Matt Doyle

Special day at Stanford for the @StanfordFball alumni tournament and was lucky enough to play with my friend and hero Jim Plunkett. Also got to hang with some pretty good QBs. One thing in common: great wins against USC. Looking forward to more big wins ahead @tavitap

We’ve got 1️⃣7️⃣ members of #StanfordNFL in the postseason, the MOST of any school in the ACC. Good luck to all former Card in the quest for Super Bowl LIX!

Two weeks ago I had a chance to get back to Stanford for the first time since Coach Taylor and his staff took over for @StanfordFball. I played for Coach Shaw when he was our OC under Coach Harbaugh. I’m a proud David Shaw man. Coach Shaw directly impacted my life and I will always be grateful for him. As such it was unexpectedly emotional to get back to Stanford and not see him there. I found my guard up as I saw new people occupying offices and spaces I knew well. But I was welcomed in with open arms (shoutout to @AlNetter and @CoachViane for letting me sit in my old position group room and take some tips back to my high school kids I coach in Minnesota). My visit was profoundly impactful and a great reminder of how magical Stanford is. But here’s my biggest takeaway after sitting in OL meetings, watching practice, talking with recruiting staff and meeting with players: This staff is going to win at Stanford. They walk the walk in creating a demanding, loving, growth-focused environment. The kids are hungry and bought in. There’s a palpable energy and excitement in the program. I made the comment to the guys, but it feels very similar to how the program felt in 2008 as we began our rise under Coach Harbaugh. As I thought about it, there are quite a few similarities between the program in 2008 and today. -Big, signature win on a national stage (USC biggest upset ever in 07, CO last year) -Lots of young future superstars gaining critical experience (Doug Baldwin, Richard Sherman, etc in 07, Elic Ayomanor, multiple young OL, etc last year) -New, fresh energy with a new staff and fresh vision for the program. -The same spirit of “Stanford’s time is done” coming from critics. In 07 it was academic standards and lack of fanbase, today it’s NIL and the portal. We were laughed at throughout 2007 and 2008. By 2009 people stopped laughing. Toby went to New York for the Heisman ceremony (and should’ve brought the trophy home). We should have won a bowl game against a blue blood program. Soon we were blowing out teams who had embarrassed us with the same talent only two years before. By 2010 we were the big dog on the west coast and stayed in that spot for a long time. This staff is going to do great things. I’m excited to see them get there. Leading with love and building with love takes time (“love is patient,” after all). But as Andrew Luck said during our alumni session “When we win here, we know we’ve earned it because we did it the right way. There’s not a better feeling than winning at Stanford.” Get behind this team Stanford fans. Be patient, but get behind them. Nothing feels better than winning at Stanford. I’m 100% confident this staff will get there.