Alrighty, the football recruiting notes thread for November is here!
October thread is here in case you missed anything from there.
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Heading into November, Stanford has the 36th best class in 2023 with 14 scholarship commits.
Check that list out here in case you missed anyone.
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Two names to keep an eye on of that group are 4-star tight end
Walker Lyons and 4-star defensive end
Hunter Clegg. Both are considered risks at least to some degree to flip to a different school. Utah looking like the biggest threat for both. At the moment, I would say odds are good they'll both remain committed. Clegg made it clear to me that he is firmly committed and while he hasn't gotten back to my inquiries, Lyons' behavior on Twitter indicates he's still locked in at the moment as well.
That isn't to say there is no chance they flip to Utah. Clegg's brother is there and Lyons likes how Stanford uses their tight ends as well. Plus, being LDS and planning to serve missions, they don't really have to decide until they get back from their missions as they are in effect 2025 recruits. Still, panic meter at the moment appears to be low. But we'll see how things progress over the next few weeks as we get closer to signing day.
As far as other possible additions to the 2023 class go, wide receiver
Jackson Harris out of Berkeley High School in Berkeley landed an offer from Stanford late in October after visiting for the Oregon State game. Cal, Eastern Michigan, UNLV, and Cal Poly are his other offers.
I would say this is a Cal-Stanford race so long as no other high majors come in and offer. If you're Cal, you have to keep a Berkeley kid in Berkeley. That's right in your back yard. Though at the same time, maybe he wants to try something new all while still being close to home, which would make Stanford a very attractive option. So, he's one to keep an eye on.
Another one is 3-star wide receiver
Ismael Cisse out of Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, CO. Other offers are Cal, Colorado, Colorado State, UNLV, USC, and Washington State. He visited Cal back in March. A little bit better offers list than Harris, so more competition there. Plus he's an out of state kid, so Colorado I'm sure is on him hard. The fact that he visited Cal is a good sign in that it shows he's been to the Bay Area and also has interest in a high academic school. Stanford usually edges Cal in those battles.
Going across the country to Virginia we have 3-star defensive tackle
Elijah Hughes. Admitted, but taking his sweet time and not wanting to give much of a tell of as to where he's going. I would think if he was coming to Stanford, he'd have committed by now, but then again I suppose all the schools recruiting him could feel the same way, so it's just hard to tell.
The one thing I will say is very early on I was informed that he was really recruiting himself to Stanford and really asked to get the offer and had the vibe of being one of these so called "self-selectors." So on those grounds, I hold out hope that Stanford can land him, but it really is a wait and see with him. I could see it going either way. 50/50. USC appears to be in there and then there's also a chance he stays close to home and signs with Virginia Tech.
3-star outside linebacker
Asa Newsom (targeted as an ILB, right
@SamuelMcF ?) is also admitted. He seems to be taking his time and is considering a visit after his season is over. So, he's a guy who I could see possibly making a decision after the regular signing day. Waiting until February to sign and make his announcement.
He's another hard guy to read, but I feel Stanford is still in there. As they should be with anyone who is admitted though as we've seen, being admitted doesn't guarantee a guy will come. So, we'll just have to see what he does. Iowa looks to be the biggest competition given how often he's visited there. His official visits in total have been to Iowa, Stanford, Minnesota, and Kansas State.
Going back to the East Bay, we have outside linebacker
Omar Staples, who I believe is being looked at as an edge. He considers himself a defense end on Hudl and he plays for Oakland Tech. Stanford is one of just four offers he has with Oregon State, Utah, and Washington State being the other three. I'm bewildered of as to why Cal hasn't offered him. That's just strange.
But anyways, Stanford should like their chances here if you just look at that list. Utah is the biggest threat because they're the best football program of the bunch, but I think Stanford should have an easier time recruiting a kid from Oakland than Utah just in terms of vibe and culture. But the fact that he has a Utah offer indicates he's got some game.
Staying on defense, we then get to 4-star inside linebacker
Leviticus Su'a. All of his interviews indicate a Stanford/Arizona race, but UCLA just offered him, so they appear to have entered the picture as well. He hasn't been responsive to any of messages, but neither was David Bailey down the stretch of his recruitment, so I don't necessarily take that as a bad sign. I just think he's not wanting to give a tip or a lead on where he's leaning right now. He's keeping things close to the vest.
I think what Stanford has going for them is the presence of Bailey. The two of them could form a really dynamic duo on defense and as the season has gone one, they've gotten better defensively. So that's something Stanford can point to. I don't want to give a percentage of odds with him, but I feel like Stanford is definitely still in there and in truth, between Arizona and UCLA, I would have to think UCLA is the bigger threat because it's a better school than Arizona, it's a better program, and it's closer to home. Plus, Stanford saw Kamari Ramsey flip to UCLA a year ago, so they've shown they've pulled guys away from The Farm before.
Switching back to offense, 2023 3-star wide receiver
Jordan Onovughe visited for the USC game and it was considered an official visit. So on those grounds, I'd have to think an offer is coming. But then again I would also think it would have come by now. So I guess we'll have to see, but if Stanford does offer, I like their chances of landing him. Utah and Colorado are his other high major offers. UNLV, Fordham, and Colorado State have also offered.