Tavita Pritchard is Setting the Tone, and Stanford Spring Practice Feels Different

It's time to start gearing up for Stanford football. As the college basketball season winds down, the focus will soon revert back to football with the 2026 season fast approaching. This month, most Division I programs will conduct their annual spring practices, giving coaching staffs and fans their first opportunity to catch a glimpse of their new teams in action.

For the Stanford Cardinal, this year's spring practice brings an entirely different feel. being led by first year head coach and former Stanford quarterback, Tavita Pritchard.

Hired in November to revive the Cardinal program and bring them back to being the perennial top-25 team that they once were, all eyes are on Pritchard and company this year. Improving to 4-8 last season after going 3-9 the previous four seasons, Pritchard hopes that he can finish the rebuild and bring glory back to Stanford football.

Taking the field for their first spring practice session on April 1, Pritchard spoke to the media after practice for the first time this season, talking about the current state of affairs surrounding the team. Here are the top takeaways from what Pritchard had to say.

Pritchard is Hard at Work on Laying the Foundation for the Program

Pritchard played at Stanford from 2006-09 and was teammates with current program general manager, Andrew Luck. On the program during the glory days of the 2000s, Pritchard understands the culture that is necessary to make the Cardinal successful.

And with an urgency to win now, Pritchard is wasting no time on laying the bricks for the foundation of the Stanford program, which includes creating a strong practice culture.

"Football is a different sport in that we practice way more than we play games," Pritchard said. "This has to be everything for us in how we practice and how we compete out here. So, it's laying the groundwork for how we practice, how we can compete at the highest level possible in the different tempos...we gotta learn to make this as game-like as possible without it being real football."

Pritchard was hired to be Stanford's head coach after serving three seasons as an NFL assistant for the Washington Commanders.

And after seeing what it's like to be in a competitive NFL environment as a coach, most notably being on the Commanders' staff for the 2024 NFC championship team, Pritchard wants to make sure that the Cardinal reach that same level of competitiveness that it takes for dominance.

Quarterback Room is Still a Work in Progress

Dec 31, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Davis Warren (16) drops back to pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the second quarter during the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

After multiple seasons of inconsistent play at the quarterback position, the Cardinal went all-in on revamping that position group, landing former Michigan starter Davis Warren in the transfer portal and signing high school recruits such as highly touted prospect, Michael Mitchell Jr. But with a lot of change happening this offseason, the new quarterbacks are still working on getting acclimated.

"Early on, with the [quarterbacks], so much of it is the operation," Pritchard said. "How are we getting off the sideline, how are we getting up to the line of scrimmage, how are we breaking the huddle, how are we calling the cadence. So many of our things, for the quarterback room, is just making sure that we're operating efficiently and effectively as the offense gets installed."

Known for his work at developing quarterbacks, helping develop Commanders' quarterback Jayden Daniels into the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, all eyes will be on Stanford's quarterback play this year. And if whomever ends up being Stanford's starter evolves into a star, it will be a very promising sign for the direction of the program moving forward.

The Energy and Overall Vibes Are High

The first step towards success is belief, and from how the first day of spring practice felt, belief could already be hitting the Cardinal locker room. Heading out onto the field for the first practice session, the energy was high and the vibes were positive-- a very welcome sign for a program that underwent extensive changes all offseason long.

"Really good energy," Pritchard said about how the first practice felt. "You get that a little bit, there's a little bit of a first day of school feel because it's the first day of spring ball and it's a new staff and there's some new faces around.

"There's a freshness to it and we want to use that and lean into it and also understand that it's gonna be about how we deal with adversity, it's going to be about how we are not just in practice one, but in practice seven and in practice 15 and when we get to the summer and when we get to training camp.

"So it is more about stacking days and the longevity and the continuity than it is just day one, but it has to start with a really good day one."

Like David Shaw, also a Stanford alum, Pritchard knows exactly what it means to be a Cardinal and what it takes for the academically elite university to be good at football. Brought in to bring that vision back to life, it already looks like Pritchard's culture is rubbing off on the rest of the team.

For more comprehensive Stanford coverage, follow us on X, @StanfordOnSI or head on over to our Facebook page and give it a like!