Pac-12 countdown: Stanford's Dalton Schultz, from Bingham High, should have 'breakout year'

David Shaw has won nearly 80 percent of his games in six years as Stanford’s football coach, but he’s winless against Utah.

The Cardinal haven’t been overwhelmed by Utah, exactly. They were stopped at the 6-yard line on their final drive in 2013 and lost in double overtime the following year. But the fact remains that they’ve never beaten Utah in Pac-12 play, while the teams have met only twice in the Pac-12 scheduling rotation. If anything changes in Stanford’s favor in 2017, a Utahn probably will have a lot to do with it.

Bingham High School graduate Dalton Schultz is positioned for a “breakout year” as Stanford ‘s tight end, Shaw believes. With a strong offensive line and a consistent quarterback, assuming Keller Chryst fully recovers from knee surgery, Schultz should markedly increase his 23 catches of last season.

Sports Illustrated, which listed Stanford No. 15 in its preseason rankings, featured Schultz as the Cardinal’s “Player to Know.”

“Our desire for Dalton was to be that complete NFL tight end. And that’s what he’s becoming,” Shaw said during the Pac-12 Football Media Days last month. “He’s one of those guys that you’re going to see him play on Sundays.”

Stanford needs some of his Schultz’s best work on a Thursday, a Friday and a bunch of Saturdays this season as the offense tries to cover the loss of running back Christian McCaffrey to the NFL. Bryce Love will take McCaffrey’s job, trying to become more than a change-of-pace back.

“Every time Bryce has touched the ball for last two years there is a collective pause that happens on our sideline and the other sideline, and there is a gasp that you can actually hear that anticipation because he is so explosive,” Shaw said.

Defensively, Stanford must replace tackle Solomon Thomas and safety Dallas Lloyd, a Pleasant Grove product who intercepted two of North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s passes (returning one for a touchdown) in a Sun Bowl victory. But the Cardinal should have one of the Pac-12’s top linebacking corps and secondaries.

Stanford opens the season Saturday, facing Rice in Sydney, Australia. The game everybody is circling in the Pac-12 North is Nov. 10 when Washington visits Stanford. The teams also met on a Friday night in 2016, when the Huskies’ 44-6 victory stamped them as the conference favorites and College Football Playoff contenders.