Stanford’s McKee will test his growth against stingy Washington secondary
First-year starting quarterback Tanner McKee has been a consistent bright spot in Stanford’s up-anddown season. But the sophomore might be facing his toughest challenge yet Saturday night against Washington at Stanford Stadium (7:30 p.m., FS1).
The Huskies (3-4, 2-2) lead the Pac-12 in pass efficiency defense, allowing only 140 passing yards a game and four total touchdown passes under secondyear coach Jimmy Lake, a former strong safety whose background is in coaching the secondary. Washington has held three opponents to less than 100 yards passing, including Arizona last week.
McKee has thrown for 14 TDs, the second-most in the Pac-12, and is completing 64.7 percent of his passes for 1,722 yards. He also has just three INTs, making him one of 15 quarterbacks in the country with at least 14 TDs and three or fewer picks.
McKee has made six starts since claiming the job after the first game of the season.
‘He has gotten better every single week,” coach David Shaw said. “His anticipation, his recognition, his accuracy, his adjustments from week to week. … Put the film on now and he doesn’t look like a guy who’s in the first half of his first year starting. He looks like a veteran. Dare I say he looks like one of the best, if not the best, quarterback in our conference. From time to time he can reach those heights.”
Shaw said the biggest improvement recently has been McKee’s ability to go through his progressions quickly and get the ball out of his hands, even if it means checking down to avoid a negative play.
“Guys like Tanner, they just need more suns coming up and more suns going down,” Shaw said. “Every practice, every game, just the accumulation of experience will continue to help him.”
McKee has been doing this despite a running game that is last in the Pac12 at 94.3 yards a game (Washington is next to last at 107.7) and a wide receiver room that has been ravaged by injury. Three of the Cardinal’s top four receivers heading into the season have missed multiple games due to undisclosed injuries. Top wideout Michael Wilson may finally make his first appearance Saturday, while Brycen Tremayne needed surgery earlier this month and John Humphreys is questionable against the Huskies.
If Humphreys can’t play, then Elijah Higgins (33 catches for 410 yards) will be the only active receiver with more than five receptions. But the passing game has benefited from the emergence of tight end Benjamin Yurosek, who has 11 receptions for 217 yards and a touchdown in the last two games.
The upcoming schedule may also help Stanford translate McKee’s improvement into wins. After a tough opening stretch that featured four ranked opponents and five games away from home, Stanford comes out of its open week with what looks like a more manageable road ahead— four straight unranked opponents and four of its last five games at Stanford Stadium.
“I want to say we’re a better team than 3-4, but 3-4 is how we played,” Shaw said. “I think every coach and player on our team thinks we’re better than our record, but that doesn’t matter. We have to play better in order to win games. The difference between the top and the bottom of every conference right now is a lot closer than it’s been in college football in a long time. That puts more emphasis on every little play.”