While the discussion about David Shaw's answers to the interview RJ and I did with him Thursday has died down, I wanted to share my thoughts about the recruiting answer.
First, I understand the strong reactions from fans who describe Shaw's approach to recruiting as lazy or a result of a lack of competitive fire. I have a very different opinion when I consider the conversation on Thursday in the context of every other one I've had with him: Shaw truly believes there is a right way to run the Stanford University football program that is different than everywhere else.
He truly believes that the aggressive recruiting tactics that are accepted and encouraged at almost every powerhouse program are not a fit for Stanford. Worse, they would erode what makes the place special.
Contrary to what is sometimes posted on this forum, he's not an idiot and I'm sure he's aware on some level that his decisions have made winning at Stanford harder, but he's sticking with what he thinks is right. I can respect that even while I disagree that his strategy is the right one.
I know that Stanford's coaches and staff debated for several weeks how to make spring official visits work when that rule went into effect. Those debates obviously ended with the current much discussed policy.
By the way, if Stanford didn't do such a great job making the Big Visit a wonderful experience for everyone involved then fans wouldn't care as much about when it's held. That weekend is a 10/10 experience, so effectively removing it from the recruiting calendar rankles many people.
In my opinion, this should be simple for who to invite to a June "Big Visit":
- Establish academic requirements for a recruit that include already taking at least one AP course (and of course getting an "A" or "B" grade) and achieving a certain GPA and test score. In other words, the recruit is already established as someone who can get an application from the university.
- The recruit must have visited once before. I do not agree at all with Shaw's fear that an official visit weekend during the spring would be overrun by lookiloos with no real interest in taking on the academic load, but this is my compromise. (It also fits for almost every recruit I've referenced when I reported they wanted to use a spring official.) If Stanford wants to be confident that a young man is sincere before inviting him then --- and I'm not trying to be facetious -- the onus is on the staff's ability to develop a relationship beforehand.
There is no doubt left that recruiting under Shaw is heavily dependent on self-selectors. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the evaluation process he directs boils down to identifying the most talented self-selectors and then offering them, rather than identifying the best players who have academic profiles in the ballpark to be admitted and then do everything ethically possible to get them to Stanford. In addition to his comment that he struggles with having to entice recruits to Stanford, we've heard on several occasions that he has to be convinced that a recruit's interest is sincere before approving the offer.
That mindset affects everything with recruiting. It's why Stanford is rarely described by recruits -- even the ones they sign -- as one of the staffs that recruited them the hardest and why parents will tell me how much less often they hear from Stanford than other schools. I believe it's a big part of the reason Shaw will never push hard for an expansion of the recruiting staff, because that falls into the category of having to "entice" a recruit. It's why he has said publicly that nothing the coaches can do in recruiting can match what having the young man and his family on campus can accomplish, so the goal in his mind is to convince the recruit to visit and let them see if they should attend Stanford University.
So, how has Stanford won tough recruitments in the past and put together several outstanding classes? I think a lot of it comes down to two factors: winning and individual assistant coaches who are skilled recruiters.
When Stanford was coming off Orange Bowl-Fiesta-Rose-Rose everything was easier and this strategy worked because highly skilled self-selectors were going to be more easily convinced to come to The Farm.
Also, an example of an individual coach's effort rising about Stanford's limitations: Mike Bloomgren put in a lot of work on the 2012 offensive line class and again with Foster Sarell and Walker Little in 2017. How effective he was recruiting those classes is a big part of why what happened in the 2018 cycle was a major blow.
But the 2016 camp circuit that produced the core of that 2017 class was the last great offseason of camps for Stanford. It's fallen off a cliff since then and this past summer was the equivalent of suffering the effects of a major drought after years of decreasing harvests didn't result in a major change in farming. The recruiting calendar has changed dramatically at the same time that Stanford has not been as successful.
Stanford might have a top 25 recruiting class this cycle and that will mean that only two classes -- 2013 and 2018 -- were not in the top 25, according to Rivals, during the Shaw era. On paper that could be used to support Shaw's approach that there are enough self-selectors out there who are good/great at football that Stanford can compete for championships. It's the opinion of many other people that in fact it shows what the floor of Stanford recruiting should be, not the ceiling.
First, I understand the strong reactions from fans who describe Shaw's approach to recruiting as lazy or a result of a lack of competitive fire. I have a very different opinion when I consider the conversation on Thursday in the context of every other one I've had with him: Shaw truly believes there is a right way to run the Stanford University football program that is different than everywhere else.
He truly believes that the aggressive recruiting tactics that are accepted and encouraged at almost every powerhouse program are not a fit for Stanford. Worse, they would erode what makes the place special.
Contrary to what is sometimes posted on this forum, he's not an idiot and I'm sure he's aware on some level that his decisions have made winning at Stanford harder, but he's sticking with what he thinks is right. I can respect that even while I disagree that his strategy is the right one.
I know that Stanford's coaches and staff debated for several weeks how to make spring official visits work when that rule went into effect. Those debates obviously ended with the current much discussed policy.
By the way, if Stanford didn't do such a great job making the Big Visit a wonderful experience for everyone involved then fans wouldn't care as much about when it's held. That weekend is a 10/10 experience, so effectively removing it from the recruiting calendar rankles many people.
In my opinion, this should be simple for who to invite to a June "Big Visit":
- Establish academic requirements for a recruit that include already taking at least one AP course (and of course getting an "A" or "B" grade) and achieving a certain GPA and test score. In other words, the recruit is already established as someone who can get an application from the university.
- The recruit must have visited once before. I do not agree at all with Shaw's fear that an official visit weekend during the spring would be overrun by lookiloos with no real interest in taking on the academic load, but this is my compromise. (It also fits for almost every recruit I've referenced when I reported they wanted to use a spring official.) If Stanford wants to be confident that a young man is sincere before inviting him then --- and I'm not trying to be facetious -- the onus is on the staff's ability to develop a relationship beforehand.
There is no doubt left that recruiting under Shaw is heavily dependent on self-selectors. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the evaluation process he directs boils down to identifying the most talented self-selectors and then offering them, rather than identifying the best players who have academic profiles in the ballpark to be admitted and then do everything ethically possible to get them to Stanford. In addition to his comment that he struggles with having to entice recruits to Stanford, we've heard on several occasions that he has to be convinced that a recruit's interest is sincere before approving the offer.
That mindset affects everything with recruiting. It's why Stanford is rarely described by recruits -- even the ones they sign -- as one of the staffs that recruited them the hardest and why parents will tell me how much less often they hear from Stanford than other schools. I believe it's a big part of the reason Shaw will never push hard for an expansion of the recruiting staff, because that falls into the category of having to "entice" a recruit. It's why he has said publicly that nothing the coaches can do in recruiting can match what having the young man and his family on campus can accomplish, so the goal in his mind is to convince the recruit to visit and let them see if they should attend Stanford University.
So, how has Stanford won tough recruitments in the past and put together several outstanding classes? I think a lot of it comes down to two factors: winning and individual assistant coaches who are skilled recruiters.
When Stanford was coming off Orange Bowl-Fiesta-Rose-Rose everything was easier and this strategy worked because highly skilled self-selectors were going to be more easily convinced to come to The Farm.
Also, an example of an individual coach's effort rising about Stanford's limitations: Mike Bloomgren put in a lot of work on the 2012 offensive line class and again with Foster Sarell and Walker Little in 2017. How effective he was recruiting those classes is a big part of why what happened in the 2018 cycle was a major blow.
But the 2016 camp circuit that produced the core of that 2017 class was the last great offseason of camps for Stanford. It's fallen off a cliff since then and this past summer was the equivalent of suffering the effects of a major drought after years of decreasing harvests didn't result in a major change in farming. The recruiting calendar has changed dramatically at the same time that Stanford has not been as successful.
Stanford might have a top 25 recruiting class this cycle and that will mean that only two classes -- 2013 and 2018 -- were not in the top 25, according to Rivals, during the Shaw era. On paper that could be used to support Shaw's approach that there are enough self-selectors out there who are good/great at football that Stanford can compete for championships. It's the opinion of many other people that in fact it shows what the floor of Stanford recruiting should be, not the ceiling.
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