The last one out of the Stanford Cardinal football building, please hit the lights.
Christmas Eve morning, we noted that a 14th Stanford Cardinal football player had decided to enter his name into the NCAA transfer database. A little over two weeks later, that number has now increased by one.
According to 247Sports.com, running back Trevor Speights is now listed in the portal. As is the case with most of his departing Cardinal teammates, Speights has entered the database as a graduate.
After rushing for 363 yards and a touchdown on 95 carries in 2017-18, Speights didn’t record a carry in 2019.
With Speights’ impending departure, a whopping 15 Stanford Cardinal football players have entered the portal this season. Included in that group is one-time starting quarterback KJ Costello (HERE), a pair of starting defensive linemen (HERE), an offensive lineman (HERE) and a wide receiver (HERE).
One of those defensive linemen, Michael Williams, explained to 247Sports.com at least a partial reasoning behind the exceptionally-high exodus numbers:Williams, a two-year starter, told 247Sports that this big run of transfer portal entrants was somewhat expected in Palo Alto. In fact, head coach David Shaw encouraged his players to explore their options knowing how hard it can be to get into graduate school. Williams labeled potential entry into some Stanford graduate programs as “nearly impossible.”
He said Shaw left the door open for the team’s fifth-year seniors to return to school if they want.
“He wants to make the best decisions for us,” Williams said. “He wants us to make the best decisions for ourselves. I appreciate him for it. He actually told me: ‘Visit anywhere you want. Do anything you want to do. Just make the best decision for you. If Stanford is the best decision for you then I know you’ll come.’