David Shaw’s advice to would-be Stanford quarterbacks in 2012 was simple: Don’t try to be Andrew Luck. Because you’re not. And you won’t be.

In the 2016 edition of Stanford’s quarterback competition, Shaw would be quite pleased if hopefuls Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns tried to be like departed quarterback Kevin Hogan. Not just because he’d like to see the next man up throw for nearly 3,000 yards and post a 67.8 completion percentage with a 27-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. It’s more about the way Hogan ran Stanford’s offense so efficiently -- especially in his final season.

“Watching Kevin, they know what’s paramount is running the offense,” Shaw said. “It’s making sure everyone is on the same page. Making sure we’re getting to the right play. And to watch Kevin do that so well over the last few years, that’s the most important thing for them to learn from.”

Stanford’s quarterback competition will be one of the most closely watched in college football this spring. Shaw said he likely won’t name a starter until a couple of weeks before the Cardinal’s season opener against Kansas State. And he’s integrating some lessons he picked up during his first quarterback competition, which was eventually won by Josh Nunes who later gave way to Hogan.

“I learned how to downplay it,” Shaw said. “Obviously, that’s what the focus is going to be. It’s the most important position in sports. But at the same time, it can overshadow so many other things. For us, we try to keep it in its place. It’s very, very important. It’s vital. But at the same time, so is our competition on the offensive line and other places. We want to make sure all of the pressure on the team winning and losing is not just on the quarterback’s shoulders. It’s on the team. It’s on everybody.”

Keller Chryst saw limited action for Stanford last season, but could be the starter in 2016. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Few programs in the country have enjoyed the quarterback continuity Stanford has. With the exception of the nine games Nunes started in 2012, the Cardinal have had just two quarterbacks during a nearly seven-year stretch. That’s almost unheard of in today’s game, with graduate transfers and players leaving early.

“We’ve had a couple of guys that saw the importance of playing more college football,” Shaw said. “Andrew could have left after his second year as a starter and Kevin could have left after last year. But they recognized -- even if they were looking at it selfishly -- that they could get better. If you want to play at that next level, they can get better. So many guys look at their talent and think they can go. But it’s not just about talent. If you come back, you learn more, you learn to read defenses. Experience counts.”

For the first time since 2012, the Cardinal lack that experience at the most important position. Burns has thrown one pass in his career, and that was in 2014. Chryst got mop-up time in a few games last year and was 5-for-9 passing for the season with a touchdown pass against Arizona.

Despite major question marks the Cardinal enter the spring as one of the favorites to win the Pac-12. Should they repeat, it would be their fourth title in five years. Shaw, however, downplayed the importance of what people think about his team in March.

“I think it says a lot about who Christian McCaffrey is,” Shaw said, referencing his running back who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting last season. “I think it’s also the way we’ve recruited. Look at our roster and it’s still a pretty good football team. But favorites don’t matter. Without Kevin Hogan, we’re still pretty good. Look at Oregon, without their starter, they are loaded. USC, no quarterback, but they are loaded. Man, there are some really good football teams even when guys are leaving.”

So how would Shaw handicap the conference right now? “It’s insane,” he said.