Elijah Brown named Stanford’s new starting quarterback before North Carolina game

Stanford will have a new starting quarterback Saturday as it seeks to avoid going winless on the road for the first time since The Cardinal - - ACC is replacing sixth-year signal caller Ben Gulbranson with redshirt freshman Elijah Brown when it faces North Carolina and defensive mastermind Bill Belichick Obviously a tough decision because Ben s done particular really good things this year interim coach Frank Reich declared And we know that various of the struggles that we ve had certainly not all on the quarterback But we are going to make that transition and Elijah will be the starter The Cardinal hopes the change will provide a jolt to an offense that is last in the ACC in scoring and passing efficiency Gulbranson has thrown interceptions the second-most in the country behind FAU s Caden Veltkamp who has thrown more passes Selected of those interceptions are on Ben but honestly they re not all on Ben Reich mentioned Quarterback s a complicated position Ben s had various epic games and put us in a position where we can still achieve various of the goals that we have in front of us with chosen of the wins that he s helped lead us to So I don t want to diminish the contribution that Ben has made to this gang and can continue to make to the company in a backup role Gulbranson threw for yards the third-most in a meeting in operation history in a comeback win over San Jose State on Sept But he injured his knee on Oct against Florida State He s gone for passing for yards two touchdowns and five interceptions in two games since then Though UNC - - has been disappointing in Belichick s college debut that s mainly because of its own offensive struggles The Tar Heels defense is in the top half of the conference in points and yards allowed and could provide a tough challenge for Brown They could do something radically different Reich disclosed They could come up with a contest plan for your specific offensive scheme that s a lot different than what you may think Brown made one start last year against Wake Forest but was pulled in the first half after going of for yards and an interception Still the four-star recruit from Southern California was the presumed starter heading into the season after Ashton Daniels last year s starter transferred to Auburn and early enrollee Bear Bachmeier transferred to BYU But Gulbranson came in from Oregon State after spring camp and got the nod due to his experience Now it s Brown s turn to jumpstart an offense that hasn t recovered from losing almost its entire receiving corps and offensive line from last season to the transfer portal Brown has been extremely hit-or-miss this season He led a -yard touchdown drive against Florida State and a -yard touchdown drive last week against Pittsburgh But in the other possessions with him at quarterback the crew had yards on plays against the Panthers and yards on plays against the Seminoles He still has two dynamic weapons at his disposal in receiver CJ Williams and tight end Sam Roush Williams ranks in the top in the ACC in all three major receiving categories receptions fifth at yards sixth at and touchdowns tied for th at four Related Articles Week recap Sanders and CU struggle Arizona and ASU rise on the road Stanford falls - to Pittsburgh as Gulbranson struggles before being replaced What to know before Stanford kicks off against Pitt Mailbag Coaching carousel edition with Fisch Riley Wilcox and more Staying perfect at home could go a long way in Stanford snapping bowl drought Roush ranks second in the ACC and sixth in FBS in receptions by a tight end and leads all ACC tight ends in receiving yards with Roush expects the offense to be even more motivated by the chance to face a Hall of Fame coach known for his defensive challenge plans It s pretty cool Roush stated He s obviously a legendary coach One of the greatest to ever do it I never would have thought that I d be playing him in college It s going to add a little extra juice to the challenge Obviously super excited for that opportunity to play against him