April 3, 2007
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2007 STANFORD FOOTBALL
Spring Practice Begins April 4
Harbaugh Era Begins With 15 Spring Practices
First-year head coach Jim Harbaugh will get his first look at the 2007 Cardinal on the practice field as Stanford begins Spring Football practice on Wednesday, April 4 ... Harbaugh, named Stanford's head coach on December 19, 2006, will lead the Cardinal through 15 spring practices, culminating in the annual Cardinal-White Game on Saturday, April 28 at 4:00 pm in Stanford Stadium ... Eighty-one Cardinal players will participate in spring practice, including 54 returning letter-winners (25 on offense, 25 on defense and four specialists) and 15 returning starters (seven on offense, eight on defense plus two kickers).
Head Coach Jim Harbaugh
A 15-year NFL veteran and owner of an impressive 29-6 record at the University of San Diego, Jim Harbaugh was named Stanford's head coach shortly after the conclusion of the 2006 season ... Harbaugh spent the last three seasons (2004-06) as the head coach at USD, leading the Toreros to Division I-AA Mid-Major national titles each of the past two campaigns ... He posted an impressive three-year overall record of 29-6 (.829) at San Diego, including 11-1 campaigns each of the past two years that also included a school record 18-game win streak and two Pioneer Football League championships ... Harbaugh starred at Palo Alto High School as one of the top prep quarterbacks in the nation, then enjoyed a storied career at the University of Michigan (1983-86), leading the Wolverines to three bowl games while being named Big Ten Player of the Year ... As a professional, Harbaugh finished his career among the top-50 all-time in several passing categories and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1995 ... He played for five teams over 15 seasons (1987-2001) as a quarterback in the National Football League after entering the NFL as a first round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1987 ... After seven seasons in Chicago (1987-93), Harbaugh played for the Indianapolis Colts for four years (1994-97), one year with the Baltimore Ravens (1998), two seasons with the San Diego Chargers (1999-2000) and his final season with the Carolina Panthers (2001) ... In his brief coaching career, Harbaugh has been a part of one Super Bowl team (Oakland Raiders, 2002) and guided his USD teams to two national championships.
Returning Starters
Stanford returns 15 starters off last year's team, seven on offense and eight on defense, plus both kickers ... On offense, the Cardinal returns linemen Allen Smith and Alex Fletcher, running backs Anthony Kimble and Emeka Nnoli, tight end Jim Dray and receivers Evan Moore and Austin Yancy on one side, and Richard Sherman and Kelton Lynn on the other side ... Defensive starters back from last year's team include linemen Chris Horn, Ekom Udofia and Pannel Egboh, linebackers Udeme Udofia, Clinton Snyder and Pat Maynor and cornerbacks Tim Sims and Wopamo Osaisai ... In addition, both PK Aaron Zagory and punter Jay Ottovegio return in 2007.
Who Else Is Back
When the 2006 season concluded, there was no certainty that three key players for Stanford would return for the 2007 season ... Good news for the Cardinal is that all three are back ... Receivers Evan Moore and Mark Bradford, who began the '06 campaign in the starting lineup, and center Tim Mattran, will all be on the practice field on April 4 ... Mattran received a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA after missing all of the 2006 season due to injury; Bradford received another year of eligibility after missing most of the '06 campaign due to injury and Moore, who had another year of eligibility, decided to return to the Farm for the 2007 season ... "With Moore and Bradford and Richard Sherman, I think we have the potential to be the best receiving corps in the Pac-10," says Harbaugh.
Position Changes
Several players will begin the spring practice campaign at different positions ... Sophomore Austin Yancy, who started six games at wide receiver last year and caught 16 passes, will work out at both receiver and free safety during the spring ... Sophomore Eric Lorig, who lettered last season at tight end, has been moved to defensive end ... Two-year letter-winner Gustav Rydstedt, who has played nose tackle and defensive end the past two seasons, has been moved to offensive guard ... Chris Hobbs, a cornerback the past two seasons, will play both corner and wide receiver in the spring ... Ben Ladner has been moved from fullback to tight end, Sam Weinberger from linebacker to fullback and James McGillicuddy, a defensive end last year, will work out at both offensive and defensive line in the spring.
Coaching Staff
Among the nine assistant coaches on Harbaugh's staff are a mix of former NFL players and coaches, former Stanford players, three coaches who were on Harbaugh's staff at USD and a defensive coordinator who guided one of the top defensive units in college football in 2006 ... Harbaugh's staff is young - average age 34.2 years old - and come to Stanford from all parts of the country ... Two members of the Cardinal staff are former Stanford players, offensive line coach Chris Dalman (1988-92) and offensive coordinator David Shaw (1991-94) ... Dalman played seven years in the NFL while Shaw's resume includes nine seasons coaching in the NFL ... Defensive backs coach Clayton White played in the NFL; Lance Anderson, Tim Drevno and Shaw were on Harbaugh's staff at USD last season while Scott Shafer was running a defense at Western Michigan that ranked 11th in the country.
Spring Notes
Running back Toby Gerhart, Stanford's second leading rusher in 2006 as a true freshman, will not participate in spring practice after suffering a fractured bone in his right forearm while playing for the Cardinal baseball team ... Gerhart, one of Stanford's top baseball players, suffered the injury Feb. 17 in a game at Texas ... He is expected to return to the baseball team this season ... Wopamo Osaisai and Richard Sherman are competing on the Cardinal track team this spring ... Osaisai has competed in the 100m while Sherman has competed in both indoors (long jump, triple jump) and outdoors (100m, 110 HH, triple jump)
2007 Spring Practice Schedule
Wednesday, April 4, 4:00-6:30 pm
Thursday, April 5, 4:00-6:30 pm
Saturday, April 7, 11:00-1:45 pm
Monday, April 9, 4:00-6:30 pm
Wednesday, April 11, 4:00-6:30 pm
Friday, April 13, 4:00-6:30 pm
Sunday, April 15, 3:30-6:30 pm
Tuesday, April 17, 4:00-6:30 pm
Thursday, April 19, 4:00-6:30 pm
Saturday, April 21, 11:00-1:45 pm*
Sunday, April 22, 3:30-5:30 pm
Tuesday, April 24, 4:00-6:30 pm
Thursday, April 26, 4:00-6:15 pm
Friday, April 27, 4:00-6:00 pm
Saturday, April 28, 4:00 pm*+
* at Stanford Stadium
+ Spring Game