Weekly Six Pac: Cardinal Rule

1 . One of the biggest surprises of this year’s Pac-12 football recruiting cycle has been Stanford’s departure from the selective, deliberate approach from the Harbaugh and Shaw eras. Troy Taylor was a stylistic break from his predecessors in his on-field tactics and is proving to be similarly unique on the recruiting trail. Stanford has offered far more scholarships than they have in the past, take a bigger early group of commitments, and reportedly engaged in NIL usage for high school players like never before. Go Mighty Card takes an in-depth look at the changes to Stanford’s recruiting approach and what it could portend going forward.

2. CBS Sports ranked all NCAA football coaches and Coug Center pulled out the Pac-12 coaches to see where they fall. Kalen DeBoer came in fourth and it would be hard to place him much higher given his lack of P5 HC experience. Jedd Fisch came in at #10, which is the lowest ranking for an incumbent. Given the quick improvement at Arizona and early recruiting wins, I would expect Fisch to move upwards.

3. Stanford’s Tommy Troy was the first Pac-12 player off the board in this week’s MLB draft. Troy is an infielder who grew up in the Phoenix area and will go home to the Diamondbacks organization. He went 12th overall and due to his experience and polish, he could move quickly through the minor league system. Arizona OF Chase Davis also went in the first round to St. Louis at #21.

4. Allisen Corpuz became the first American woman in six years to win the US Women’s Open. The former USC Trojan is only 25 years and and turned pro just three years ago. It is the first major championship for the Hawaiian, who no doubt was more familiar with Pebble Beach due to her time in Southern California.

5. I have enjoyed House of Sparky’s countdown of the greatest Sun Devil football players in program history. The #4 entry was educational, as well. The site listed Mike Haynes, a DB in the ‘70s who was before my time but who has some incredible career accomplishments. Haynes won two Super Bowls and is in the Pro and College Football Hall of Fame, among many other achievements.

6. Write for California has started its 2023 opponent preview series. The Bears will open up against Auburn and then face the mighty Idaho Vandals. Idaho is not an ordinary FCS team since they only dropped down from FBS recently. They also showcased an excellent offense last year that could keep up if Cal’s offense doesn’t show the promised improvement.