The offseason was always going to be a whirlwind of activity for the Stanford football program, but it’s been amplified since the resignation of David Shaw less than two weeks ago.
An eventful 24 hours Thursday saw Stanford lose starting quarterback Tanner McKee to the NFL and a four-star commit to Utah, while gaining another QB prospect and having former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett announce he was no longer interested in being the team’s coach.
Two-year starter Tanner McKee announced he would declare for the NFL Draft Thursday, meaning whoever replaces Shaw will not have an established quarterback.
McKee set a freshman record by accounting for 19 touchdowns in 2021, and was one of three Stanford freshmen to throw for 2,000 yards. But he didn’t make a leap forward this season – a situation that wasn’t helped by Stanford losing all scholarship running backs and leading receiver Michael Wilson to injuries during the year — and he was overshadowed by the star transfer quarterbacks who came to the Pac-12. In 12 games, McKee finished 10th in the conference in pass efficiency and threw for 13 TDs and eight interceptions.
Still, his departure leaves just two scholarship quarterbacks, sophomore Ari Patu and freshman Ashton Daniels. Patu started one game against Oregon State last season when McKee was injured, while Daniels saw action as a wildcat quarterback this season.
The quarterback room gained a player when Myles Jackson of Millikan High in Long Beach reclassified from the Class of 2024 to the Class of 2023 and announced his commitment to Stanford Thursday, despite not knowing who his coach would be. Jackson, who is graduating a year early and reportedly will enroll at Stanford in June, is listed as the 28th-best QB nationally and the 39th-best prospect in California by 247Sports.
The addition of Jackson came just after Utah native and four-star edge rusher Hunter Clegg announced he was switching his commitment from Stanford to Utah. Jackson was the second four-star prospect to de-commit from Stanford after Shaw resigned.
Jackson will be joined by linebacker Levani Damuni, Stanford’s leading tackler last season, who already announced his transfer to Utah. Damuni is one of 15 Stanford players who entered the transfer portal since it opened this week.
The new coach responsible for replacing McKee, Damuni and other starters won’t be Garrett, though. He was reportedly a finalist to replace Shaw and had been spotted on the Stanford campus Thursday. But Thursday night he posted on Twitter: “Thanks so much to AD Bernard Muir and everyone at Stanford! While I enjoyed exploring a great opportunity at such a special place, I’m so excited to continue my work at NBC on Football Night in America and with Notre Dame Football!”
With Garrett out of the mix, Sacramento State coach Troy Taylor is the only finalist who has been publicly identified.
The former Cal quarterback is completing his third full season at Sacramento State. His Hornets are undefeated, ranked No. 2 in the country at the FCS level and will play in an FCS quarterfinal game on Friday night.
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