Freshman Elijah Brown makes Stanford's quarterback battle the biggest question of spring

When Stanford hired Troy Taylor to be their next head coach, the major draw that the former Sacramento State head coach brought to the table was his offensive prowess.

When he was at Sac State they were known for unique looks, a dominant run game, and a fun passing attack. We saw glimpses of that in his first year in Palo Alto, but ultimately the playbook was limited severely for a multitude of reasons. 

Stanford's offense returned just a couple of starters from the year prior, and neither of them was across the offensive line or at the quarterback position. Stanford had lost their entire line to the portal, and their quarterback room had around 30 career passes between the three candidates.

Ashton Daniels got the nod as the starting quarterback with Justin Lamson also seeing snaps, mostly as the wildcat quarterback. While each had bright moments, with Daniels being the better passer, neither put an outright claim on the job for 2024 by any means. Heading into spring ball, the quarterback battle now has another entrant, which is why 247Sports' Chris Hummer tabbed the starting quarterback as the biggest question about Stanford. With four-star quarterback Elijah Brown in the fold, there's a chance that this battle could go well into fall camp, again.

Ashton Daniels

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Hummer explained that typically it would be Daniels getting the nod again due to his experience, but with the emergence of Brown, the whole dynamic changed:

But Stanford landed four-star QB Elijah Brown in the 2024 class, and he might be uniquely qualified to push for starting time this spring. Brown, the No. 192 overall player in the country, emerged as a true-freshman starter for Golden State powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. He then led the Monarchs to multiple state championships as an unusually polished high school QB.

Brown is exactly the type of passer who could come enroll early and make a splash. We'll see if he’s able to push Daniels this spring as Stanford looks for a spark.

Brown left Mater Dei as a four-year starter, throwing for 115 touchdowns to just 16 picks while amassing 9,200 yards passing. He also departs as one of the most successful high school quarterbacks ever, accumulating a 42-2 record.

Winning the job outright in spring ball would be a huge ask of the freshman, but he can certainly make a statement by staying in the mix when fall rolls around. Taylor has already assured the media on multiple occasions that he expects Brown to compete for the job, which means Daniels and Lamson both need to operate at a much higher level in order to fend him off. Myles Jackson also needs a big first spring ball showing to stay in the picture, as the 2023 early enrollee fell out of contention during his first fall camp last year.

Last season, Daniels threw for 2,247 yards while completing 58% of his passes, and throwing for 11 scores to eight picks. Lamson threw for 504 yards, completing just 43.3% of his passes with no scores and a touchdown. He did however lead the team in rushing yards with 334, with a team-high five scores.