Stanford loses Tennessee running back transfer Justin Williams-Thomas to Cal
In what was a surprising move made on Sunday evening, Stanford lost the commitment from Tennessee running back transfer Justin Williams-Thomas. To make matters worse, the Cardinal will be facing off against Williams-Thomas for the foreseeable future as he flipped his commitment to Cal.
The move comes as a major surprise considering Cal returns lead rusher and freshman superstar Jaydn Ott, and the fact they have already added another running back transfer in Oregon's Byron Cardwell. From the outside looking in, it appeared that Williams-Thomas would have a much more immediate and clearer path to the field at Stanford, and would likely be the lead back the following season.
The loss of Williams-Thomas leaves Stanford with E.J. Smith, Casey Filkins, Mitch Leigber (converted safety), and three-star freshman Sedrick Irvin Jr. as players who will likely see snaps at running back. The Cardinal also hold a commitment from four-star running back LJ Martin who has yet to officially sign.
Losing Williams-Thomas hurts the room's depth a tad, but realistically he was not going to start over Smith. This may seem like a huge loss considering he was the first undergraduate transfer, but Troy Taylor has much bigger roster holes to worry about than at reserve running back.
