When Utah visited Stanford a year ago, Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee was injured and didn’t play.
The Utes won 52-7.
“I’m definitely excited to have them come out here and experience Utah football. Some of them are from here. They’ll have a lot of family at the game. I’m looking forward to it.” — Utah defensive lineman Gabe Reid
At Pac-12 media day in Los Angeles last July, McKee said he was looking forward to facing Utah Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“It’s definitely a game we’re really excited about. Utah’s obviously a very good team. It’s going to be a hostile environment. It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be loud,” McKee said. “There will be a ton of fans. It’s going to be crazy. We’re really excited for it. We’re preparing for that. Obviously, we didn’t play the game we wanted to last season. I didn’t play in that game. We’re excited to play a great game against Utah.”
McKee earned the starting job in 2021 and helped the Cardinal defeat both USC and Oregon. This season, Stanford has posted a 3-6 record (1-6 in Pac-12 play) and has lost two straight games.
McKee, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound junior from Corona, California, has completed 193 of 318 passes for 2,208 yards with seven interceptions and 11 touchdowns in 2022.
Meanwhile, Ute senior defensive lineman Gabe Reid is looking forward to facing McKee and the rest of his former Stanford teammates Saturday.
Reid, who’s from American Fork, spent the first four years of his career with the Cardinal before transferring to Utah.
“Yeah, it will be a fun game. I have a lot of buddies on the team,” Reid said of Saturday’s matchup. “I’m definitely excited to have them come out here and experience Utah football. Some of them are from here. They’ll have a lot of family at the game. I’m looking forward to it. It will be fun.”
Yes, Stanford has a few Utah natives on its roster — linebackers Levani Damuni (Ridgeline High) and Spencer Jorgensen (Provo High) and safety Scotty Edwards (Olympus High).
Since leaving Stanford, Reid has kept in touch with his former teammates. He added that he has a lifelong bond with McKee and the rest of them.
“I definitely follow him and the other guys. I have a lot of close, close friends at Stanford that will continue to be my friends throughout the rest of my life,” he said. “Tanner is a great guy, a great player.”
One of Stanford’s team captains from last year, Houston Heimuli, transferred to BYU last winter.
Heimuli said last year that he and McKee have had a strong relationship. Both served missions — McKee in Brazil and Heimuli in Indianapolis.
“We talk about our stuff because we’re both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So we have that in common,” Heimuli said. “He’s pretty easy to get along with. He can talk about any topic — sports, music, movies. But you can only sense, especially when it comes to games, he’s very competitive.
“He kind of knows when to bring out whatever competitive streak he needs at certain moments, which I like. He’s good at choosing when and where to bring out that very competitive Tanner, especially during games. It comes out a lot. You see it in his eyes and in his leadership.”
Stanford hosts BYU on Nov. 26 in its regular season finale.
Utes on the air
Stanford (3-6, 1-6)
at No. 13 Utah (7-2, 5-1)
Saturday, 8 p.m. MST
Rice-Eccles Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: ESPN 700