Tailback Love likely to miss opener Friday
Bryce Love, whose dazzling speed makes him a dangerous backup to tailback Christian McCaffrey, is unlikely to play in Stanford’s opener against Kansas State on Friday night because of an undisclosed injury, head coach David Shaw said Monday.
“He hasn’t made the progress we’re looking for,” Shaw said. “It’s unlikely that he’s going to play unless there’s a drastic change in the next couple of days.”
Love had just 29 carries last year as a freshman but averaged 7.8 yards per attempt. He also caught 15 passes for 250 yards, including a 93-yard play against Central Florida. He had a 47-yard touchdown run against Colorado and a 48-yard TD run against Cal.
If he’s out of action, redshirt freshman Cameron Scarlett will receive more playing time. At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, the brother of former Cal and Stanford defensive lineman Brennan Scarlett is quite a bit bigger than Love, who’s 5-10, 187 pounds.
“He’s physically gifted,” McCaffrey said of
Scarlett. “Mentally, as far as being in the right place, he’s progressed. He’s willing to pass-protect, run the ball up the middle, take some outside sweeps, catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s learned from the running backs that have come before us and been able to mimic a lot of the stuff that we do.”
Another key offensive player, tight end Dalton Schultz, who has missed a lot of practice lately, also with an undisclosed injury, should be ready by game time, Shaw said.
In other developments, the new depth chart revealed that redshirt sophomore A.T. Hall will start at right tackle, replacing CaMeeks sey Tucker, who moves to left tackle. Hall’s emergence meant that David Bright can play left guard instead of being needed at tackle. Johnny Caspers, a fifth-year senior, returns at right guard, and Jesse Burkett is the new starting center. Guard Brandon Fanaika probably will be the first extra lineman in jumbo packages.
Offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren has touted freshmen Nate Herbig and Devery Hamilton as being among the top nine linemen, but neither appeared on the first depth chart, leading to speculation that they might be redshirted.
Quarterback Ryan Burns is one of several players who will make his first start. Bobby Okereke, for instance, moves in at inside linebacker alongside Kevin Palma. Okereke, a redshirt sophomore, “had the best camp of any of our inside linebackers,” Shaw said.
He said he also expects to play Sean Barton, Noor Davis and Mustafa Branch in a rotation at inside backer Friday night.
Dylan Jackson, a 6-6, 261-pound redshirt freshman, will make his debut at defensive end. “He has matured so much,” Shaw said. “He walked in with great length and a great physical nature. He has learned a lot, mainly how to use his hands. He plays with high effort and energy.”
Cornerbacks Quenton and Alijah Holder and safeties Dallas Lloyd and Justin Reid will start in a secondary that looks like a very strong group. Reid, a sophomore and the brother of 49ers safety Eric Reid, received a lot of action late last season.
“He doesn’t practice like a young player,” Shaw said. “He practices like an aged veteran.”
The punting competition between senior Alex Robinson and sophomore Jake Bailey will continue into the opener, Shaw indicated. Special-teams coach Pete Alamar said, “Jake has more distance, but his direction isn’t quite as good as Alex.”