Troy Taylor and his former Sacramento State recruit revel in Stanford’s win over Colorado

Troy Taylor greeted a visitor Wednesday afternoon with typical good cheer.

The first-year Stanford coach gave a tour of his office inside a building in which Cardinal football greats are splashed across the walls, so lifelike in radiant colors that one half expected to see John Elway or Jim Plunkett suddenly jump down to the floor, charging toward the end zone.

Next to the keyboard on Taylor’s desk is an image of the late Bill Walsh, the Pro Football Hall of Fame coaching great who used to sit in this very room and brainstorm when he was the Cardinal coach from 1992-94. Taylor is an admirer of Walsh, the coach and the man. He has read Walsh’s books cover to cover.

Nearby, there is an 8x10 color photograph of Taylor and longtime coaching pal Kris Richardson receiving a Gatorade dump after a 2010 playoff victory for Folsom High School. Next to that is a color drawing of a blue Folsom helmet, with Xs and Os scratched into the paper. The drawing was mailed anonymously to Taylor months after he was courted by Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference in 2016 to call plays and groom quarterbacks, with a note reading: “We miss you!”

“Here’s the best part of this room,” Taylor said of the spacious confines, opening what looked like a closet door to reveal a restroom, a shower and a mini fridge, fully stocked with his beverage of choice, Diet Coke. In the shower, there was a small sheeted mattress, leaned up against the wall and placed out of harm’s way.

Years ago, Taylor might have chuckled at the idea of an adjacent toilet and shower in a coaching office designed to break down blocking and tackling. But such perks have their benefits. When Taylor dials in, he has a singular focus of executing a plan, be it a program rebuild, film breakdown or game-day prep work, and who has time to bolt down a flight of stairs in search of a urinal?

“I don’t sleep overnight here or anything like that,” Taylor explained of the mattress. “But I might take a 20-minute nap.”

Nearby, there is Taylor’s first game ball with Stanford, signifying his first Cardinal victory, a season-opening win at Hawaii. Soon, perhaps, there may be another game ball, and another, and another as Taylor has embraced his greatest coaching challenge with the aim of being on The Farm for the long haul.

Stanford rally with Sacramento ties

Surely, something from the last game may soon be on display, the thunderbolt rally of the college football season. That was last Friday when the Cardinal rallied from 29-0 down at the half to stun host Colorado and the Deion Sanders coaching show, 46-43 in double overtime. It represented a turning point to a Stanford program that is now 2-4 heading into Saturday’s home date with UCLA after staging the biggest comeback in the history of the program, which started in 1892.

It was a game that included Cardinal starting right offensive guard Simi Pale of Elk Grove and quarterback Justin Lamson of Oak Ridge in El Dorado Hills. Lamson’s 1-yard touchdown pulled the Cardinal to within 29-26 early in the fourth quarter as the Cardinal continued their avalanche ambush on the Buffaloes.

Taylor had never experienced anything like this comeback as a prep player when he quarterbacked Cordova High School to a 14-0 season in 1985. Or during his four-year career as a record-setting passer at Cal, where he was trying to rally the Bears. Or while coaching at Folsom, where the Bulldogs were so good they didn’t have to rally. In his four seasons as head coach at Sacramento State, there were three Big Sky Conference championships and a rally here and there, but nothing of the magnitude of Colorado.

Early in the season, Taylor wondered how his young Cardinal team would handle adversity. He soon found that “we won’t quit,” he said.

“Amazing,” Taylor said Wednesday of the win over Colorado, his eyes widening. “It wasn’t a big motivational thing at halftime. We just had to play better, and we did.”

Stanford scored on all eight of its possessions after halftime. Taylor’s phone blew up with texts from well wishers, including former Stanford great Christian McCaffrey, now with the San Francisco 49ers. Taylor was moved to see Andrew Luck, the former Indianapolis Colts QB star, greet every Cardinal player coming out of the locker room in Boulder.

Taylor then recalled a flashback story. He accepted a graduate assistant post at Colorado in 1995 as he tried his hand in college coaching. He took his girlfriend, Tracey, with him.

“We’d been dating for four months, and someone told her that it was the biggest mistake of her life to go to Colorado,” Taylor said.

Tracey, now the coach’s wife, was in Boulder on Friday, and she might have been the most ecstatic Taylor in the stadium.

Lamson’s journey to Stanford

Within the hour, Taylor sent in two quarterbacks to meet with the visitor: Lamson and Ari Patu.

Their high school programs are rivals, Lamson with Oak Ridge and Patu with Folsom. They entered fall camp pursuing the same quarterback job, a competition that also included Ashton Daniels, who quarterbacked Buford High of Georgia to three state championships. Daniels is the starter but Lamson plays a lot, and Patu supports them both. There’s something to be said about being a good teammate, and these guys qualify, Taylor said.

Lamson is taking 18 units, no easy chore given the school he’s attending. Patu is taking 20.

“Loading up!” Patu said with a laugh.

Taylor closely followed Lamson’s journey in 2019. Lamson quarterbacked Oak Ridge to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship that season, rushing for 138 yards as a dual-threat grinder with a passing touch in a windy and wet finale. The junior was named The Bee’s Player of the Year. Taylor offered Lamson a scholarship to play at Sacramento State, but Lamson opted for New York and a shot with the Syracuse Orange.

Lamson suffered a knee ligament injury after showing promise in the 2022 spring game. A year later, he entered the transfer portal for a change of pace. He was soon plucked by Taylor, who’d taken over the Stanford program months earlier.

“Pretty awesome to be here and to play for Troy,” Lamson said Wednesday after practice, saying this was a “dream” destination.

Lamson, like his coach, burns to compete. But he backs Daniels, who had 396 yards passing and four second-half touchdown passes against Colorado, because that’s what leaders do. He also has to stay ready for moments when his name is called.

“It’s definitely been tough sometimes, but the best thing for me is just getting the opportunity,” Lamson said. “I didn’t get a chance to play the last few years due to injury and redshirting, so I feel fortunate to play and I try to make the best of it. I can’t be down because it hurts the team.”

Lamson inspired by brother and Ian Book

Taylor applauds Lamson’s grit, tenacity, skills and outlook.

“Tough, tough kid, talented, and he’s been great,” Taylor said. “He started a game here, played the second half against USC, the second half against Sacramento State. He’s a big part of what we’re doing. He’s ultra competitive, holds himself accountable, and he’s a good, good teammate. Love having him here.”

Lamson grew up following and playing football. His father, Jeff, played tight end at Washington State in the 1980s. His mother, Lisa, was a 49ers cheerleader. Lamson is especially close to his brother, Colton, who played left tackle for UC Davis and in the Canadian Football League, and now dabbles in coaching at Oak Ridge High.

Lamson is a sophomore with a lot of football ahead of him. He has pondered getting into law enforcement, perhaps the Secret Service. One of his best friends in football is Ian Book, an Oak Ridge graduate. Book was a fourth-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2021 who this week had a tryout with the Buffalo Bills.

“Other than my brother, Ian is my biggest mentor,” Lamson said. “He’s taught me so much.”

From his brother, Lamson hears a regular theme: Be you. That includes unloading on defenders who wish to unload on him when he runs the ball. Lamson is a solidly built 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds and backs down from no challenges.

“I do enjoy running and being physical,” Lamson said.

Like any quarterback leader, Lamson is a harsh critic of his performances. He breaks it all down on film, jotting down notes.

“You can always get better,” he said.