Shaw rips omission of Reid as finalist
It takes a lot to get David Shaw worked up, but safety Justin Reid’s omission from the list of finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award did the trick.
“In bold letters, it’s ridiculous,” the Stanford head football coach said Tuesday. “It’s disrespectful. It’s wrong. Call it East Coast bias. Call it Stanford bias. Whatever you want to call it, it’s ridiculous.
“He’s one of the best players in America — at the very least, one of the best players at his position.”
The Thorpe Award honors the best defensive back in the country. The finalists, announced Monday, were Texas safety DeShon Elliott, Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson.
Jackson leads the nation in interceptions with seven. Elliott is tied for second with six. Fitzpatrick has one. Reid leads the Pac-12 and is tied for fourth in the nation with five. Reid’s 79 tackles dwarf Elliott’s 57, Fitzpatrick’s 44 and Jackson’s 43.
“Quarterbacks are smart to throw the ball away from” Reid, Shaw said, “so he’s not going to get many more interceptions if he doesn’t get the opportunities. But the level of play is awesome. … Minkah Fitzpatrick is phenomenal, a great football player. That being said, Justin belongs in that group.”
If Reid, a junior, enters the NFL draft, Shaw expects him to be a first-round pick, as his brother, Eric, was by the 49ers out of LSU in 2013.
“There’s not much more on a football field that you can do than what Justin’s done this year,” Shaw said. Love update: Bryce Love’s status for Saturday’s regularseason finale against No. 9 Notre Dame is uncertain. The junior tailback remains “dayto-day’’ because of a sprained ankle, Shaw said. “It’s not as bad as it could have been. We’ll know more later in the week.”
Tight end Dalton Schultz and wide receiver Connor Wedington returned from injuries this week, Shaw said, but offensive tackle Walker Little is doubtful for the Irish game.
On a Pac-12 conference call, Love said he expects to play Saturday and that Christian McCaffrey last season provided him an example of how to avoid the Heisman Trophy distractions and focus on “what we’re able to control.” Keeping tabs on Apple Cup: While the No. 20 Cardinal are hosting Notre Dame, they will be keeping track — at least to some degree — on theWashington State-Washington game, which kicks off at the same time (5 p.m.) in Seattle. If the Huskies win, Stanford would take the Pac-12 North and a spot in the Dec. 1 title game against USC.
Shaw admitted his players are suddenly fans of the Huskies, but “we’ve got one of the top teams in the nation coming in. We can’t spend too much time and effort on somebody else’s game.”
The stadium public-address announcer will give updates on the Washington game, he said, “preferably not in the middle of play.” That 57-yard run: Love’s long touchdown run against Cal was one of the best-blocked Stanford plays of the year, Shaw said.
Right guard Nate Herbig , in particular, pulled to the left side and flattened cornerback Elijah Hicks. Fullback Daniel Marx, “ogre” (extra lineman) Nick Wilson, tight end Scooter Harrington and tackle Devery Hamilton also had key blocks on the play. Praise for Mora: Jim Mora’s firing at UCLA points to “how difficult it is to win the conference,” Shaw said. The former NFL head coach didn’t win the Pac-12 title in his six years in Westwood.
“What Jim Mora did at UCLA was outstanding,” he said. “When you look at the competitive nature of that football team before he took it over and after he took it over, there was a significant difference.” Briefly: The players will practice Thanksgiving morning before being treated, along with their families and staff personnel, to a turkey dinner. … The seniors will be introduced before Saturday’s game, a ceremony that Shaw admits makes him emotional. “I’m glad when it’s over so we can start the game,” he said.