STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — They traveled to Stanford from all over the country. They packed pens and paper — and a list of questions — and studied for hours preparing for fall exams.
No, not students.
Like the venture capitalists who visit this Silicon Valley campus searching for new ideas every year, about a half-dozen NFL teams sent coaches this offseason to see Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason, whose unit has become its own kind of innovator in the offensive-oriented Pac-12 Conference.
Every coach wanted to know: just what has been Stanford’s secret to slowing down hurry-up offenses and solving read-option runs? Mason swears there’s no magic formula.
But nobody in the conference — and maybe the nation — has been ahead of the curve more than the Cardinal’s defense.
