Stanford football is finally operating like a modern recruiting operation, and it will be uncomfortable for many fans to adjust to. I know I'm suffering from some whiplash. What we're seeing happen since the first visit weekend is unlike anything that occurred during Shaw's tenure and didn't even happen to this extent in such a concentrated period under Harbaugh. I was outspoken with my exasperation with Shaw's approach and general disinterest in recruiting, so I would like to share my thoughts on recent developments.
Pressuring Kids to Commit
I am confident we are doing this. Eight recruits have gone public with commitments since June 5. The question is whether we're being jerks about applying pressure or walking Taylor's talk about leading with love in every way possible. I can only imagine a scenario in which Brandon Nicholson commits two weeks before his official visit if he is worried about having a spot in the class. How do I feel about this? Honestly, I don't know. I lean toward it's not a big deal because almost every other program does this to some degree.
It's fair to ask Taylor to talk about this without discussing individual cases. He seems to be a coach who can be asked to speak about his philosophy for applying pressure in the recruiting process and how it fits with his public statements about culture. I'm not saying they're mutually exclusive. If you have a tough but fair evaluation and recruiting system, you can do a lot to ensure parents/guardians/recruits/coaches aren't pissed with you.
We can't afford to wait around and be the nice guys from Stanford. We can't play everything out to signing day in December. There's too much to do. The sooner we get to a place where we're confident about the 2024 class, the better we can shift even more resources to 2025. That's one of the reasons why getting public commitments from the recruit leaders is essential — guys who can rally the class without direct staff support.
Churn, churn, churn?
Are Stanford's new coaches pro-churners in recruiting and roster management? Do we have a staff of go-getters who say a recruiting win is a win, and let's get it on Twitter as soon as possible?
I assume Bobby April has a significant say in offers to defensive recruits, the organization of the board, and who to take now versus possibly slow play. Wisconsin had remarkable success from 2018-2022 with holding onto commitments. They reportedly had two total de-commits in 2018, three in 2019 (Marcus Graham to us), and zero in 2020-2022. Six de-commitments occurred in November and December 2023 as the program underwent a coaching change. That's the recruiting approach April is used to, and there were good results.
For what it's worth, and I suspect it's very little, the Sacramento State 247 page shows only one total de-commit since 2019, when Taylor took over. There's one listed in 2017, so someone has entered such information about Sac State recruiting at various times.
This is an incomplete picture, but there's at least a little evidence that we don't have a staff full of guys with a history or preference for taking flimsy commitments. My fingers are crossed that we're witnessing a temporary compromise with their preferred steady approach because we need to go all gas, no brakes.
Fortunately, there's reporting that we're in a good position for Elijah Brown, Dylan Stephenson, Emmett Mosley, and a couple of other four-star recruits on one site or another. If we land those guys, then we can feel better about why commitments are pouring in. Those guys have profiles that can't be pushed to commit.
Celebrate!
Stanford has a football staff that cares about recruiting and puts in the work to succeed at a job requiring insane hours. I wouldn't be a college football coach. But if you volunteer to be one, you better be on board with doing this. Shaw found recruiting distasteful and advocated for kids to choose the school rather than be recruited to it — while he cashed in millions of dollars.
Pressuring Kids to Commit
I am confident we are doing this. Eight recruits have gone public with commitments since June 5. The question is whether we're being jerks about applying pressure or walking Taylor's talk about leading with love in every way possible. I can only imagine a scenario in which Brandon Nicholson commits two weeks before his official visit if he is worried about having a spot in the class. How do I feel about this? Honestly, I don't know. I lean toward it's not a big deal because almost every other program does this to some degree.
It's fair to ask Taylor to talk about this without discussing individual cases. He seems to be a coach who can be asked to speak about his philosophy for applying pressure in the recruiting process and how it fits with his public statements about culture. I'm not saying they're mutually exclusive. If you have a tough but fair evaluation and recruiting system, you can do a lot to ensure parents/guardians/recruits/coaches aren't pissed with you.
We can't afford to wait around and be the nice guys from Stanford. We can't play everything out to signing day in December. There's too much to do. The sooner we get to a place where we're confident about the 2024 class, the better we can shift even more resources to 2025. That's one of the reasons why getting public commitments from the recruit leaders is essential — guys who can rally the class without direct staff support.
Churn, churn, churn?
Are Stanford's new coaches pro-churners in recruiting and roster management? Do we have a staff of go-getters who say a recruiting win is a win, and let's get it on Twitter as soon as possible?
I assume Bobby April has a significant say in offers to defensive recruits, the organization of the board, and who to take now versus possibly slow play. Wisconsin had remarkable success from 2018-2022 with holding onto commitments. They reportedly had two total de-commits in 2018, three in 2019 (Marcus Graham to us), and zero in 2020-2022. Six de-commitments occurred in November and December 2023 as the program underwent a coaching change. That's the recruiting approach April is used to, and there were good results.
For what it's worth, and I suspect it's very little, the Sacramento State 247 page shows only one total de-commit since 2019, when Taylor took over. There's one listed in 2017, so someone has entered such information about Sac State recruiting at various times.
This is an incomplete picture, but there's at least a little evidence that we don't have a staff full of guys with a history or preference for taking flimsy commitments. My fingers are crossed that we're witnessing a temporary compromise with their preferred steady approach because we need to go all gas, no brakes.
Fortunately, there's reporting that we're in a good position for Elijah Brown, Dylan Stephenson, Emmett Mosley, and a couple of other four-star recruits on one site or another. If we land those guys, then we can feel better about why commitments are pouring in. Those guys have profiles that can't be pushed to commit.
Celebrate!
Stanford has a football staff that cares about recruiting and puts in the work to succeed at a job requiring insane hours. I wouldn't be a college football coach. But if you volunteer to be one, you better be on board with doing this. Shaw found recruiting distasteful and advocated for kids to choose the school rather than be recruited to it — while he cashed in millions of dollars.
