Let's take a look at where things stand with the 2019 class. The rest of November is critical for the Cardinal in terms of how the "work to do" will shake out for recruits. On that front, the bad news for those who didn't see it in the Recruiting Notes 16.0 is that Stanford is no longer in contention for wide receiver Cornelius Johnson. It's a shame for both sides. He would have been a great fit for what the Cardinal like to do on offense.
If Stanford decides to offer another wide receiver it probably will be Zach Larrier. Cal and Washington State are in pursuit of the Sacramento native who can play several positions. Stanford views him as an "athlete" who would start off his career in the wide receiver room. He can play cornerback as well. He's a good athlete, a great young man and is a project considering he has spent most of his high school career at option quarterback, which is where Air Force wanted him.
It may make some fans antsy to take both Larrier and Marcus Graham in the same class. Both are option quarterbacks in high school who will need time to develop in college.
Wisconsin really wanted Graham and stuck with him after his season-ending injury. Also, Graham has not visited campus, yet. He will attend Big Visit. There has not been a sight-unseen commitment like that in a while.
For the sake of this conversation assume that Elijah Higgins commits to Stanford. (That's my current prediction.) Higgins and Colby Bowman are physically ready to play college football and are experienced players at the position. Bryce Farrell and all-but-committed John Humphreys are juniors with a lot of experience and advanced skill sets. If Stanford wants to bring in Larrier and Graham the rest of the pipeline is strong enough to shrug off neither panning out, in my opinion. (Also, Larrier can move to DB and I have a hunch Graham could play running back.)
Admitted
OLB Stephen Herron
OLB/DE Joshua Pakola
DB Salim Turner-Muhammad
OG Branson Bragg
WR Colby Bowman
OG/OT Jake Hornibrook
ILB Tristan Sinclair
OT Walter Rouse
OG/OT Barrett Miller
WR Marcus Graham
Class Projection with Notes
QB -- 0 (PETA will show up if we beat on this topic any more)
RB -- 2 (Austin Jones and Nathaniel Peat both have work to do and they probably learn their fate in a couple weeks.)
TE -- 1 (Stanford's only shot is to flip Bradley Archer.)
WR -- 4 (Discussed above)
OL -- 4 to 6 Stanford has four commits and Drake Nugent is only waiting to be admitted to commit. He may need to wait until February. There is a "stealth" who could bring the class to six, which would be a very good thing for Stanford. Things are progressing with the stealth and it's getting closer to the point that I'd suggest there's optimism. If a certain lineman doesn't sign next month it will be interesting.
DL -- 0 (Unless you want to count Pakola)
OLB -- 3 (Herron and Pakola are committed. Aeneas DiCosmo appears to be waiting on admissions now.)
ILB -- 2 (Sinclair and 2016 LDS missionary Levani Damuni)
DB -- Five or six (Turner-Muhammad is the only admit at this time. Trent McDuffie is visiting this weekend and may find out about his "work to do" this month. He retook a test this past weekend. McDuffie is potentially an impact freshman who is a top-100 player on another site. Stanford technically has two stealth DB recruits now and it's a "work to do" situation for both. I think Stanford splits that pair. Commit Nicolas Toomer is visiting this weekend and may find out about his status soon. Kyu Kelly is still working on his application.)
If Stanford decides to offer another wide receiver it probably will be Zach Larrier. Cal and Washington State are in pursuit of the Sacramento native who can play several positions. Stanford views him as an "athlete" who would start off his career in the wide receiver room. He can play cornerback as well. He's a good athlete, a great young man and is a project considering he has spent most of his high school career at option quarterback, which is where Air Force wanted him.
It may make some fans antsy to take both Larrier and Marcus Graham in the same class. Both are option quarterbacks in high school who will need time to develop in college.
Wisconsin really wanted Graham and stuck with him after his season-ending injury. Also, Graham has not visited campus, yet. He will attend Big Visit. There has not been a sight-unseen commitment like that in a while.
For the sake of this conversation assume that Elijah Higgins commits to Stanford. (That's my current prediction.) Higgins and Colby Bowman are physically ready to play college football and are experienced players at the position. Bryce Farrell and all-but-committed John Humphreys are juniors with a lot of experience and advanced skill sets. If Stanford wants to bring in Larrier and Graham the rest of the pipeline is strong enough to shrug off neither panning out, in my opinion. (Also, Larrier can move to DB and I have a hunch Graham could play running back.)
Admitted
OLB Stephen Herron
OLB/DE Joshua Pakola
DB Salim Turner-Muhammad
OG Branson Bragg
WR Colby Bowman
OG/OT Jake Hornibrook
ILB Tristan Sinclair
OT Walter Rouse
OG/OT Barrett Miller
WR Marcus Graham
Class Projection with Notes
QB -- 0 (PETA will show up if we beat on this topic any more)
RB -- 2 (Austin Jones and Nathaniel Peat both have work to do and they probably learn their fate in a couple weeks.)
TE -- 1 (Stanford's only shot is to flip Bradley Archer.)
WR -- 4 (Discussed above)
OL -- 4 to 6 Stanford has four commits and Drake Nugent is only waiting to be admitted to commit. He may need to wait until February. There is a "stealth" who could bring the class to six, which would be a very good thing for Stanford. Things are progressing with the stealth and it's getting closer to the point that I'd suggest there's optimism. If a certain lineman doesn't sign next month it will be interesting.
DL -- 0 (Unless you want to count Pakola)
OLB -- 3 (Herron and Pakola are committed. Aeneas DiCosmo appears to be waiting on admissions now.)
ILB -- 2 (Sinclair and 2016 LDS missionary Levani Damuni)
DB -- Five or six (Turner-Muhammad is the only admit at this time. Trent McDuffie is visiting this weekend and may find out about his "work to do" this month. He retook a test this past weekend. McDuffie is potentially an impact freshman who is a top-100 player on another site. Stanford technically has two stealth DB recruits now and it's a "work to do" situation for both. I think Stanford splits that pair. Commit Nicolas Toomer is visiting this weekend and may find out about his status soon. Kyu Kelly is still working on his application.)
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