With a new coaching staff and roster changes creating new opportunities, these three Stanford football players will look to prove they have what it takes to make a name for themselves on The Farm
For Stanford football, this fall is crucial. The program hasn't made a bowl game since 2018's Sun Bowl, and Stanford has fallen well behind other programs since the introduction of NIL. The Cardinal hired a new head coach in Tavita Pritchard and a GM in Andrew Luck, and the hope is that those additions have pointed the program in the right direction.
WR Caden High
Spending a season at South Carolina State — an FCS program — prior to transferring to Stanford, High totaled 62 catches for 908 yards and seven touchdowns in his lone season with the Bulldogs, establishing himself as the program’s top receiver.
Entering his second season with the Cardinal, High is the type of player a rebuilding program can build around. Under the new regime, he will need to prove he deserves a big role as nobody will be handed playing time.
Showing promise in his first year with the program, catching 37 passes for 414 yards and a touchdown, High enters this year with a slight advantage to earn a starting role given his experience on The Farm. He brings the type of speed and athleticism that can spark an offense, and he'll have an opportunity to put those traits on display following the departure of CJ Williams in the NFL Draft.
With a year of experience in the ACC, an impressive FCS resume and now some playing time open for him to take hold of, High's breakout may be upon us.
TE Benji Blackburn
Benji Blackburn is entering his junior campaign and has played at Stanford for his entire career. He's another player that will see more opportunity headed his way with Sam Roush now in the NFL.
Blackburn is the expected starting tight end for Stanford in 2026, and will be looked at to be a leader on this roster. Despite having a small sample size– totaling only 11 catches for 127 yards and a touchdown across two seasons– as a veteran of the Cardinal community he will be vital for the new guys still getting adjusted.
The only questions heading into the fall will be whether what he showed in a small sample size can be extrapolated at that level over a larger workload.
While a good pass catcher, Blackburn is also an elite blocker, which will open up the offense even more. Standing at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Blackburn brings a lot of size to the mix which will be useful in the ACC, with the conference known for its size and physicality.
EDGE Omar Staples
Redshirting as a true freshman in 2023 before having a very small role in 2024, Staples became more of a fixture last season, but was still used as a rotational player. He finished with 20 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in 12 games. That forced fumble came in the 128th Big Game and was returned for a touchdown by Jay Green.
But now the former three-star recruit will have an opportunity to lead the defense. The lack of sacks has been an issue for Stanford, and thus far in his college career, Staples is a work in progress when it comes to his pass rushing, holding an average grade of 62.5 on PFF+ last season.
His tackling has been a strong suit, rating at a 69.2 overall on average. Most of his games included performances well above 70, but one bad showing against Pitt last year dropped him slightly. Meanwhile his pass rush grade was lifted up by his performance against Hawaii (76.5), while most of his games sat in the 50s.
Athletic and quick for his 6-foot-3, 270 pound frame, Staples is not an easy guy for opponents to go up against, and with the right coaching — which Stanford believes they have now — he could become a real nuisance for opposing teams.
Now with a clear path for a starting job, and a coaching staff that believes he can develop in the pass rush, this fall will be his chance to show what he's fully capable of.