Jim Harbaugh still has not announced who the starting running back will be, reports Elliott Almond of the San Jose Mercury News.
Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh won't reveal Toby Gerhart's replacement until the start of the season opener today against Sacramento State. "One guy will go out and start the game, and we'll see who's running the ball well, who's getting the hot hand," he said. It's expected to come down to sophomore tailback Stepfan Taylor or senior Jeremy Stewart. But Stanford supporters also should see the debut of redshirt freshman Usua Amanam, a former Bellarmine Prep star who missed last season after breaking a toe. "He's showing to be a really versatile back, not just a scatback type of guy," Harbaugh said of the 5-foot-10, 184-pound Amanam.
Just as it will take a posse of running backs to replace Toby Gerhart, Stanford will use a committee of as many as five tight ends to replace Jim Dray, now with the Arizona Cardinals.
"All of us are trying to fill the shoes of Jimmy Dray," junior Coby Fleener said. "Jimmy was one heck of a blocker."
Fleener, who caught 21 passes last year (the third highest total on the team), and senior Konrad Reuland have the most experience of the group, but coach Jim Harbaugh is likely to start 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman Levine Toilolo in today's opener against Sacramento State.