It's one of the tantalizing what-ifs of last season: What if linebacker Sean Barton doesn't suffer a terrible knee injury at San Diego State and is partnered with Bobby Okereke the entire season?

Stanford may finally get the answer this year. Okereke developed into a top linebacker in the conference while Barton rehabbed his knee. He has been full-contact for training camp and has earned shoutouts from head coach David Shaw and defensive coordinator Lance Anderson, both of whom are very happy to see the athletic four-year player back on the field.

Stanford has used as many as six inside linebackers during games in the past two years. That should be a much more streamlined rotation this season if Barton and Okereke stay healthy.

Cardinal Sports Report briefly spoke with Barton after practice.

How does it feel to be out there playing full contact football?

"It feels good. It's interesting trying to get my eyes right, trying to get my body in the right position. I'm rusty. It has been a year, pretty much. There is less rust than I anticipated. It feels really good. There are no issues so far running around out there. I'm really pleased."

What has been the day-to-day process of knocking that rust off?

"It's just getting back into the mindset of seeing things, trusting your eyes, knowing where your help is and communicating with people. They played a whole season and they're used to playing next to each other. You have to get back into the swing of communicating, seeing the pullers and seeing the route combinations. All those things that I tried to replicate in the offseason with VR and that kind of stuff, but there is nothing like live reps."

Even with the work to catch up, have you seen progress in your game?"

Yeah, I feel like things come slower. Everything seems slower. When you're first out there things are happening really quick and you can't plan ahead because you don't know the playbook that well. I know the playbook now and I have experience, so now it's more planning ahead and knowing what the route combinations might be and setting myself up for an easier situation each play."

What did you see from Bobby Okereke as last season progressed and what have you seen this offseason?

"He became more sure of himself. He's always had the talent and the ability. Now he's confident. You see a guy who can go out there and do everything, whether it's covering guys or taking in pullers, filling the hole, he really can do it all. That's interesting because our whole room really can do that. We've all studied these things together and worked together. Bobby just played out of his mind last year. I was really happy for him."

How are the freshmen doing, Ricky (Miezan) and Jacob (Mangum-Farrar)?"They're not afraid of the moment, which is the most important thing. You come in as a freshman and you really have no clue what's going on. They've taken our coaching. I think to their credit they've listened to the older guys. We have a lot of guys who have played a lot. They've listened and taken our advice. They're aggressive. They have all the athletic ability, for sure. They'll be good players."