Wednesday roundtable: Which player made the biggest strides?

As a whole, the Stanford football team looked much improved against No. 9 UCLA after its disappointing loss at unranked Utah. Not only was the Cardinal’s defense stifling, but its offense also put together several solid drives (though it often failed to capitalize). We asked football writers Do-Hyoung Park, Winston Shi and David Cohn: Which Stanford player made the biggest strides last week?

Junior wide receiver Devon Cajuste injured his right leg against UCLA but had a 7-catch, 105-yard receiving performance that helped Stanford move down the field all afternoon. (SIMON WARBY/The Stanford Daily)

Do: Andrus Peat

During Stanford’s devastating loss to Utah two weeks ago, sophomore left tackle Andrus Peat had an unusually rough day, as he couldn’t cleanly handle his blocking assignments on several occasions. This was especially evident on a play in the fourth quarter, with Stanford trailing by 13 and facing a critical third down. The 6-foot-7, 312-pound Peat couldn’t hold back the much smaller 255-pound Nate Orchard, who easily got to Hogan on his blind side and forced a fumble. Although Peat fell on top of the ball to retain possession, it was evident throughout the afternoon that Hogan was never very comfortable in the pocket, due in part to plays like that one.

Against UCLA on Saturday, however, Peat showed the Cardinal faithful exactly why people are touting him as a future NFL-caliber talent. Faced with one of the toughest blocking assignments in the nation in All-Pac-12 linebacker Anthony Barr, Peat had an absolutely fantastic day as he stood firm and anchored the left side of the line. Hogan took zero sacks on the afternoon against a UCLA front seven that had averaged over two sacks per game as Peat held back the floodgates play after play and kept Barr from getting anywhere near Hogan.

Although Peat had been performing at a high level while settling into his first-year starting role, his performance against the Bruins was especially significant in that it allowed Hogan to regain his pocket presence after three shaky weeks.

Winston: Devon Cajuste

I think Do made a great pick of Peat, although I don’t think that Peat made strides in the past week so much as build off what had already been an extremely high level of play. Junior wideout Devon Cajuste already had his breakout game against Washington State to the tune of 115 yards, but Saturday’s game revealed a completely new aspect of his game.

When a mad rash of injuries on the defensive line forced sophomore tight end Luke Kaumatule to switch to his old defensive end position, Cajuste switched roles as well (albeit, not positions). Sure, Kaumatule hadn’t seen that many targets on offense, but on Saturday, Cajuste showed that he could be the big, reliable and still explosive possession receiver that Stanford had hoped Kaumatule would eventually become.

Now, Cajuste’s big-play potential has always been known, and he was indeed clinical in that role against UCLA, as Hogan hit him for a key 34-yard gain that set up Stanford’s second touchdown. With the big X receiver, Cajuste, lined up to the inside and in the slot on several occasions, Hogan went to him repeatedly, and the receiver delivered.

Two key Cajuste catches on third downs led to two Stanford scores. Hogan went 7-of-8 on throws to Cajuste, and although Cajuste was the target on Hogan’s only interception, he was money in the bank the rest of the game. The big junior led Stanford with seven catches for 105 yards—almost as many catches as he’d had in the last three games combined.

If Cajuste can be the reliable, chain-moving safety valve that Zach Ertz and Stepfan Taylor were for Hogan last year, Stanford’s offense will be moving along a lot more smoothly than before.

David: Kodi Whitfield

While Winston and Do made great selections with their takes, I think that sophomore wide receiver Kodi Whitfield also had a breakout day for Stanford. In fact, Whitfield’s emergence on the national stage was so profound that his touchdown catch vaulted him to the top of SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.

However, the significance of Whitfield’s first career touchdown reception does not stop at his spectacular one-handed grab; the play also came at a crucial moment in the game, with the score tied at 3 halfway through the third quarter. His spectacular catch gave Stanford much-needed points against a UCLA team that had not allowed any team to score in the third quarter prior to Saturday.

With opposing defenses now consistently game-planning to minimize the impact of Ty Montgomery and Devon Cajuste’s health now at least momentarily in question, Whitfield may become an even more important cog in the offense going forward. At the very least, Whitfield’s catch in double coverage propelled the Cardinal to a lead it would never relinquish. This singular play clearly demonstrates that Stanford has yet another talented wide receiver who is capable of making a game-changing play on the largest stage when the lights are brightest. This revelation alone represents a big step forward for both Stanford’s offense and for Whitfield’s continued development.

Junior safety Jordan Richards, who played perhaps the best game of his career Saturday, was robbed by these writers. Email Winston at wshi94 ‘at’ stanford.edu, David at dmcohn ‘at’ stanford.edu and Do at dpark027 ‘at’ stanford.edu.