Overall I am very pleased with this recruiting class. Yes, it is small. But for the most part, it has come together quite nicely. Obviously no one is perfect, and there are no real crystal balls (aside from on 247).
So as this class wraps up with its final spots, things will get mildly interesting (but never too interesting, admissions prevents that both ways!). Stanford is going to get Connor Wedington. This has been in the works for half a year. Good player, good get. Very good all around athlete, that perhaps becomes special at the RB spot, which Stanford does need to actually get a really good one to reload effectively down the road. Maybe he is it. But if not the second coming, he is versatile and an asset.
As for Warner and Johnson, I - like most - are more optimistic on Johnson coming. But would not surprise me, from what I know, that if Warner gets admitted, he comes to Stanford as well. His dad will drive that home IMO. Plus there is a chance that all three of the alternative options for Warner go elsewhere (Rivals Top 200 what!). It is not out of the realm of possibility.
But whatever happens happens with those final two defensive recruits, the overall class is going to be good, very good. And easily the best class that David Shaw has signed.....coupled with the best process he has shown to date. No Rosen/Wimbush/Darnold situations, 2015 QB situations. No Connor Williams situations of gross misevaluations. No late Plan D signees (so far!) that won't ever play on The Farm. No late offers to good players like Justin Reid, Casey Toohill, etc that should have been much earlier in the process.
Overall I am very pleased. And for Shaw, who says he can't or won't improve???!!! Better Year 6/7 than never!
Now if only he could eliminate the unforced timeouts and/or delay of game penalties......but I digress.
As for my initial individual, mostly brief impressions of each player:
Damuni is fine. And he is going on his mission. Worry a little about the top end speed, but he will be a nice solid ILB in time (after the mission).
Adebo is pretty damn impressive to me. He is more CB than WR. But he could do both. But for Stanford's purposes, he is going to be a great fit at the CB spot to take over for Meeks (and others) as they eventually depart. Worst case, will be a nice safety. I kind of think that his commitment announcement got overshadowed by some other happenings at the time it came out. He is a damn good player and exciting recruit for Stanford.....at a need position.
Wade-Perry.....very exciting, particularly in comparison to last year's DT class signing. I would take one of him over all three inside guys Stanford signed last year. The ceilings is really high. Lazy at times.....so was Demarcus Walker in HS too. Almost every HS DL not named Solomon Thomas has very levels of laziness in their blood. I can deal with it. The 3 Star Rivals.com ranking is a joke. But at the same time, don't get fooled by the massive offer list. It is off potential, not production. He is stiff and sloppy.....but then he shows you a flash of him running.....and you are like what the hell! Where did that come from? Turley earns his money with guys like DWP. Very optimistic.
Sarell and Little.....already been talked about enough. Studs. Both will be very good players for Stanford. Much needed and great timing. Competition breeds excellence. And these guys will bring it. I do still think Hamilton runs the LT next year, with one of the two freshman OTs running RT, maybe both rotating. TBD. But obviously great gets. Starting to see the legacy effect of winning a lot of games in 2010-2012, when the 2017 and future classes were in their formative years.
Dalman....great hard to pull the trigger take. Even more optimistic about him since before Stanford offered and subsequent commit. Three year starter at center. Will be better than people think. Literally can't go wrong with taking him.
Osiris St. Brown......like, don't love. But a massive need at the WR position. He will be a very good player.....or we have recruited over him. Either situation is very good.
Davis Mills.....best QB and best fit for the Stanford Offense that David Shaw has signed to date. And not even close. If the knee is healthy, and there are no whammies, going to be very very very good. Not quite Andrew. But definitely in the ballpark to actually have a real conversation.....which hasn't ever legitimately happened since Andrew.
Fisk.....as said before, if Fisk and Dalman are the bottom of your recruiting class, then the class is absolutely fine (and really good). I like Dalman better slightly. But I do like the versatility of Fisk to help whereas needed. Personally think he is better DL prospect. And will end up assuming his father's old position. Very good take.
Stuart Head.....like him a fair amount. He is NOT going to be playing Safety. Will be an athletic LB with the ability to play inside or possibly OLB if needed. Could see him being a slightly less talented Barton. Reminds a lot of Dallas Lloyd....except bigger, so he has the ability to move forward, and more athletic. But a lot of things one could like with Dallas (and the reason he played), without the downside.
Parkinson.....very good TE prospect. All around good TE. The type of TE Stanford can (and now does) get each and every year. Like him a lot. Going to be solid/good with a possibility of surpassing moderately high expectations.
Lund.....like don't love. Not sure as a RB prospect, but I get why Stanford is taking the shot. As an ILB prospect, he is a smaller, faster slightly more athletic version Damuni....which is still pretty good. No issues at all with him. Good player. Lots of ways that he could work out.
As for the negative situations, the only two that stick out to me are Baron Browning and Elijah Molden. Browning is disappointing. We really did not try. And we could have gotten some serious traction. Lots of backdrop here. But it is what it is. And ultimately I don't see this being a massive regret situation. But, much like USC signing Darnold when they already had Towns.....can you ever have too much talent???!!! You never really know until they are on your campus. So I personally would have liked to have seen Stanford be more aggressive. But I am willing to write it off because it is the outlier with this class, and not a pattern (this cycle).
Molden is surprising to me. Happens from time to time. Just not often. Would have been nice. But appears to be out of the control of Stanford's staff. It is still recruiting, and not drafting. Can't make them come.
Houston Heimuli does nothing for me....positionally or as a prospect. Another FB? And a tiny one that can do nothing else at that. This is NOT the second coming of Lee Ward unfortunately.
Greg Taboada leaving is unfortunate news as well. I was initially one of his biggest critics when they signed him. Three TEs in the same class. And he looked like the third best. The team will move on and win games without him. But he has consistently spited me all the way over his three years of playing, despite nothing statistically lighting it up. Just consistent play from start to finish. And I can respect that, appreciate it, and now he makes me long for his return. But alas, to spite me one last time, he leaves just when the getting could be good! Oh well. Too bad. It happens. A lot more to every other team on the planet.
Final thought....if Warner is a no go (for any variety of reasons). I would be very tempted to pull the trigger on Michael Owusu. Yes the fourth and final installation of the Owusu male siblings. Michael is 6'6 - 220 and like Chris and Francis can run. He converted this season from WR to DL. And I will just say that I am impressed. The upside is there. Obviously he needs to keep coming. But in the world of late flyers in recruiting, this one might have the most upside. The guy can potentially do some freaky things. And he has a ton of space to fill out. Ultimately he will end up being a nice 240-250 OLB that can do some fun stuff in the right defense. Still think of Warner as more of a default OLB, that can't play ILB (as much as people want him to). And apples to apples as a 3-4 OLB at Stanford, I might be more tempted to take a Michael Owusu over Leonard Warner. Check him out and enjoy.
So as this class wraps up with its final spots, things will get mildly interesting (but never too interesting, admissions prevents that both ways!). Stanford is going to get Connor Wedington. This has been in the works for half a year. Good player, good get. Very good all around athlete, that perhaps becomes special at the RB spot, which Stanford does need to actually get a really good one to reload effectively down the road. Maybe he is it. But if not the second coming, he is versatile and an asset.
As for Warner and Johnson, I - like most - are more optimistic on Johnson coming. But would not surprise me, from what I know, that if Warner gets admitted, he comes to Stanford as well. His dad will drive that home IMO. Plus there is a chance that all three of the alternative options for Warner go elsewhere (Rivals Top 200 what!). It is not out of the realm of possibility.
But whatever happens happens with those final two defensive recruits, the overall class is going to be good, very good. And easily the best class that David Shaw has signed.....coupled with the best process he has shown to date. No Rosen/Wimbush/Darnold situations, 2015 QB situations. No Connor Williams situations of gross misevaluations. No late Plan D signees (so far!) that won't ever play on The Farm. No late offers to good players like Justin Reid, Casey Toohill, etc that should have been much earlier in the process.
Overall I am very pleased. And for Shaw, who says he can't or won't improve???!!! Better Year 6/7 than never!
Now if only he could eliminate the unforced timeouts and/or delay of game penalties......but I digress.
As for my initial individual, mostly brief impressions of each player:
Damuni is fine. And he is going on his mission. Worry a little about the top end speed, but he will be a nice solid ILB in time (after the mission).
Adebo is pretty damn impressive to me. He is more CB than WR. But he could do both. But for Stanford's purposes, he is going to be a great fit at the CB spot to take over for Meeks (and others) as they eventually depart. Worst case, will be a nice safety. I kind of think that his commitment announcement got overshadowed by some other happenings at the time it came out. He is a damn good player and exciting recruit for Stanford.....at a need position.
Wade-Perry.....very exciting, particularly in comparison to last year's DT class signing. I would take one of him over all three inside guys Stanford signed last year. The ceilings is really high. Lazy at times.....so was Demarcus Walker in HS too. Almost every HS DL not named Solomon Thomas has very levels of laziness in their blood. I can deal with it. The 3 Star Rivals.com ranking is a joke. But at the same time, don't get fooled by the massive offer list. It is off potential, not production. He is stiff and sloppy.....but then he shows you a flash of him running.....and you are like what the hell! Where did that come from? Turley earns his money with guys like DWP. Very optimistic.
Sarell and Little.....already been talked about enough. Studs. Both will be very good players for Stanford. Much needed and great timing. Competition breeds excellence. And these guys will bring it. I do still think Hamilton runs the LT next year, with one of the two freshman OTs running RT, maybe both rotating. TBD. But obviously great gets. Starting to see the legacy effect of winning a lot of games in 2010-2012, when the 2017 and future classes were in their formative years.
Dalman....great hard to pull the trigger take. Even more optimistic about him since before Stanford offered and subsequent commit. Three year starter at center. Will be better than people think. Literally can't go wrong with taking him.
Osiris St. Brown......like, don't love. But a massive need at the WR position. He will be a very good player.....or we have recruited over him. Either situation is very good.
Davis Mills.....best QB and best fit for the Stanford Offense that David Shaw has signed to date. And not even close. If the knee is healthy, and there are no whammies, going to be very very very good. Not quite Andrew. But definitely in the ballpark to actually have a real conversation.....which hasn't ever legitimately happened since Andrew.
Fisk.....as said before, if Fisk and Dalman are the bottom of your recruiting class, then the class is absolutely fine (and really good). I like Dalman better slightly. But I do like the versatility of Fisk to help whereas needed. Personally think he is better DL prospect. And will end up assuming his father's old position. Very good take.
Stuart Head.....like him a fair amount. He is NOT going to be playing Safety. Will be an athletic LB with the ability to play inside or possibly OLB if needed. Could see him being a slightly less talented Barton. Reminds a lot of Dallas Lloyd....except bigger, so he has the ability to move forward, and more athletic. But a lot of things one could like with Dallas (and the reason he played), without the downside.
Parkinson.....very good TE prospect. All around good TE. The type of TE Stanford can (and now does) get each and every year. Like him a lot. Going to be solid/good with a possibility of surpassing moderately high expectations.
Lund.....like don't love. Not sure as a RB prospect, but I get why Stanford is taking the shot. As an ILB prospect, he is a smaller, faster slightly more athletic version Damuni....which is still pretty good. No issues at all with him. Good player. Lots of ways that he could work out.
As for the negative situations, the only two that stick out to me are Baron Browning and Elijah Molden. Browning is disappointing. We really did not try. And we could have gotten some serious traction. Lots of backdrop here. But it is what it is. And ultimately I don't see this being a massive regret situation. But, much like USC signing Darnold when they already had Towns.....can you ever have too much talent???!!! You never really know until they are on your campus. So I personally would have liked to have seen Stanford be more aggressive. But I am willing to write it off because it is the outlier with this class, and not a pattern (this cycle).
Molden is surprising to me. Happens from time to time. Just not often. Would have been nice. But appears to be out of the control of Stanford's staff. It is still recruiting, and not drafting. Can't make them come.
Houston Heimuli does nothing for me....positionally or as a prospect. Another FB? And a tiny one that can do nothing else at that. This is NOT the second coming of Lee Ward unfortunately.
Greg Taboada leaving is unfortunate news as well. I was initially one of his biggest critics when they signed him. Three TEs in the same class. And he looked like the third best. The team will move on and win games without him. But he has consistently spited me all the way over his three years of playing, despite nothing statistically lighting it up. Just consistent play from start to finish. And I can respect that, appreciate it, and now he makes me long for his return. But alas, to spite me one last time, he leaves just when the getting could be good! Oh well. Too bad. It happens. A lot more to every other team on the planet.
Final thought....if Warner is a no go (for any variety of reasons). I would be very tempted to pull the trigger on Michael Owusu. Yes the fourth and final installation of the Owusu male siblings. Michael is 6'6 - 220 and like Chris and Francis can run. He converted this season from WR to DL. And I will just say that I am impressed. The upside is there. Obviously he needs to keep coming. But in the world of late flyers in recruiting, this one might have the most upside. The guy can potentially do some freaky things. And he has a ton of space to fill out. Ultimately he will end up being a nice 240-250 OLB that can do some fun stuff in the right defense. Still think of Warner as more of a default OLB, that can't play ILB (as much as people want him to). And apples to apples as a 3-4 OLB at Stanford, I might be more tempted to take a Michael Owusu over Leonard Warner. Check him out and enjoy.
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