,” said Byham. “I want to make sure the offense is comfortable with that. When it comes to the passing game, I want us to be able to run a handful of concepts that will be our bread and butter, but we can run them out of many different formations.”
“If we can get to that by the end of spring ball, we’re going in the right direction.”
Through two weeks, the signs are clear this team has potential on the offensive side of the ball. Chunk plays have been a staple on offense. During Monday’s practice, the Cardinal ripped off three or four consecutive 40+ yard touchdowns on the offensive side, including some lengthy rushing scores.
myles² pic.twitter.com/f7K8elMklf
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 8, 2025
So much of what Stanford will rely on in 2025 is the veteran leadership on the defensive side of the ball. Few positions on Stanford’s team this year will have more experience than the secondary, with four fourth or fifth-year seniors returning. On a growing team and a growing unit, these guys will be tasked with leading this team through a transitory year.
One of those leaders is Jay Green, who transferred to The Farm last year after spending the previous two years with Washington and making a run at a national championship. Green was a starter in Stanford’s secondary last year until he tore his ACL at Clemson, but made an immediate impact on the defense. In just four starts, the Cardinal defense had allowed just 76.3 rushing yards per game, which was the eighth lowest in the country at the time.
Now that he has been at Stanford for over a year, he feels more confident in his leadership position. Part of that is due to the conversations he’s had with some of the newer coaches and football staff, including general manager Andrew Luck.
“It’s a different insight and mentality. Something I struggled with last year was to find ways to improve my game every week,” confessed Green. “This year with some of the new faces on staff, including guys like Andrew Luck, I talk with them a lot about the leadership mentality and growing as a person outside of football.”
There was no greater time for that mentality to come into play than over the last few weeks when the program underwent a head coaching change just weeks before spring practice began. Green commended the team for staying together and said there was never a period of doubt about how strong the team’s culture is.
“The brotherhood is such a great camaraderie here,” Green said. “Even though we’ve had some turnover, it didn’t take a dent in the locker room. All of the guys came together and I think that’s really important.”
Another leader in the secondary is cornerback Collin Wright, who led the team in interceptions with three. He’s started 23 of the last 24 games as the team’s top corner, and his presence will help the defense achieve its ultimate goal: creating turnovers.
Even as full pads were brought out this week for the first time, the energy the defense has played with did not change. They are flying all over the field and making life difficult for the offense.
“Our goal every day is to get three takeaways and we’ve done that consistently since the first practice,” Wright said. He’s right too – the defense has had hit that benchmark in every practice through two weeks. “We’re all bought into the system we have on defense and we just want to keep trending the right way.”
Zach snatched it 😤 pic.twitter.com/vXcefIokow
— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 13, 2025
Much like Scotty Edwards mentioned last week, his footwork is also top of mind during spring ball. Wright studies a lot of film over the course of the year, and this is the perfect time for him to refine the areas he might not be the strongest in.
“As a defensive back, it’s always something you can improve on,” said Wright about his footwork. “I go over a lot of my film from last year and there were a couple of times where if I had a little better feet and technique, I could make a play to help the team win. So I’m cleaning up those small details.”