Stanford coach David Shaw was pleased with his team's performance during the Cardinal's first practice of fall.

"I thought it was a very good start," Shaw said. "I'm excited about our young guys coming in. They look like they're in great shape. A lot of credit to Coach Turley and his staff for the summer. But I think we've got an athletic football team. We have a lot of questions but I love the guys we have competing for roles right now."

"I'm pleased with the guys we have on the field right now. Their attention to detail, it was a high effort deal. We didn't have a lot of guys on the ground. no foolishness, guys not worrying about anything other than getting their jobs done, communicating, working well together. We talked last night about working hard and working together. We're going to get what we earn this season. I think guys have the right mindset. I think we're off to a good start."

Due to NCAA regulations, Stanford won't hold its first full contact practice of the summer for a few more days. The progression will allow the Cardinal (and college football teams across the nation) to ease into the physicality of camp and the season.

"(Due to) the acclimatization rules of the NCAA, we'll go non-pads for two days, we'll go shoulder pads for two days, then full pads," Shaw said. "The next practice after full pads we'll be able to tackle. It's a good way to work our way in to the football and I like it, too. The first couple of days we don't have pads on so you have to move your feet. You have to use your hands. You have to stay off the ground and play with leverage and not just run into people. So it forces you to use proper technique. I love these first couple of days for that."

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Redshirt junior wide receiver Devon Cajuste is nearing a return from an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the summer.

"He's back running now," Shaw said. "He's getting close. I don't know, maybe within two weeks we'll be able to get him back out there full speed. He's made a significant jump. As with all ankle issues there's that sticking point to where, 'I can't go, I can't go, oh wait, now I can go.' So he's been able to run on the treadmill. He'll start cutting in another week or so. We feel good about where he is."

Noor Davis (knee, will miss at least the first part of the season) and Nick Davidson (could return later in fall camp) are also on the mend.

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After playing last year at around 197 pounds, sophomore Christian McCaffrey is up to about 205.

"I think he's bigger," Shaw said. "I think he's stronger. I think he's faster."

Stanford's head coach also thinks McCaffrey is ready to handle a much larger workload this season.

"There's no question," Shaw said. "I think the thing that he has to be ready for, and I don't mind saying it publicly, is he has to be able to do everything. Everything that we ask a guy to do on the football field, he's got to be able to do it. He has to be able to pass block. He has to be able to run block for somebody else. He's got to be able to catch the ball out of the backfield, run the ball between the tackles, run the ball outside, return punts and kickoffs. Not to mention cover kicks. Whatever we need him to do, we have to be able to call his number and he has to go out there and do it. I think he's of that mindset and he's ready for that. This is going to he a heavy workload year for him - it's not just going to be behind the quarterback hand the ball to him and go downhill, but there will be a significant portion of that also. I think he understands that, I think Barry understands that and so does Remound that we're still going to work this thing as a group because we're going to move Christian all over the place so those two guys have to be ready to carry the load with him."

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Stanford's tight end unit is an unquestioned strength of the team and among the best units in the country. The Cardinal has four quality tight ends, and could even feature some four tight end sets in 2015.

The group has drawn comparisons to the Cardinal's tight end corps of a few years back, which included multiple future NFL players. Shaw isn't ready to say the 2015 tight ends are in the category of that group, but that could change.

"I think the ability is there," Shaw said. "I love the group. I think they're very athletic. I think they're physical. I think (the group from a few seasons back) was really special - I think all three guys are starting in the NFL right now. It's hard to compare a group of soon to be juniors to that group. But at the same time they have the ability to but we're going to judge them on what they do. And right now they're a good group, a young group, but they have the potential to be very good."

Redshirt freshman Dalton Schultz is a year younger than the program's trio of redshirt sophomores (Greg Taboada, Austin Hooper, Eric Cotton), but he, too, should have a significant impact on the offense.

"(He'll be) very heavily (involved)," Shaw said. "Dalton is going to play a lot. He's proven that spring football he's ready. He pays attention to detail. He's a physical run blocker. He's a great pass catcher, made two great catches (yesterday). He's going to be in the mix. And more than ever thinking about these guys as individuals we think of them as a group. We have a group of guys that's very versatile, great run blockers and guys that can catch the ball down the field and make plays in the red zone. Right now our hopes are high. We think they're going to come through for us."

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Stanford is not concerned about its wide receiver depth behind likely starters Michael Rector and Devon Cajuste.

"Francis Owusu, when Ty Montgomery went down, came in and made some big plays," Shaw said. "He had a big third down catch in one of our home games. He made a long catch against UCLA against press coverage on third down. He came in and made some big plays for us late in the year last year. We have a lot of confidence in him. Once again the combination of our tight ends helps us out there, the versatility of those guys. At the same time I think Dontonio Jordan really led our guys in receptions last spring in all of our move the ball periods. He's a fourth-year senior that's kind of hungry to get on the field. I feel good about the guys that we have and I feel good about our incoming freshmen. And who knows if they get a chance to play. They may all redshirt. But the door is going to be open for those guys to show us what they have over the next couple of weeks."

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Idaho wide receiver Addison Johnson, who joined Stanford as a walk-on in the 2014 class, is no longer with the program.

"Addision has decided just to go to school," Shaw said.