Josh Nunes Named Stanford Cardinal's Starting QB

Josh Nunes finally filled the biggest depth-chart hole in college football on Tuesday.

That hole, of course, was created when Andrew Luck, arguably the greatest quarterback prospect of the last 20 years, left Stanford for the NFL draft and the Indianapolis Colts.

The honor to fill his humongous shoes created a heated competition from the very start. 

Brett Nottingham, a sophomore who appeared in five games last year for the Cardinal and completed 5-of-8 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, was seen as the favorite to win the battle. Kevin Hogan, a redshirt freshman and former 3-star out of Washington D.C., had also entered the mix with stellar play as of late.

But in the end, it was Nunes who earned himself the title of QB1. Head coach David Shaw officially announced his decision on Tuesday (via ESPN).

Nunes, a junior, has thrown two passes for a total of seven yards in his collegiate career, and both of those came in 2010 before the arrival of Nottingham. But according to Shaw, he was the most consistent throughout the competition. 

One thing is clear, though. This was an incredibly close decision, and just because Nunes is officially the Week 1 starter doesn't mean his job is safe.

This is a talented Stanford football team (ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll), but if it is going to build on last year's immense success and continue to compete in a stacked Pac-12 Conference, it is going to have to find some consistency in its inexperienced signal-callers.

That means, for Nunes, the leash will likely be short and the expectations will be high.

That's not always a pretty combination, but if the past few months are any indication, he appears ready to replace one of the all-time greats in school history.

Follow @t_keen