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Three Familiar Faces Return To Stanford Football As The Cardinal's ACC Era Beings

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Football

Stanford football welcomed three former players back into the program during the offseason. Jordan Richards, Clevan “Tank” Williams, and Jordan Watkins are all back on The Farm in roles on the staff, supporting Stanford as it embarks on its first season in the ACC.

Jordan Richards joined the staff in May as the Coordinator of Football Operations and Player Development. In this role, Richards will work with Cardinal football student-athletes in preparation for life after football. The official program, known as Card4Life, focuses on career development prep on and off the field. Additionally, he will work in a football operations role as well. He spent four seasons with the Cardinal, helping Stanford reach three consecutive bowl games, including a 2013 Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin. He was named First Team All-Pac-12 in 2014 and was a standout in the classroom as well, earning CoSIDA Second-Team Academic All-America honors in 2013. He was selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.

Richards spent seven seasons in the NFL with three teams, most notably parts of four seasons with the Patriots. He helped New England reach consecutive Super Bowls following the 2016 and 2017 seasons, winning Super Bowl LI.

Tank Williams joins the staff in July as one of the Defensive Quality Control Analysts. He will primarily work with the safeties this season. He was one of the best defensive backs of the time for the Cardinal, earning First Team All-America honors in 2001. His nine interceptions as a Cardinal still rank tenth all-time in program history. His success on the field helped him land with the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. 

Williams burst onto the NFL scene with the Titans, starting all 16 games as a rookie in 2002 and finishing fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Jordan Watkins is back with Stanford football on the recruiting side as the Assistant Director of Recruiting Operations. He spent five seasons with the Cardinal, appearing in 28 games from 2012-2016. He twice landed Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention awards, including 2016, where he played in 13 games and made his first collegiate start. In addition, Watkins was part of both the 2012 and 2015 Rose Bowl winning teams. In the years since his playing days, he has remained close to Stanford, appearing on a variety of baseball and softball broadcasts through the Pac-12 Network.