Stanford loses two starters on defense as it heads to Oregon for opener

Stanford will be at less than full strength when it opens its season Saturday on the road against 12th-ranked Oregon.

Two projected starters — sophomore cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly and junior outside linebacker Gabe Reid — are expected to miss the game because of undisclosed injures.

Additionally, the Cardinal has lost running back Dorian Maddux and linebacker Jacob Mangum-Farrar for the season, coach David Shaw said Tuesday.

Kelly’s absence will be another blow to a secondary that already lost all-conference cornerback Paulson Adebo. Adebo opted to sit out the shortened season in order to prepare for the NFL draft.

Kelly made nine starts last season, totaling 35 tackles and five pass breakups. Shaw has not disclosed who will take Kelly’s cornerback position Saturday. The other starting cornerback is redshirt sophomore Ethan Bonner, who didn’t play last season.

“We’ll see who we put out there first but we anticipate possibly playing three or four corners throughout the course of the day,” Shaw said.

Reid’s spot at linebacker will be filled by Thunder Keck, a redshirt junior who was awarded ascholarship last week. Reid was a starter for the final seven games last season, finishing with 43tackles, nine tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries.

Maddox, a redshirt senior, had 57 carries in his first three seasons and could have moved into a bigger role this season. Mangum-Farrar was expected to bring much-needed depth to the linebacker corps.