It's an odd time to be recruiting but life goes on even while everyone shelters in place. The Stanford football 2021 recruiting board has undergone some changes and I can provide updates on multiple positions.
Defensive Line
I consider this group to be the most important of the class because Stanford wants to take three, they badly need playmakers, and there is a talented group of interested prospects -- it's a great opportunity.
Everyone should remember that Aaron Armitage, Keanu Williams and Derek Wilkins all visited for the March Junior Day. They each have a high level of interest and are communicating well with Stanford.
Wilkins is in the best academic shape -- he's a good bet to be the first admit -- and seems to be the best choice for the first commit from that trio. However, he also has been getting attention from many top programs and I believe he wants to enjoy the process as much as possible until committing.
Williams and Armitage have some work to do but both are addressing it to the best of their ability. I think Stanford has a good chance to land any one of these three defensive linemen, but getting three recruits of this caliber would be historic and therefore not something I'll predict yet.
Offensive Line
It's not set yet if Stanford will take three or four offensive linemen but looking at the current board I can't even get to three right now.
Owen Prentice is easily the top commit candidate among the current offers and opinions about his talent level are very different depending on who you read -- a three star on Rivals a borderline Top 100 overall recruit on the other site.
Pat Coogan has maintained good communication with Kevin Carberry since Notre Dame, Ohio State, LSU and others offered. Carberry's strong relationship with Coogan is very helpful right now.
Notre Dame is the one to be worried about with Coogan but my understanding of Notre Dame's board is it would have to take some losses for Coogan to be able to commit. I've also heard Coogan may have some cold feet about trying to get admitted to Stanford while he has all these other great opportunities that don't require that headache.
A month ago this recruitment looked very different. Ideally this is the time for Stanford to go on the offensive -- with more than Carberry -- to emphasize to Coogan that they liked him as a top priority before everyone else and remind him of the reasons he loved his visit to Stanford.
The two most recent offers are Bram Walden and Garrett Dellinger. I consider Walden to be a long shot because of both work to do and interest level. That's not a good place to be in April with no visits allowed. I don't have a good read on Dellinger yet but of course it's also really not helpful that he can't visit.
The most painful hit with regards to visit restrictions is whale tackle Nolan Rucci. I'm confident he would have visited this spring or summer if allowed and he has serious interest in large part due to his ambitious academic goals -- he wants to ultimately work at NASA.
Clearly Stanford needs to make more offers to offensive linemen. I wonder if the visit restrictions could cause Carberry to target high-academic kids who are solid recruits and don't necessarily need to see the campus to be impressed.
Linebacker
I'm grouping inside and out together and this section includes one of the more interesting updates: It's more likely than a month ago that Julien Simon will play linebacker at Stanford.
I don't get the sense it's 100 percent decided but this development is being helped along by the state of the inside linebacker board. Ethan Calvert is not as high on Stanford as he once was and appears to be leaning toward several other schools. Terrence Cooks really wanted to visit, is in good academic shape and has interest but he is being heavily pursued by many top programs and Stanford is trying to catch up.
Smael Mondon and Barrett Carter are off the board.
Stanford wanted to watch Simon this spring at his high school practices to evaluate how he'd fit as an ILB in their system. They won't have that opportunity now but there is more momentum than there used to be to start his career at that position. Position aside, he's a great football player and a must-get recruit for Stanford.
Quintin Somerville and Dallas Turner are the outside linebackers offered and I wrote in the thread about Turner that I think he's less likely than Somerville. I stand by that prediction but I've heard good things about both of their academic situations, communication with Stanford and excitement about being offered.
Stanford is going to have to compete in two national recruitments of highly sought after edge defenders without the benefit of getting them on campus anytime soon. That's a tough place to be. If Stanford gets one of them I think that's a great victory.
Defensive Back
Stanford wants to take three defensive backs and the current target is one cornerback and two safeties. But it's possible all three spots go to safeties and I think everyone who reads that on this forum should understand why that pipeline needs a boost.
Mitch Leigber and Donovan McMillon were offered because JD Coffey, Hunter Wohler and Tysheem Johnson are pretty much off the board.
Jaden Slocum is a top priority for Stanford and he had a good time on his visit. His parents appear to be on board with Stanford while Jaden has a high level of interest but is still very open to other schools. I think Stanford is in a good spot here as one of the top contenders.
Jimmy Wyrick is the most likely cornerback commit on the board. He is strong academically and doesn't need to visit again after getting to campus twice already. Ceyair Wright says all the right things but the competition level is concerning when you add in that he planned to visit a lot of other places this spring and summer.
If Stanford wants three safeties they'll need to make another offer. The best case scenario now is to have Slocum, Leigber and Wyrick in the class.
Wide Receiver/Tight End/Fullback
J. Michael Sturdivant is the most likely wide receiver commit after Simon, who may not be a wide receiver. Sturdivant has a high level of interest -- he camped at Stanford -- and would be a really good get.
Stanford is very much a contender for Erik Olsen and the Cardinal want to take a true tight end. Olsen was very excited to get the offer for all the reasons you expect a tight end to be excited given Stanford's history at the position. He almost certainly would have been at one of the spring junior days. Iowa State, ASU and UCLA are recruiting him the hardest.
Owen McGowan (linebacker commit for BC) and Shield Taylor both have offers to play fullback but it's not certain Stanford will take two. Stanford struck out on all of its 2020 walk-on fullbacks, which was a surprise to me and them, so they felt they had to add the position to the 2021 board.
Another factor is Stanford isn't sure if Houston Heimuli will want to stay at Stanford for a fifth year.
Running Back
In my opinion the list of options at this position is down to one: Prophet Brown. The good news is he's a really talented football player who also can legitimately play cornerback in college.
Brown released a top six schools of Notre Dame, USC, Oklahoma, Oregon, Michigan and Nebraska the day before Stanford offered. A new list in order of interest would place Stanford near the top.
Quarterback
Ari Patu does not appear to be in a hurry to commit. I have a guess that he'd like to have a Cal offer to consider playing with his brother for a couple years. Cal isn't going to make a move on any other quarterback until Miller Moss makes a decision.
Defensive Line
I consider this group to be the most important of the class because Stanford wants to take three, they badly need playmakers, and there is a talented group of interested prospects -- it's a great opportunity.
Everyone should remember that Aaron Armitage, Keanu Williams and Derek Wilkins all visited for the March Junior Day. They each have a high level of interest and are communicating well with Stanford.
Wilkins is in the best academic shape -- he's a good bet to be the first admit -- and seems to be the best choice for the first commit from that trio. However, he also has been getting attention from many top programs and I believe he wants to enjoy the process as much as possible until committing.
Williams and Armitage have some work to do but both are addressing it to the best of their ability. I think Stanford has a good chance to land any one of these three defensive linemen, but getting three recruits of this caliber would be historic and therefore not something I'll predict yet.
Offensive Line
It's not set yet if Stanford will take three or four offensive linemen but looking at the current board I can't even get to three right now.
Owen Prentice is easily the top commit candidate among the current offers and opinions about his talent level are very different depending on who you read -- a three star on Rivals a borderline Top 100 overall recruit on the other site.
Pat Coogan has maintained good communication with Kevin Carberry since Notre Dame, Ohio State, LSU and others offered. Carberry's strong relationship with Coogan is very helpful right now.
Notre Dame is the one to be worried about with Coogan but my understanding of Notre Dame's board is it would have to take some losses for Coogan to be able to commit. I've also heard Coogan may have some cold feet about trying to get admitted to Stanford while he has all these other great opportunities that don't require that headache.
A month ago this recruitment looked very different. Ideally this is the time for Stanford to go on the offensive -- with more than Carberry -- to emphasize to Coogan that they liked him as a top priority before everyone else and remind him of the reasons he loved his visit to Stanford.
The two most recent offers are Bram Walden and Garrett Dellinger. I consider Walden to be a long shot because of both work to do and interest level. That's not a good place to be in April with no visits allowed. I don't have a good read on Dellinger yet but of course it's also really not helpful that he can't visit.
The most painful hit with regards to visit restrictions is whale tackle Nolan Rucci. I'm confident he would have visited this spring or summer if allowed and he has serious interest in large part due to his ambitious academic goals -- he wants to ultimately work at NASA.
Clearly Stanford needs to make more offers to offensive linemen. I wonder if the visit restrictions could cause Carberry to target high-academic kids who are solid recruits and don't necessarily need to see the campus to be impressed.
Linebacker
I'm grouping inside and out together and this section includes one of the more interesting updates: It's more likely than a month ago that Julien Simon will play linebacker at Stanford.
I don't get the sense it's 100 percent decided but this development is being helped along by the state of the inside linebacker board. Ethan Calvert is not as high on Stanford as he once was and appears to be leaning toward several other schools. Terrence Cooks really wanted to visit, is in good academic shape and has interest but he is being heavily pursued by many top programs and Stanford is trying to catch up.
Smael Mondon and Barrett Carter are off the board.
Stanford wanted to watch Simon this spring at his high school practices to evaluate how he'd fit as an ILB in their system. They won't have that opportunity now but there is more momentum than there used to be to start his career at that position. Position aside, he's a great football player and a must-get recruit for Stanford.
Quintin Somerville and Dallas Turner are the outside linebackers offered and I wrote in the thread about Turner that I think he's less likely than Somerville. I stand by that prediction but I've heard good things about both of their academic situations, communication with Stanford and excitement about being offered.
Stanford is going to have to compete in two national recruitments of highly sought after edge defenders without the benefit of getting them on campus anytime soon. That's a tough place to be. If Stanford gets one of them I think that's a great victory.
Defensive Back
Stanford wants to take three defensive backs and the current target is one cornerback and two safeties. But it's possible all three spots go to safeties and I think everyone who reads that on this forum should understand why that pipeline needs a boost.
Mitch Leigber and Donovan McMillon were offered because JD Coffey, Hunter Wohler and Tysheem Johnson are pretty much off the board.
Jaden Slocum is a top priority for Stanford and he had a good time on his visit. His parents appear to be on board with Stanford while Jaden has a high level of interest but is still very open to other schools. I think Stanford is in a good spot here as one of the top contenders.
Jimmy Wyrick is the most likely cornerback commit on the board. He is strong academically and doesn't need to visit again after getting to campus twice already. Ceyair Wright says all the right things but the competition level is concerning when you add in that he planned to visit a lot of other places this spring and summer.
If Stanford wants three safeties they'll need to make another offer. The best case scenario now is to have Slocum, Leigber and Wyrick in the class.
Wide Receiver/Tight End/Fullback
J. Michael Sturdivant is the most likely wide receiver commit after Simon, who may not be a wide receiver. Sturdivant has a high level of interest -- he camped at Stanford -- and would be a really good get.
Stanford is very much a contender for Erik Olsen and the Cardinal want to take a true tight end. Olsen was very excited to get the offer for all the reasons you expect a tight end to be excited given Stanford's history at the position. He almost certainly would have been at one of the spring junior days. Iowa State, ASU and UCLA are recruiting him the hardest.
Owen McGowan (linebacker commit for BC) and Shield Taylor both have offers to play fullback but it's not certain Stanford will take two. Stanford struck out on all of its 2020 walk-on fullbacks, which was a surprise to me and them, so they felt they had to add the position to the 2021 board.
Another factor is Stanford isn't sure if Houston Heimuli will want to stay at Stanford for a fifth year.
Running Back
In my opinion the list of options at this position is down to one: Prophet Brown. The good news is he's a really talented football player who also can legitimately play cornerback in college.
Brown released a top six schools of Notre Dame, USC, Oklahoma, Oregon, Michigan and Nebraska the day before Stanford offered. A new list in order of interest would place Stanford near the top.
Quarterback
Ari Patu does not appear to be in a hurry to commit. I have a guess that he'd like to have a Cal offer to consider playing with his brother for a couple years. Cal isn't going to make a move on any other quarterback until Miller Moss makes a decision.
