Stanford held its annual Friday Night Lights prospect camp at Stanford Stadium. About 20 prospects were on hand for the hour-long workout.
Here are some of the notable visitors.
QB Tanner McKee (2018 --> 2020)
QB Reed Vettel (2018)
OL Mason Schell (2017)
RB Anthony Albright (2017)
WR Jordan Blackman (2017)
WR Cole Caterbone (2018)
LB Mata Hola (2017 --> 2019)
DL Tyreke Smith (2018)
DL Thomas Booker (2018)
DL Josh Walker (2018)
DB Isaiah Humphries (2018)
DB Elyjah Doyle (2018)
DB Ty Rocconi (2017)
DB Braden Lenzy (2018)
DB Maurice Washington (2018)
2019 Folsom HS prospect Joe Ngata (early UW offer) was on campus earlier for Junior Day but did not work out.
-Tanner McKee did a really nice job. Plenty of arm strength, great frame, was accurate. Stanford already has a 2018 quarterback commit in Jack West, of course, but since McKee is LDS and plans to serve a church mission, he's a very viable option for the Cardinal. Will be interesting to see how things proceed there - did hear he made a positive impression on Stanford.
-I was really impressed with 2018 DL Tyreke Smith. Dnburge posted a story on him in the other Friday Night Lights thread - apparently he hasn't played football in a while but has been picking up offers at camps. Pretty easy to see why - he moves quite well for a player of his size. Smith also flipped over to offense and took some reps as a tight end. On one play, he got four or so yards of separation on a defensive back on a wheel route. Smith was the top defensive lineman there, I believe. Heard he, too, impressed the Cardinal.
-Perhaps the biggest surprise of camp was 2017 (but LDS, so effectively 2019) was Utah linebacker Mata Hola. Did a really nice job, and I think will get Stanford to take a close look. Not sure if/when they'll offer, but he's now someone worth tracking in the 2017 class.
-Thomas Booker is a really interesting deal. He's a high academic kid... who's actually spending the summer taking classes at Stanford in some sort of a program for high school students. Very unique situation. So he didn't have to travel far for camp. Booker didn't move as well as Smith (he also flipped over to take reps at tight end), but he's a solid player and an impressive student, so he'll definitely be worth keeping an eye on. Don't think he's a tight end, but if not DL maybe something like an h-back/FB type?
-Josh Walker did some nice things, but he's a bit on the short side. He loves Stanford - told me it "would be a dream offer and leader in my recruiting process" - but we'll see what, if anything, comes together there. Did have some success in OL/DL drills that I saw.
-Defensive back was probably the deepest position at camp. I was really impressed with the group as a whole. Isaiah Humphries and Braden Lenzy were probably the two who caught my eye the most, but Maurice Washington (who worked out as a running back at Stanford's camp last month) did some nice things, Ely Doyle is a huge DB but moves well. Ty Rocconi did some nice things. In general, I think this should provide a very nice starting point for Stanford's 2018 DB recruiting efforts. Will try to do a bit of digging to see which guys in particular made the strongest impressions - have not been able to get anything on that in the camp's immediate aftermath.
-I didn't really watch the OL (more talent at other positions), but Mason Schell was pretty solid at camp last month, so it's interesting that he returned for a second trip. Will poke around to see if/where he might fit into Stanford's plans. There were two other OL there, but I don't believe they were college prospects.
-Not really a ton at WR that I saw - Jordan Blackman did some nice things and might be a walk-on type, I think. But I'll ask around to make sure I didn't miss anyone who might fit into Stanford's plans.
Other recruiting notes/thoughts
-This should come as no surprise, but in chatting with a few contacts it's pretty clear Stanford is as excited about the historic potential of their offensive recruiting class as everyone here is. Folks definitely took notice of what happened at The Opening and the possibilities that are on the recruiting board.
-If folks are up for it we can do a recruiting/team chat at some point... but there's honestly not a ton of recruiting movement. As I've joked with a few contacts, Stanford clearly is not considering recruiting reporters as it conducts its recruiting efforts - not only are there very few offers out, but many of the next-up guys are committed elsewhere, so we can't really discuss them here/produce interviews/articles.
-I still believe Stanford is in a good spot for Foster Sarell, Walker Little, Elijah Molden, Dalyn Wade-Perry. I believe they're no worse than top two for Salvon Ahmed, but that's a real fight with Washington. Anybody's guess. I still believe they're up there for Ryan Johnson. I still believe they have a better shot at Osiris St. Brown than Tarik Black, and that while there is hope at times with Tarik, there's also skepticism at times. I believe there are some other interesting happenings that we can maybe get into down the line.
-It's still not clear where Stanford will turn at linebacker. None of their top guys have visited this summer, and nobody has anything set. Sounds like Justin Foster and Anthony Hines have pretty much faded. (And Baron Browning faded a little while ago.) So we'll see what happens with guys K.J. Britt, Leonard Warner and Nate McBride. It is possible that Stanford goes without a linebacker this year aside from Gabe Reid. But we'll see what happens with Britt/Warner/McBride/co. and how someone like Odua Isibor performs as a senior.
-The Bailey McElwain deal really did come out of the blue. That was a surprise to the Cardinal when he made his decision.
-Not a recruiting note, but former Cardinal long snapper Reed Miller will be with the program again this year as a graduate assistant. Miller was helping out at camp.
-Kind of a fun note: It's actually possible that Stanford will be done with QB recruiting all the way through 2020(!) within the next few months. It's probably not all that likely that everything comes together, but if they offer/commit JT Daniels and Tanner McKee, Tavita Pritchard could take a nice vacation from recruiting the position. (Obviously that wouldn't really happen - kids would still have to get admitted and there are always walk-ons/backup plans to evaluate, but still kind of an entertaining possibility.)
Here are some of the notable visitors.
QB Tanner McKee (2018 --> 2020)
QB Reed Vettel (2018)
OL Mason Schell (2017)
RB Anthony Albright (2017)
WR Jordan Blackman (2017)
WR Cole Caterbone (2018)
LB Mata Hola (2017 --> 2019)
DL Tyreke Smith (2018)
DL Thomas Booker (2018)
DL Josh Walker (2018)
DB Isaiah Humphries (2018)
DB Elyjah Doyle (2018)
DB Ty Rocconi (2017)
DB Braden Lenzy (2018)
DB Maurice Washington (2018)
2019 Folsom HS prospect Joe Ngata (early UW offer) was on campus earlier for Junior Day but did not work out.
-Tanner McKee did a really nice job. Plenty of arm strength, great frame, was accurate. Stanford already has a 2018 quarterback commit in Jack West, of course, but since McKee is LDS and plans to serve a church mission, he's a very viable option for the Cardinal. Will be interesting to see how things proceed there - did hear he made a positive impression on Stanford.
-I was really impressed with 2018 DL Tyreke Smith. Dnburge posted a story on him in the other Friday Night Lights thread - apparently he hasn't played football in a while but has been picking up offers at camps. Pretty easy to see why - he moves quite well for a player of his size. Smith also flipped over to offense and took some reps as a tight end. On one play, he got four or so yards of separation on a defensive back on a wheel route. Smith was the top defensive lineman there, I believe. Heard he, too, impressed the Cardinal.
-Perhaps the biggest surprise of camp was 2017 (but LDS, so effectively 2019) was Utah linebacker Mata Hola. Did a really nice job, and I think will get Stanford to take a close look. Not sure if/when they'll offer, but he's now someone worth tracking in the 2017 class.
-Thomas Booker is a really interesting deal. He's a high academic kid... who's actually spending the summer taking classes at Stanford in some sort of a program for high school students. Very unique situation. So he didn't have to travel far for camp. Booker didn't move as well as Smith (he also flipped over to take reps at tight end), but he's a solid player and an impressive student, so he'll definitely be worth keeping an eye on. Don't think he's a tight end, but if not DL maybe something like an h-back/FB type?
-Josh Walker did some nice things, but he's a bit on the short side. He loves Stanford - told me it "would be a dream offer and leader in my recruiting process" - but we'll see what, if anything, comes together there. Did have some success in OL/DL drills that I saw.
-Defensive back was probably the deepest position at camp. I was really impressed with the group as a whole. Isaiah Humphries and Braden Lenzy were probably the two who caught my eye the most, but Maurice Washington (who worked out as a running back at Stanford's camp last month) did some nice things, Ely Doyle is a huge DB but moves well. Ty Rocconi did some nice things. In general, I think this should provide a very nice starting point for Stanford's 2018 DB recruiting efforts. Will try to do a bit of digging to see which guys in particular made the strongest impressions - have not been able to get anything on that in the camp's immediate aftermath.
-I didn't really watch the OL (more talent at other positions), but Mason Schell was pretty solid at camp last month, so it's interesting that he returned for a second trip. Will poke around to see if/where he might fit into Stanford's plans. There were two other OL there, but I don't believe they were college prospects.
-Not really a ton at WR that I saw - Jordan Blackman did some nice things and might be a walk-on type, I think. But I'll ask around to make sure I didn't miss anyone who might fit into Stanford's plans.
Other recruiting notes/thoughts
-This should come as no surprise, but in chatting with a few contacts it's pretty clear Stanford is as excited about the historic potential of their offensive recruiting class as everyone here is. Folks definitely took notice of what happened at The Opening and the possibilities that are on the recruiting board.
-If folks are up for it we can do a recruiting/team chat at some point... but there's honestly not a ton of recruiting movement. As I've joked with a few contacts, Stanford clearly is not considering recruiting reporters as it conducts its recruiting efforts - not only are there very few offers out, but many of the next-up guys are committed elsewhere, so we can't really discuss them here/produce interviews/articles.
-I still believe Stanford is in a good spot for Foster Sarell, Walker Little, Elijah Molden, Dalyn Wade-Perry. I believe they're no worse than top two for Salvon Ahmed, but that's a real fight with Washington. Anybody's guess. I still believe they're up there for Ryan Johnson. I still believe they have a better shot at Osiris St. Brown than Tarik Black, and that while there is hope at times with Tarik, there's also skepticism at times. I believe there are some other interesting happenings that we can maybe get into down the line.
-It's still not clear where Stanford will turn at linebacker. None of their top guys have visited this summer, and nobody has anything set. Sounds like Justin Foster and Anthony Hines have pretty much faded. (And Baron Browning faded a little while ago.) So we'll see what happens with guys K.J. Britt, Leonard Warner and Nate McBride. It is possible that Stanford goes without a linebacker this year aside from Gabe Reid. But we'll see what happens with Britt/Warner/McBride/co. and how someone like Odua Isibor performs as a senior.
-The Bailey McElwain deal really did come out of the blue. That was a surprise to the Cardinal when he made his decision.
-Not a recruiting note, but former Cardinal long snapper Reed Miller will be with the program again this year as a graduate assistant. Miller was helping out at camp.
-Kind of a fun note: It's actually possible that Stanford will be done with QB recruiting all the way through 2020(!) within the next few months. It's probably not all that likely that everything comes together, but if they offer/commit JT Daniels and Tanner McKee, Tavita Pritchard could take a nice vacation from recruiting the position. (Obviously that wouldn't really happen - kids would still have to get admitted and there are always walk-ons/backup plans to evaluate, but still kind of an entertaining possibility.)
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