I still want to get to a number of additional 2016 recruiting items before totally moving coverage on to the 2017 class, but figured it would be a good idea to kind of summarize the current standing of Stanford's 2017 recruiting efforts now. I haven't really chatted with many 2017 targets within the past month or so, and there were a few more '17 offers extended this week, but hopefully this gives folks a bit of a general overview, even if it doesn't reflect all of the very latest developments.
Stanford will host its first Junior Day of the 2017 cycle later this month, so that will kind of be the next major event in 2017 recruiting. And I'll start making calls and gathering additional information on the 2017 class soon.
I'll have a defense/special teams (well, really defense, because it seems really unlikely that Stanford uses a scholarship on a specialist in 2017) preview up sometime in the next few days.
And I don't currently have the information, but at some point I'll hopefully be able to provide a rough estimate on desired numbers for each position (and total numbers for the class).
Quarterback
Both Jake Bentley and Davis Mills camped with Stanford this summer. Mills made a return trip to The Farm for the Oregon game, while Bentley has publicly named Stanford his leader at various points throughout the fall and winter.
Stanford expects to take one quarterback in 2017, but right now this is too close to call. I'm confident Stanford will get one of the two signal callers; just hard to know if it will be Bentley or Mills. There are a number of other strong QB options they could get to if they miss on Mils or Bentley, I just don't see that happening at this point.
QB recruiting is obviously going to be one of the key 2017 recruiting storylines to track, and based on the traditional timeline by which quarterbacks make their commitments, it could be one of the first to be resolved.
Offers
Jake Bentley | Latest Rivals update
Davis Mills | Latest Rivals update
Running back
Stanford has a solid early commitment from four-star Utah running back Sione Lund. This is and was a major addition, but Lund's LDS mission plans might delay the start of his college career. Sione has gone somewhat back and forth on whether to take the mission. Last we chatted (article linked below), he was planning to serve one, but was considering the possibility of getting in a year at Stanford before leaving. So that's something to keep an eye on over the next few months.
Interestingly, Lund actually recently transferred high schools with the intent of preparing academically for Stanford - so it seems pretty clear that he remains very high on the Cardinal.
None of Stanford's other offered running backs have (to the best of my knowledge, anyway) visited The Farm. Sermon has expressed some interest via Twitter. Not sure how much interest Dobbins has in the Cardinal. I kind of don't think Colin Wilson is a likely candidate, but that's based on my lone interview with him, which was conducted last spring.
*I know he is listed with a Stanford offer, but I'm not sure Florida RB Jamari Peacock actually has one quite yet. He did visit The Farm over summer, though, and is definitely on the radar. So that will be another RB to watch. Texas RB Kaegun Williams is also on the radar to one degree or another.
**Salvon Ahmed is listed by Rivals as an athlete, but I believe (but will need to double check) that Stanford likes him as a running back. The Cardinal swung by his school last week during the latter part of the evaluation period to check on him.
Offers
Salvon Ahmed
J.K. Dobbins
Sione Lund (COMMIT) | Latest Rivals update
Trey Sermon
Colin Wilson
Tight end
Stanford is in great shape with its 2017 tight end recruiting. They've offered two tight ends - Tucker Fisk and Colby Parkinson - and already have one commitment, from Parkinson. The Cardinal will also be very difficult to beat for Fisk, whose father, Jason, played football at Stanford with David Shaw in the 1990's,
Along the lines of Kaden Smith in the 2016 class, Parkinson profiles as more of a flex tight end who could be used on a variety of passing routes in addition to blocking along the line of scrimmage. Fisk projects as more of an inline blocking tight end, a la Scooter Harrington
Offers
Colby Parkinson (COMMIT) | Latest Rivals update
Tucker Fisk | Latest Rivals update
Offensive line
Stanford took five (plus a Power 5 offer OL in Matt Gutwald) offensive linemen in 2016, on the heels of four-player classes the previous two years, so I wouldn't think Stanford would need a huge OL class in 2017. However, they're really well positioned with some of the nation's best.
Specifically, I think they're in extremely good shape at this early juncture of the recruiting cycle for Foster Sarell, and they've made a very strong impression on Walker Little. Both players project as tackles, and both are Rivals100 recruits.
They've also offered Tennessee OT Trey Smith, but I haven't seen or heard anything to indicate he's all that interested.
As for the interior line positions, Stanford has two offers out to guard/center types: Jack Anderson and Wyatt Davis. Anderson is a Texas Tech legacy from the state of Texas who committed early to Texas Tech. It seems highly unlikely that Stanford will get anywhere in that recruitment. Wyatt Davis might be a bit of a different story. The five-star (and No. 1 OG in the country) visited The Farm for the Cal game. Wyatt's older brother does play for Cal, but Wyatt stuck around for the weekend and got a pretty good feel for the place. Wyatt can basically name his college destination and his recruitment will not be easy to win, but Stanford's definitely in the game right now.
There are also several linemen who don't currently have offers but impressed at camp; they are listed at the bottom of this post.
*C.J. Thorpe has a Stanford offer and is listed in the Rivals database as an offensive guard but my understanding is that Stanford likes him as a defensive lineman.
**Five-star OL Isaiah Wilson is listed as a Stanford offer recipient by several services, but I do not believe that is accurate.
Offers
Foster Sarell | Latest Rivals update (it's probably about time for another interview)
Walker Little | Latest Rivals update
Trey Smith
Jack Anderson
Wyatt Davis | Latest Rivals update
Stanford will host its first Junior Day of the 2017 cycle later this month, so that will kind of be the next major event in 2017 recruiting. And I'll start making calls and gathering additional information on the 2017 class soon.
I'll have a defense/special teams (well, really defense, because it seems really unlikely that Stanford uses a scholarship on a specialist in 2017) preview up sometime in the next few days.
And I don't currently have the information, but at some point I'll hopefully be able to provide a rough estimate on desired numbers for each position (and total numbers for the class).
Quarterback
Both Jake Bentley and Davis Mills camped with Stanford this summer. Mills made a return trip to The Farm for the Oregon game, while Bentley has publicly named Stanford his leader at various points throughout the fall and winter.
Stanford expects to take one quarterback in 2017, but right now this is too close to call. I'm confident Stanford will get one of the two signal callers; just hard to know if it will be Bentley or Mills. There are a number of other strong QB options they could get to if they miss on Mils or Bentley, I just don't see that happening at this point.
QB recruiting is obviously going to be one of the key 2017 recruiting storylines to track, and based on the traditional timeline by which quarterbacks make their commitments, it could be one of the first to be resolved.
Offers
Jake Bentley | Latest Rivals update
Davis Mills | Latest Rivals update
Running back
Stanford has a solid early commitment from four-star Utah running back Sione Lund. This is and was a major addition, but Lund's LDS mission plans might delay the start of his college career. Sione has gone somewhat back and forth on whether to take the mission. Last we chatted (article linked below), he was planning to serve one, but was considering the possibility of getting in a year at Stanford before leaving. So that's something to keep an eye on over the next few months.
Interestingly, Lund actually recently transferred high schools with the intent of preparing academically for Stanford - so it seems pretty clear that he remains very high on the Cardinal.
None of Stanford's other offered running backs have (to the best of my knowledge, anyway) visited The Farm. Sermon has expressed some interest via Twitter. Not sure how much interest Dobbins has in the Cardinal. I kind of don't think Colin Wilson is a likely candidate, but that's based on my lone interview with him, which was conducted last spring.
*I know he is listed with a Stanford offer, but I'm not sure Florida RB Jamari Peacock actually has one quite yet. He did visit The Farm over summer, though, and is definitely on the radar. So that will be another RB to watch. Texas RB Kaegun Williams is also on the radar to one degree or another.
**Salvon Ahmed is listed by Rivals as an athlete, but I believe (but will need to double check) that Stanford likes him as a running back. The Cardinal swung by his school last week during the latter part of the evaluation period to check on him.
Offers
Salvon Ahmed
J.K. Dobbins
Sione Lund (COMMIT) | Latest Rivals update
Trey Sermon
Colin Wilson
Tight end
Stanford is in great shape with its 2017 tight end recruiting. They've offered two tight ends - Tucker Fisk and Colby Parkinson - and already have one commitment, from Parkinson. The Cardinal will also be very difficult to beat for Fisk, whose father, Jason, played football at Stanford with David Shaw in the 1990's,
Along the lines of Kaden Smith in the 2016 class, Parkinson profiles as more of a flex tight end who could be used on a variety of passing routes in addition to blocking along the line of scrimmage. Fisk projects as more of an inline blocking tight end, a la Scooter Harrington
Offers
Colby Parkinson (COMMIT) | Latest Rivals update
Tucker Fisk | Latest Rivals update
Offensive line
Stanford took five (plus a Power 5 offer OL in Matt Gutwald) offensive linemen in 2016, on the heels of four-player classes the previous two years, so I wouldn't think Stanford would need a huge OL class in 2017. However, they're really well positioned with some of the nation's best.
Specifically, I think they're in extremely good shape at this early juncture of the recruiting cycle for Foster Sarell, and they've made a very strong impression on Walker Little. Both players project as tackles, and both are Rivals100 recruits.
They've also offered Tennessee OT Trey Smith, but I haven't seen or heard anything to indicate he's all that interested.
As for the interior line positions, Stanford has two offers out to guard/center types: Jack Anderson and Wyatt Davis. Anderson is a Texas Tech legacy from the state of Texas who committed early to Texas Tech. It seems highly unlikely that Stanford will get anywhere in that recruitment. Wyatt Davis might be a bit of a different story. The five-star (and No. 1 OG in the country) visited The Farm for the Cal game. Wyatt's older brother does play for Cal, but Wyatt stuck around for the weekend and got a pretty good feel for the place. Wyatt can basically name his college destination and his recruitment will not be easy to win, but Stanford's definitely in the game right now.
There are also several linemen who don't currently have offers but impressed at camp; they are listed at the bottom of this post.
*C.J. Thorpe has a Stanford offer and is listed in the Rivals database as an offensive guard but my understanding is that Stanford likes him as a defensive lineman.
**Five-star OL Isaiah Wilson is listed as a Stanford offer recipient by several services, but I do not believe that is accurate.
Offers
Foster Sarell | Latest Rivals update (it's probably about time for another interview)
Walker Little | Latest Rivals update
Trey Smith
Jack Anderson
Wyatt Davis | Latest Rivals update
