First off, we'd really be better off not having to see Stanford in short yardage situations.
However, if we do I would have a whole new personnel group when Stanford goes heavy(no wide receivers, extra o-lineman/FBs/TEs, 1 RB) in their short yardage situations. The personnel would be 5 down lineman, 5 linebackers, and 1 safety. I'd put Cage in the middle with Day and Rochell on the strong side, then Tillery and Okwara on the weak side. As for the linebackers Schmidt in the middle, Grace and Jaylon on the strong side, Martini, and Morgan on the weak side. Shumate as the safety.
Stanford in short yardage is so hard to stop as they often put in 6 or even 7 offensive lineman and just go in a 4 point stance and run right at you. They are converting around 85% of their third and fourth downs when it's 1 or 2 yards to go. They will sometimes pass out of this personnel to keep the defense honest. If they split out the tight ends as wide receivers, then no problem: Have Jaylon cover one tight end, and Shumate on the other. I personally think Jaylon and Shumate on the tight ends are a better match up than having the corners on the TEs anyway. Plus having this personnel group may force Stanford to want to throw the ball, which is what we would want and hopefully increase our chances of winning the down.
GO IRISH!
However, if we do I would have a whole new personnel group when Stanford goes heavy(no wide receivers, extra o-lineman/FBs/TEs, 1 RB) in their short yardage situations. The personnel would be 5 down lineman, 5 linebackers, and 1 safety. I'd put Cage in the middle with Day and Rochell on the strong side, then Tillery and Okwara on the weak side. As for the linebackers Schmidt in the middle, Grace and Jaylon on the strong side, Martini, and Morgan on the weak side. Shumate as the safety.
Stanford in short yardage is so hard to stop as they often put in 6 or even 7 offensive lineman and just go in a 4 point stance and run right at you. They are converting around 85% of their third and fourth downs when it's 1 or 2 yards to go. They will sometimes pass out of this personnel to keep the defense honest. If they split out the tight ends as wide receivers, then no problem: Have Jaylon cover one tight end, and Shumate on the other. I personally think Jaylon and Shumate on the tight ends are a better match up than having the corners on the TEs anyway. Plus having this personnel group may force Stanford to want to throw the ball, which is what we would want and hopefully increase our chances of winning the down.
GO IRISH!
