As the title notes, it's really too early to create one of these with all that much accuracy - historically only a percentage of the signees in any given class actually have offers as of early March. But Stanford has enough traction with enough prospects - and the class is small enough - that I figure it's probably worth doing one now. Also, while I have been able to do a bit of digging in recent weeks on where Stanford stands with some of these guys (and expect a heavy emphasis on 2017 recruiting stories in the next few weeks), particularly on the offensive side, I'm honestly a bit fuzzy in spot spots on defense. The May (or thereabouts) list, which I like to post sometime during the spring evaluation period, should be more accurate.
Due to the still relatively limited number of offers and early date, this will not be a true best guess list - I don't think that Stanford at this point leads for everyone on the list, so it's not really possible to do one of those now. But I do think they're in the top group for everyone below.
Also, as you'll see, this mock class includes 19 prospects - 18 if Sione Lund serves his mission. It would take a number of players leaving early/transferring/other attrition to get to that number. But for the sake of discussion...
Offense
QB
Davis Mills
FB
*Bailey McElwain
*Houston Heimuli
RB
Sione Lund
Salvon Ahmed
TE
Colby Parkinson
Tucker Fisk
OL
Walker Little
Foster Sarrell
WR
Osiris St. Brown
Tarik Black
DeeJay Dallas
-The quarterback position is still between Jake Bentley and Davis Mills. And to reiterate, while some have Mills ranked higher/assume Bentley is a backup plan, Stanford really does like both a lot. And both like them a lot. But at this point I do think Mills is more likely to end up in the class, and I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he does hop on board before too long. But Bentley is still involved and is still a possibility, so we'll see how it plays out.
-Sione Lund is committed (though he does intend to take some other visits this spring) and is still up in the air about serving his mission. Stanford needs to get Salvon Ahmed on campus, but his parents did visit for the last Junior Day and there is some reason for optimism there. Trey Sermon and JK Dobbins (who recently committed to Ohio State) were/are interested to varying degrees, but I wouldn't be too optimistic in either case.
-Stanford will likely take two or three receivers. I believe JaCoby Stevens is also in the mix here, though I haven't heard his name a ton lately. DeeJay Dallas is expected to visit next month and Stanford is in his early top 15. Tarik Black visited for Junior Day last month. It's probably a Stanford/Notre Dame battle for Osiris St. Brown - I do think Stanford will offer Amon-Ra (his class of 2018 younger brother) relatively soon, so that shouldn't be an impediment.
-Morgan Turner plans to spend the next 11 months of recruiting hanging out on the beach - his work in 2017 is pretty much done. Not really, of course - Stanford will continue to recruit Colby Parkinson and Tucker Fisk hard, and Turner has his regional responsibilities + will at some point shift part of his focus to 2018, but the point here is of course that Stanford is in terrific shape at tight end with Parkinson and Fisk committed.
-At this point the best intel is that Stanford will take two offensive linemen in 2017. And I think Stanford is in a good spot for both Foster Sarell and Walker Little. They could make a move for Wyatt Davis on his Junior Day trip, and Brett Neilon and Drew Dalman are very much on the radar (as is Andrew Vorhees and a few others), but I really do think they look good for Little and Sarell right now. Long way to go though, so we'll see how everything progresses over the coming months.
Defense
DL
Dalyn Wade-Perry
LB
Jaelan Phillips
Baron Browning/Tyshon Fogg
*Gabe Reid
DB
Elijah Molden
Darnay Holmes
Stu Head (commit)
-I haven't necessarily heard a concrete number for DL, but my somewhat educated sense is that they'd be happy with one. So this is a bit of a tough one because they are in the mix with a few strong candidates. They're the co-leader for Wade-Perry along with Notre Dame. He's a spring/summer visit candidate. Appears to be at least some reason for optimism with Ryan Johnson, C.J. Thorpe and Martin Andrus as well, though I don't know that Stanford leads for any.
-Stanford's success with Jaelan Phillips has been well chronicled over the past few weeks. He's a dynamic talent and a terrific fit. The Cardinal will have to hold off UCLA (where he has many family connections), Notre Dame, Michigan and the other usual suspects. But he could legitimately be a five-star guy when all is said and done, and Stanford is currently in a good spot. Browning doesn't talk much about Stanford publicly, but I've heard things are progressing relatively well there behind the scenes. Not sure where exactly they stand on his list, but Stanford will push to get him on campus soon and we'll see where it goes from there.
Tyshon Fogg has the Cardinal among his favorites and will be visiting soon - at this point he on paper looks to be a bit more realistic than Browning and like someone who could easily end up in the class, so we'll see how that progresses. I don't really have any special insight into his recruitment beyond what has been stated publicly, which has been encouraging for the Cardinal.
Stanford is in Leonard Warner's top five and are in varying degrees of contention for Santino Marchiol, Avery Roberts, Nate McBride, David Adams, Anthony Hines and perhaps Justin Foster, though a few of those guys are very much longshots.
-Stu Head is committed to Stanford as a safety, and the Cardinal is in the top two for both Holmes and Molden. I don't have any terrific recent insight on Darnay, but based on his public statements the upcoming Junior Day could be important in fending off a strong push from UCLA. I don't think people nationally give Stanford enough of a chance with Molden because of his connections to Oregon.
Jeffrey Okudah has Stanford in his top two or three and could play either safety or corner. Jaylen Kelly-Powell is a high academic kid who continues to build a relationship with the Cardinal and should be visiting sometime this offseason. C.J. Avery claims it might be a Notre Dame/Stanford battle - let's see if he visits. Shaun Wade has also spoken highly of the Cardinal in the past, but I haven't really heard his name in a while.
They're in the top few for Chaz Ah You, though the fact that BYU just hired his father to their football staff and the fact that he recently named UCLA a slight leader give one a bit of pause. He's an LDS mission candidate. Damani Neal spoke very highly of Stanford after he received the offer, but he hasn't said a ton about them publicly lately. Stanford is still talking to Jamyest Williams, but I'd be surprised if he leaves the SEC. So - and stop me if you've heard this before - Stanford's DB board appears to be relatively deep and encouraging at this point.
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-Also, an unrelated note: Stanford has juggled their coaching staff's recruiting territories a little bit with Randy Hart retiring and Diron Reynolds joining the staff. I don't know exactly where everyone will be, but have heard Tavita Pritchard will take the Northwest, Mike Bloomgren will take part of Ohio, Duane Akina and Lance Taylor will now join Bloomgren down in the Los Angeles area (I think Pete Alamar still has the Inland Empire and Lance Anderson the San Diego area), Diron Reynolds will be in the Midwest and (I believe) part of North Carolina. Possibly a few more tweaks as well, but those are some of the ones I'm aware of.
Due to the still relatively limited number of offers and early date, this will not be a true best guess list - I don't think that Stanford at this point leads for everyone on the list, so it's not really possible to do one of those now. But I do think they're in the top group for everyone below.
Also, as you'll see, this mock class includes 19 prospects - 18 if Sione Lund serves his mission. It would take a number of players leaving early/transferring/other attrition to get to that number. But for the sake of discussion...
Offense
QB
Davis Mills
FB
*Bailey McElwain
*Houston Heimuli
RB
Sione Lund
Salvon Ahmed
TE
Colby Parkinson
Tucker Fisk
OL
Walker Little
Foster Sarrell
WR
Osiris St. Brown
Tarik Black
DeeJay Dallas
-The quarterback position is still between Jake Bentley and Davis Mills. And to reiterate, while some have Mills ranked higher/assume Bentley is a backup plan, Stanford really does like both a lot. And both like them a lot. But at this point I do think Mills is more likely to end up in the class, and I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he does hop on board before too long. But Bentley is still involved and is still a possibility, so we'll see how it plays out.
-Sione Lund is committed (though he does intend to take some other visits this spring) and is still up in the air about serving his mission. Stanford needs to get Salvon Ahmed on campus, but his parents did visit for the last Junior Day and there is some reason for optimism there. Trey Sermon and JK Dobbins (who recently committed to Ohio State) were/are interested to varying degrees, but I wouldn't be too optimistic in either case.
-Stanford will likely take two or three receivers. I believe JaCoby Stevens is also in the mix here, though I haven't heard his name a ton lately. DeeJay Dallas is expected to visit next month and Stanford is in his early top 15. Tarik Black visited for Junior Day last month. It's probably a Stanford/Notre Dame battle for Osiris St. Brown - I do think Stanford will offer Amon-Ra (his class of 2018 younger brother) relatively soon, so that shouldn't be an impediment.
-Morgan Turner plans to spend the next 11 months of recruiting hanging out on the beach - his work in 2017 is pretty much done. Not really, of course - Stanford will continue to recruit Colby Parkinson and Tucker Fisk hard, and Turner has his regional responsibilities + will at some point shift part of his focus to 2018, but the point here is of course that Stanford is in terrific shape at tight end with Parkinson and Fisk committed.
-At this point the best intel is that Stanford will take two offensive linemen in 2017. And I think Stanford is in a good spot for both Foster Sarell and Walker Little. They could make a move for Wyatt Davis on his Junior Day trip, and Brett Neilon and Drew Dalman are very much on the radar (as is Andrew Vorhees and a few others), but I really do think they look good for Little and Sarell right now. Long way to go though, so we'll see how everything progresses over the coming months.
Defense
DL
Dalyn Wade-Perry
LB
Jaelan Phillips
Baron Browning/Tyshon Fogg
*Gabe Reid
DB
Elijah Molden
Darnay Holmes
Stu Head (commit)
-I haven't necessarily heard a concrete number for DL, but my somewhat educated sense is that they'd be happy with one. So this is a bit of a tough one because they are in the mix with a few strong candidates. They're the co-leader for Wade-Perry along with Notre Dame. He's a spring/summer visit candidate. Appears to be at least some reason for optimism with Ryan Johnson, C.J. Thorpe and Martin Andrus as well, though I don't know that Stanford leads for any.
-Stanford's success with Jaelan Phillips has been well chronicled over the past few weeks. He's a dynamic talent and a terrific fit. The Cardinal will have to hold off UCLA (where he has many family connections), Notre Dame, Michigan and the other usual suspects. But he could legitimately be a five-star guy when all is said and done, and Stanford is currently in a good spot. Browning doesn't talk much about Stanford publicly, but I've heard things are progressing relatively well there behind the scenes. Not sure where exactly they stand on his list, but Stanford will push to get him on campus soon and we'll see where it goes from there.
Tyshon Fogg has the Cardinal among his favorites and will be visiting soon - at this point he on paper looks to be a bit more realistic than Browning and like someone who could easily end up in the class, so we'll see how that progresses. I don't really have any special insight into his recruitment beyond what has been stated publicly, which has been encouraging for the Cardinal.
Stanford is in Leonard Warner's top five and are in varying degrees of contention for Santino Marchiol, Avery Roberts, Nate McBride, David Adams, Anthony Hines and perhaps Justin Foster, though a few of those guys are very much longshots.
-Stu Head is committed to Stanford as a safety, and the Cardinal is in the top two for both Holmes and Molden. I don't have any terrific recent insight on Darnay, but based on his public statements the upcoming Junior Day could be important in fending off a strong push from UCLA. I don't think people nationally give Stanford enough of a chance with Molden because of his connections to Oregon.
Jeffrey Okudah has Stanford in his top two or three and could play either safety or corner. Jaylen Kelly-Powell is a high academic kid who continues to build a relationship with the Cardinal and should be visiting sometime this offseason. C.J. Avery claims it might be a Notre Dame/Stanford battle - let's see if he visits. Shaun Wade has also spoken highly of the Cardinal in the past, but I haven't really heard his name in a while.
They're in the top few for Chaz Ah You, though the fact that BYU just hired his father to their football staff and the fact that he recently named UCLA a slight leader give one a bit of pause. He's an LDS mission candidate. Damani Neal spoke very highly of Stanford after he received the offer, but he hasn't said a ton about them publicly lately. Stanford is still talking to Jamyest Williams, but I'd be surprised if he leaves the SEC. So - and stop me if you've heard this before - Stanford's DB board appears to be relatively deep and encouraging at this point.
##########
-Also, an unrelated note: Stanford has juggled their coaching staff's recruiting territories a little bit with Randy Hart retiring and Diron Reynolds joining the staff. I don't know exactly where everyone will be, but have heard Tavita Pritchard will take the Northwest, Mike Bloomgren will take part of Ohio, Duane Akina and Lance Taylor will now join Bloomgren down in the Los Angeles area (I think Pete Alamar still has the Inland Empire and Lance Anderson the San Diego area), Diron Reynolds will be in the Midwest and (I believe) part of North Carolina. Possibly a few more tweaks as well, but those are some of the ones I'm aware of.
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