Stanford Football: Davis Mills’ status for Colorado game remains unknown,
Starting QB sidelined due to protocols
“We’re very pleased with these two guys and if Davis does not come back, I would anticipate seeing both of them perform again.”
— David Shaw, Stanford head football coach, on backup quarterbacks Jack West and Tanner McKee.
The availability of four Stanford players, including quarter back Davis Mills, is still uncertain due to coronavirus protocols heading into the game against Colorado on Saturday.
Mills, starting receiver Connor We ding ton and defensive end Trey LaBounty missed the season- opening 35-14 loss at Oregon last Saturday due to COVID-19 testing results and contact tracing protocols.
Shaw indicated on Tuesday that a four th player has since been affected and that a combination of Santa Clara County health officials, campus administrators and the Pac-12 conference will determine their availability.
“We still have four COV ID - related situations that we’re waiting to be resolved,” coach David Shaw said Tuesday afternoon. “We’ll see how that gets resolved, whether or not those young people will remain isolated or be able to work back. So it’s not in our hands, but we’ll work with whatever comes our way there.”
Two of the six Pac-12 games scheduled for this past Saturday were postponed due to positive coronavirus tests at Cal and Utah, but Shaw did not express concern that the game against the Buffaloes was at risk.
We ding ton tweeted before the Oregon game that he tested negative but was out due to contact tracing.
Shaw said there was no timeline for when a decision would be made about the four players’ availability
This is professionals doing their jobs in order to keep our communities safe,” Shaw said. “I don’t want to get into the inner workings. There’s a lot of communication from the medical professionals and the county. We’ll just wait for them to let us know what’s going on, and the rest of us will prepare for Saturday.”
Junior Jack West made his second career start at Oregon. He completed 13 of 19 passes for 154 yards, with no turnovers and no sacks, a marked improvement from his start in 2019.
The season opener also saw the debut of highlytouted Class of 2018 signee Tanner McKee, who returned from a two-year LDS mission in Brazil this spring. McKee was 3- of-7 passing for 62 yards.
Shaw said that both quarterbacks made the right reads but mainly missed on timing routes, as could be expected after such an erratic offseason.
“We’re very pleased with these two guys and if Davis does not come back, I would anticipate seeing both of them perform again,” Shaw said.
The conventional injury news was mixed for the Cardinal, especially on defense, which will be going up against a Colorado team that beat UCLA 48- 42 in its opener.
Shaw said he hopes to have top corner Kyu Blu Kelly back on Saturday, but inside linebackers Ricky Miezon and Levani Damuni may not play. Miezon started against Oregon and Damuni had both an interception and a fumble recovery against the Ducks, accounting for the only two turnovers in the game.