Stanford will be hitting for real Saturday as the Cardinal scrimmages on Elliott Field starting at 10 a.m.

Stanford football coach David Shaw is expecting to see quite a lot with only two weeks before the first game Aug. 30 vs. UC Davis.

“It’s another evaluation,” Shaw said. “There will be an evaluation of the running backs, which will be big. Getting Aziz Shittu back will be good. The jelling of our offensive line, once again. I’m not backing off any statements on how good I think they can be, but they aren’t there, yet. They’ll have to continue to progress, play well together, and communicate.”

Shittu, a versatile defensive end who can play nose tackle, has been injured. So has wide receiver Devon Cajuste, who will not play in the scrimmage. Defensive end Jordan Watkins, another bitten by the injury bug, will return Saturday, but will be held out of the scrimmage.

“I want to see people make plays,” Shaw said. “More opportunities for the likes of corner Ronnie Harris and Wayne Lyons to shore up the back end. We’re going to watch everybody.”

Harris, a senior, spoke to the team after practice.

“Ronnie has been practicing so well, I wanted to give him the opportunity to say a few words,” Shaw said. “We call it our ‘Wise Words.’ He talked about avoiding entitlement and earning everything you get. He talked about playing for the man next to you. It was a phenomenal speech.”

Cotton style

Stanford will run a few tight ends that Cardinal fans have yet to see play, one of them redshirt freshman Eric Cotton, out of Columbia High in Nampa, Idaho. The 6-foot-6, 239-pound Cotton was rated the No. 8 tight end out of high school by 247Sports, which had Cotton the best prospect out of the state.

“I learned a lot during my redshirt year,” Cotton said. “Our class matured a lot. The fourth- and fifth-year seniors have taught us the right way. They’re the blueprint for us that we’re trying to follow.”

Cotton joins Austin Hooper, Greg Taboada and Dalton Schultz as part of a young tight end corps. Charlie Hopkins, Eddie Plantaric and Chris Harrell are the veterans.

“Guys are trying to follow the footsteps of Zach Ertz, Levine Toilolo and Coby Fleener,” said Cotton, naming a few Stanford tight ends playing in the NFL. “Those guys are amazing. We are trying to add our own flavor to what they did.”

Cotton and Taboada will line up in the slot.

“We do a lot of blocking,” Cotton said. “You could call us the receiving tight end, but we’ll do a lot of blocking. We’re all rotating.”

“Eric’s athleticism and his physical play are going to be an aid to us,” Shaw said. “Greg Taboada and Eric can be a good pair of athletic tight ends. Same with Austin Hooper at the starting Y position. All three players have different skill sets, so a combination of that will help our quarterback play well.”

Nampa, a town of about 84,000, is located 26 minutes west of Boise, the state capital. Cotton credited his high school coach, Derek Mertz, for getting him to Stanford.

“My high school coach did an amazing job getting us recruited,” Cotton said. “He had Stanford come in and check us out, making sure our stats were what we claimed to be were the right thing.”

Cotton was on Stanford’s radar, but wasn’t being recruited by Stanford. The summer before his senior year, Cotton attended a football camp at Stanford. Within three days, Cotton was offered a scholarship, which he accepted. Cotton had it narrowed down to four schools: Stanford, Boise State, Washington State and Missouri.

“Stanford holds so much value,” Cotton said. “The 1-2 punch of the academics and the football experience. I couldn’t pass that up.”

Cotton should get his shot of playing time, though the Cardinal receiving unit is as deep as it has been in a long time, especially at tight end. Cotton could only watch last year as the Cardinal finished 11-3 after a loss in the Rose Bowl.

“We can improve from last year,” Cotton said. “Our receiving corps is older, so athletic. Our offense will be better and our defense is always amazing.”

A better Monty?

The most explosive offensive threat for Stanford is senior wide receiver Ty Montgomery, who also excels on kickoff returns. Shaw thinks Montgomery could be better this year.

“Right now it’s scary,” Shaw said. “He put on eight to 10 pounds. He’s faster and more explosive. His energy is up. He wants to take every rep in practice and is pushing himself. The sky is the limit for him. I’m just trying to keep him focusing on football.”

Email John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at twitter.com/dailynewsjohn.