This is obviously not a surprise commitment (well, apparently except to our friends at the UW 247 site), but it's a really, really significant addition, and one that everyone is pretty excited about.
I haven't seen Long play in person, but per all of the spring and summer reports, and per talking to folks who have, I think he's easily among the top few commits in this class. And I think the odds that he thrives at Stanford are very high.
I'm not sure which side of the ball Long ultimately ends up playing. But when you consider a player with Long's speed and athletic abilities (4.4 laser timed 40 at the Oakland Opening), ball skills and character, the odds of him being a bust are, in my opinion, pretty darn low. I don't know if he ends up at receiver or defensive back - certainly the fact that he's taken so well to DB despite being relatively inexperienced there suggests that might be a good spot for him. But it's not like trying to project an offensive linemen who needs to put on 30 pounds or an 18-year-old quarterback. Long's skillset should translate well to college, and his versatility should help maximize the chances that he contributes.
Just for some additional perspective, if you view him as a defensive back, Long is among the most highly touted to ever pick Stanford. One of the top two or three.
Here are his rankings on the various sites.
Scout: No. 55 player in the nation.
247: No. 83
ESPN: No. 105
Rivals: No. 133
The only defensive backs Stanford has landed with a comparable recruiting profile have been Alex Carter and Wayne Lyons. Carter's offer list was a bit lacking because he committed so early in the process, but he was a composite top 100 player like Long is.
Wayne Lyons also had the offer list, but his average rank was a bit lower than Long's.
Plus, for what it's worth: Long is the third Southern California prospect that USC really wanted to pick Stanford over the Trojans. That's not the case for all kids with Trojan offers, but it was for Long, Curtis Robinson and K.J. Costello. Excellent job by Mike Bloomgren, who recruits the area, and co.
This is also shaping up to be an excellent year for in-state recruiting. Stanford already has four four-star commits from the state of California. Good chance they'll add No. 5 next week with Treyjohn Butler. And Brandon Burton and Dylan Crawford are still options.
With Long's commitment, Stanford is now up to No. 16 in the Rivals team rankings. They're No. 7 in average star rank. Also, the Cardinal now has 8 four-star commits. They had only six (plus one five-star) in 2015.
In case you missed it, here's Adam Gorney's commitment story, which includes a video analysis piece - https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1789564
I haven't seen Long play in person, but per all of the spring and summer reports, and per talking to folks who have, I think he's easily among the top few commits in this class. And I think the odds that he thrives at Stanford are very high.
I'm not sure which side of the ball Long ultimately ends up playing. But when you consider a player with Long's speed and athletic abilities (4.4 laser timed 40 at the Oakland Opening), ball skills and character, the odds of him being a bust are, in my opinion, pretty darn low. I don't know if he ends up at receiver or defensive back - certainly the fact that he's taken so well to DB despite being relatively inexperienced there suggests that might be a good spot for him. But it's not like trying to project an offensive linemen who needs to put on 30 pounds or an 18-year-old quarterback. Long's skillset should translate well to college, and his versatility should help maximize the chances that he contributes.
Just for some additional perspective, if you view him as a defensive back, Long is among the most highly touted to ever pick Stanford. One of the top two or three.
Here are his rankings on the various sites.
Scout: No. 55 player in the nation.
247: No. 83
ESPN: No. 105
Rivals: No. 133
The only defensive backs Stanford has landed with a comparable recruiting profile have been Alex Carter and Wayne Lyons. Carter's offer list was a bit lacking because he committed so early in the process, but he was a composite top 100 player like Long is.
Wayne Lyons also had the offer list, but his average rank was a bit lower than Long's.
Plus, for what it's worth: Long is the third Southern California prospect that USC really wanted to pick Stanford over the Trojans. That's not the case for all kids with Trojan offers, but it was for Long, Curtis Robinson and K.J. Costello. Excellent job by Mike Bloomgren, who recruits the area, and co.
This is also shaping up to be an excellent year for in-state recruiting. Stanford already has four four-star commits from the state of California. Good chance they'll add No. 5 next week with Treyjohn Butler. And Brandon Burton and Dylan Crawford are still options.
With Long's commitment, Stanford is now up to No. 16 in the Rivals team rankings. They're No. 7 in average star rank. Also, the Cardinal now has 8 four-star commits. They had only six (plus one five-star) in 2015.
In case you missed it, here's Adam Gorney's commitment story, which includes a video analysis piece - https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1789564
