STANFORD, Calif. -- David Shaw's program has spent the past several seasons accumulating a bevy of shiny toys on the recruiting trail. But until recently, the Stanford first string has been dominated by a glut of old, hardened, veteran talent. There hasn't been a chance to deploy many new weapons -- until now.

With Saturday's season opener at Northwestern looming, there's palpable anticipation for the several individual debuts coming the Cardinal's way.

"I'm really confident in the way we've been recruiting," outside linebacker Peter Kalambayi said. "I'm really excited to see this new group of guys we got play."

Kalambayi played in every game and racked up 9.5 tackles for loss last season. But the graduation of James Vaughters means that he's a new starter, so Kalambayi can also be considered part of that fresh wave. His physical progress -- namely, a 40-yard dash that's down from 4.65 seconds last year to 4.56 now -- indicates that Kalambayi is ready for the brighter spotlight.

"I can definitely feel the extra burst when I'm getting after the quarterback," he said.

Kalambayi is also eager to talk about the tantalizing physical potential of his new teammates. Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Solomon Thomas is the first name that comes up. He's packed on over 30 pounds since arriving on campus while maintaining some freakish athletic numbers: Even at 271 pounds, Thomas can broad jump 10 feet and vertically leap 34 inches.

"The young guys we have are phenomenal athletes," Kalambayi said.

So that's the big Stanford unknown now: Will their shiny young pieces adequately replace the grizzled veterans of the past? That's a question that applies specifically to the defense, which has lost eight of the starters who made it the Pac-12's best unit.

It's a question that the Cardinal is eager -- perhaps even restless -- to answer. The roster is generally healthy, morale is high after a surprise trip to the movies followed by an electric scholarship announcement, and Northwestern preparation is in full force -- the team is practicing in the morning and holding meetings at night, all to simulate Saturday's 9 a.m. PT kickoff.

Practice, though, can only divulge so much about an unproven team. And that's why Stanford craves this first real action so much.

"We feel like we've jelled the last couple of weeks," Kalambayi said. "We're hungry."