The program is rolling out one of my favorite annual features, the highlight videos of the new players narrated by the coaches. I thought it might be interesting to share the observations the coaches made. Unless I'm mistaken, the highlights are all posted but not all have music and narration yet, so I'll try to keep a rolling thread going as videos get posted. The first tranche:
James Pogorelc
Carberry: "James Pogorelc is a tackle. Long, athletic player. Plays on his basketball team. We started the recruiting process of James this summer before the 2019 season when we began his evaluation process and the growth he made from his junior year to his senior year, not just in his play but physically in his body was significant, which we're really excited about. We think he'll be a heck of a player for us."
Pritchard: "Physically, he's a guy that, again, embraces the physical aspect of the game, really has the ability to bend but move people from Point A to Point B, and, for us, just knew that he wanted to be in an atmosphere that you had high-achieving individuals, not just on the football field but academically as well. And we're really excited about Pogo's upside and his ability as an offensive lineman in this program."
Lance Keneley
Reynolds: "A 6-5 defensive end, great athlete coming out of Mission Viejo, California. Lance has great get-off coming off the edge, brings great length being 6-5. Lance is a great pass rusher, has the ability to get to the quarterback using his length very well. The front four at his high school called themselves the Fearsome Foursome, kind of an old-school throwback. Lance is a wrestler, does an outstanding job of using his hands. That allows him to get on and off blocks and get to the quarterback really well."
Scotty Edwards
Akina: "So Scotty Edwards is a, when I first saw him, was just a really good football player. Outstanding offensive player, running back, wide receiver, kick returner, guy that just showed a lot of offensive skills. And his running style really showed with loose hips, can stick a foot in the ground, that he would project nicely onto the defensive side of the ball. Through his football tape he does show outstanding skills, got great ball skills in finishing plays. Even though he had an injury in the season he showed his toughness by coming back on an injury that just shows, you know, our staff and his teammates that football and the team is extremely important to him. So we're excited about having Scotty be a part of this Stanford football family."
Zephron Lester
Reynolds: "Zephron Lester is a 2-star athlete from Christ the King High School in New York. Zephron is a very talented nose, has the ability to play up and down the line of scrimmage. Of course as a nose you have to have the ability to use your hands well and Zephron does that. I think he's going to be able to anchor the middle for us and provide some depth for us at that nose position. He'll be a great addition to our room."
Logan Berzins
Carberry: "Logan came to our camp this summer. Really enjoyed working with Logan, he's a very competitive, very physical player. He'll be a guard/tackle swing player for us and we think he'll do a heck of a job."
Bryce Farrell
Kennedy: "Bryce Farrell has a unique talent and what that talent and ability is is not only being a natural ball catcher, he's a guy that when you watch him on tape he jumps off at you. He's a guy that you feel him come off the line of scrimmage. You could see on tape and live that he has excellent speed, that he knows how to use his speed, he sets up guys extremely well, but just a really good overall player and just a unique skillset that I think he'll benefit in our offense and we'll benefit from having him."
Casey Filkins
Gould: "Casey Filkins, 2020 running back. Very excited about him. His patience in the hole, he has great understanding of schemes and where the play's supposed to be blocked, and then you get a chance to see his acceleration through the hole, which is phenomenal. He has great versatility as well. He can catch the ball, he can throw the football, so we may have a little package in there for him as well. So very excited about him, he's going to be a great addition to our room, to our program and looking forward to it."
Alaka'i Gilman
Akina: "So Alaka'i Gilman is a safety for us, very intelligent football player, you'll see that on his tape. But what really jumped out at me is he's a collider. He's a high speed collision football player. He's got great instincts, got great feel for the game. He's been raised around football all his life with his brother who played at Notre Dame and his dad who is an outstanding football coach himself. So we're really excited about getting Alaka'i here on the Farm because I think he'll bring to us a real intelligence back there, a passion for the football game, and a great physical presence in the middle of the field."
Ayden Hector
Akina: "You know, Ayden Hector is another just really good football player, he's very diverse in the secondary. I see that he can play corner, safety, nickel....We're really excited about getting a diverse talent like this that can play numerous positions, you know, within the secondary and on special teams also."
Anderson: "Shown some really good stuff on film, a lot of versatility in the secondary, very physical football player. His dad played at USC so also some great bloodlines there."
Myles Hinton
Carberry: "Myles Hinton, he's a Stanford Man through and through. He's a big, strong, physical guy and he comes from good football stock in that his father played football in the NFL for a number of years."
Pritchard: "He is a prototypical offensive tackle. You look at him and he's got length and size and he's square. He's got all the makings to be a great player. In addition to him being just a phenomenal human being and really a competitor, Myles has it genetically. And so he's a guy that just really understands how special a place like Stanford is and what he can add to the community, but we're extremely excited about Myles Hinton joining this 2020 class."
James Pogorelc
Carberry: "James Pogorelc is a tackle. Long, athletic player. Plays on his basketball team. We started the recruiting process of James this summer before the 2019 season when we began his evaluation process and the growth he made from his junior year to his senior year, not just in his play but physically in his body was significant, which we're really excited about. We think he'll be a heck of a player for us."
Pritchard: "Physically, he's a guy that, again, embraces the physical aspect of the game, really has the ability to bend but move people from Point A to Point B, and, for us, just knew that he wanted to be in an atmosphere that you had high-achieving individuals, not just on the football field but academically as well. And we're really excited about Pogo's upside and his ability as an offensive lineman in this program."
Lance Keneley
Reynolds: "A 6-5 defensive end, great athlete coming out of Mission Viejo, California. Lance has great get-off coming off the edge, brings great length being 6-5. Lance is a great pass rusher, has the ability to get to the quarterback using his length very well. The front four at his high school called themselves the Fearsome Foursome, kind of an old-school throwback. Lance is a wrestler, does an outstanding job of using his hands. That allows him to get on and off blocks and get to the quarterback really well."
Scotty Edwards
Akina: "So Scotty Edwards is a, when I first saw him, was just a really good football player. Outstanding offensive player, running back, wide receiver, kick returner, guy that just showed a lot of offensive skills. And his running style really showed with loose hips, can stick a foot in the ground, that he would project nicely onto the defensive side of the ball. Through his football tape he does show outstanding skills, got great ball skills in finishing plays. Even though he had an injury in the season he showed his toughness by coming back on an injury that just shows, you know, our staff and his teammates that football and the team is extremely important to him. So we're excited about having Scotty be a part of this Stanford football family."
Zephron Lester
Reynolds: "Zephron Lester is a 2-star athlete from Christ the King High School in New York. Zephron is a very talented nose, has the ability to play up and down the line of scrimmage. Of course as a nose you have to have the ability to use your hands well and Zephron does that. I think he's going to be able to anchor the middle for us and provide some depth for us at that nose position. He'll be a great addition to our room."
Logan Berzins
Carberry: "Logan came to our camp this summer. Really enjoyed working with Logan, he's a very competitive, very physical player. He'll be a guard/tackle swing player for us and we think he'll do a heck of a job."
Bryce Farrell
Kennedy: "Bryce Farrell has a unique talent and what that talent and ability is is not only being a natural ball catcher, he's a guy that when you watch him on tape he jumps off at you. He's a guy that you feel him come off the line of scrimmage. You could see on tape and live that he has excellent speed, that he knows how to use his speed, he sets up guys extremely well, but just a really good overall player and just a unique skillset that I think he'll benefit in our offense and we'll benefit from having him."
Casey Filkins
Gould: "Casey Filkins, 2020 running back. Very excited about him. His patience in the hole, he has great understanding of schemes and where the play's supposed to be blocked, and then you get a chance to see his acceleration through the hole, which is phenomenal. He has great versatility as well. He can catch the ball, he can throw the football, so we may have a little package in there for him as well. So very excited about him, he's going to be a great addition to our room, to our program and looking forward to it."
Alaka'i Gilman
Akina: "So Alaka'i Gilman is a safety for us, very intelligent football player, you'll see that on his tape. But what really jumped out at me is he's a collider. He's a high speed collision football player. He's got great instincts, got great feel for the game. He's been raised around football all his life with his brother who played at Notre Dame and his dad who is an outstanding football coach himself. So we're really excited about getting Alaka'i here on the Farm because I think he'll bring to us a real intelligence back there, a passion for the football game, and a great physical presence in the middle of the field."
Ayden Hector
Akina: "You know, Ayden Hector is another just really good football player, he's very diverse in the secondary. I see that he can play corner, safety, nickel....We're really excited about getting a diverse talent like this that can play numerous positions, you know, within the secondary and on special teams also."
Anderson: "Shown some really good stuff on film, a lot of versatility in the secondary, very physical football player. His dad played at USC so also some great bloodlines there."
Myles Hinton
Carberry: "Myles Hinton, he's a Stanford Man through and through. He's a big, strong, physical guy and he comes from good football stock in that his father played football in the NFL for a number of years."
Pritchard: "He is a prototypical offensive tackle. You look at him and he's got length and size and he's square. He's got all the makings to be a great player. In addition to him being just a phenomenal human being and really a competitor, Myles has it genetically. And so he's a guy that just really understands how special a place like Stanford is and what he can add to the community, but we're extremely excited about Myles Hinton joining this 2020 class."
