Harbaugh Names Pritchard Stanford's Starting QB

Stanford (2-3) hosts TCU (3-3) on Saturday.

Tavita Pritchard has been named Stanford's starting quarterback for this Saturday's game versus TCU. Photo courtesy: Stanford Athletics

Stanford, Calif. - Tavita Pritchard was named Stanford's starting quarterback for this Saturday's game versus TCU by head coach Jim Harbaugh on Tuesday.

"Three drives in the last three possessions for scores [in last Saturday's win at USC] was very impressive and so was the way he handled himself around this ball club," noted Harbaugh about Pritchard. "I feel good about that decision."

Pritchard made his first collegiate start last Saturday and led Stanford to a stunning 24-23 victory over No. 1/No. 2 USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Pritchard threw a game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradford with 49 seconds remaining in the game on fourth-and-goal.

"Whether I'm the third guy, the starter or the backup, I'm going to prepare every time like I'm the starter," said Pritchard. "Not a whole lot has changed."

"I hate to see T.C. go down like he did," he emphasized. "You want to see everybody succeed. At the same time, you work to get where you are to play at this level. I've prepared my whole life for this, and it's hitting me in the face right now."

Pritchard was filling in last Saturday for T.C. Ostrander, who suffered a seizure at a Palo Alto restaurant on September 30 and was held out of the USC game for precautionary reasons.

Ostrander, who completed 90-of-166 passes for 1065 yards as Stanford's starter over the first four games, has been cleared to play again and worked out with the team on Tuesday.

"I want to be on the field," said Ostrander. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but coach [Harbaugh] made a decision and if that's his decision, I will go along with it and just do the things I need to do to get better."

"He played well and that was a big win for us," continued Ostrander about Pritchard's performance versus the Trojans. "We have some momentum right now, and we're going to try to roll with that. That's the mindset." "T.C.'s such a great guy," added Pritchard. "I think we both handled it pretty well. We're both pretty mature."

Source: Stanford Athletics

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