Continuing with a few final 2016 recruiting cycle wrap up items, here's our review of the defensive best guess classes.
PREVIOUS: Offensive best guess class review
5/14 Best Guess Class | Original post link
Defensive Line
Bo Peek (committed)
Mike Williams
Garrett Rand
Thomas Schaffer
Linebacker
Curtis Robinson (commit)
Keith Simms
One of: Jeffrey McCulloch, Tre Lamar, Chidi Okonya or Zach McCloud
Defensive Back
Nygel Edmonds (committed)
Malik Antoine (committed)
Treyjohn Butler
Robbie Robinson
Chacho Ulloa
Ikenna Okeke
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REVIEW
-Defensive Line: That Stanford filled three of its four defensive line spots with early offers is a testament to the Cardinal's success recruiting the position in 2016. Peek, of course, was Stanford's first commitment in the 2016 class. Thomas Schaffer was somewhat of an exception to the rule that if early offer recruits don't get on campus before senior year they won't end up at Stanford; that Schaffer lives in Austria (though he attended high school in Illinois) is somewhat of a mitigating factor. And while he didn't visit until mid-November, his academic inclination and strong fit in Stanford's 3-4 defense were apparent even last spring.
The May best guess class was posted a few days before Mike Williams took his first visit to The Farm. He spoke in glowing terms about the Cardinal, and the visit only cemented his interest in the program.
Rand was an early Stanford lean but the academics didn't work out. He signed with Wisconsin.
-Linebacker: Curtis Robinson committed to Stanford in mid-April after visiting for Junior Day earlier that month. The Cardinal was an idea fit for the five-star, who had long aspired to attend Stanford.
Like Rand, Simms was an early Stanford lean - he described the Cardinal as a dream offer of sorts after receiving a scholarship. He attended Stanford's Junior Day and raved about his time on The Farm. Unfortunately, the academics didn't work out. He ended up signing with Oregon.
I went into more detail in the initial best guess post, but as of mid-May, Stanford was still involved with a number of linebacker targets that appeared to be various degrees of longshots. Okonya was the only one of the group who had visited at the time - he joined Brandon Stephens and Malik Antoine on campus for the first Junior Day of the 2016 cycle. Okonya was and is a good fit, but I really think the distance was somewhat prohibitive here. Okonya ended up signing with Duke.
Lamar did not end up visiting, though he, like Okonya, would have been a good fit. Things didn't progress very far with McCloud.
The McCulloch story is well known at this point - he took his first trip to Stanford in November for the Cal game and was admitted, but he ultimately decided to stay closer to home and attend Texas.
-Defensive back: Stanford's DB board was in terrific shape last spring, as it appears it will be this spring. I had to cut down the list somewhere, so I omitted the likes of Andrew Pryts, Jordan Griffin and Jordan Fuller. (Though additional detail/explanation is included in the initial post.)
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Edmonds committed to Stanford in April. He signed with Cal after a rough semester in the classroom.
Antoine committed to Stanford in April; he was admitted relatively early and stayed solid with the Cardinal throughout.
Treyjohn Butler was very high on Stanford throughout the process. He was one of the first admits in the class and committed to the Cardinal in August.
Robinson is a sharp kid who took a methodical approach to the recruiting process. Stanford I think was in his final three or so, but as the spring rolled into summer, it became clear that he wasn't doing the sorts of things you would expect a Stanford commit to do (academically + visit-wise). He ended up at Arizona State.
Chacho committed to Stanford in mid-October but things didn't work out on the admissions front and he ended up at Arizona.
Okeke favored Stanford and Notre Dame at one point but really slipped from the board during the fall; he never made it to campus and signed with Texas A&M.
PREVIOUS: Offensive best guess class review
5/14 Best Guess Class | Original post link
Defensive Line
Bo Peek (committed)
Mike Williams
Garrett Rand
Thomas Schaffer
Linebacker
Curtis Robinson (commit)
Keith Simms
One of: Jeffrey McCulloch, Tre Lamar, Chidi Okonya or Zach McCloud
Defensive Back
Nygel Edmonds (committed)
Malik Antoine (committed)
Treyjohn Butler
Robbie Robinson
Chacho Ulloa
Ikenna Okeke
**********
REVIEW
-Defensive Line: That Stanford filled three of its four defensive line spots with early offers is a testament to the Cardinal's success recruiting the position in 2016. Peek, of course, was Stanford's first commitment in the 2016 class. Thomas Schaffer was somewhat of an exception to the rule that if early offer recruits don't get on campus before senior year they won't end up at Stanford; that Schaffer lives in Austria (though he attended high school in Illinois) is somewhat of a mitigating factor. And while he didn't visit until mid-November, his academic inclination and strong fit in Stanford's 3-4 defense were apparent even last spring.
The May best guess class was posted a few days before Mike Williams took his first visit to The Farm. He spoke in glowing terms about the Cardinal, and the visit only cemented his interest in the program.
Rand was an early Stanford lean but the academics didn't work out. He signed with Wisconsin.
-Linebacker: Curtis Robinson committed to Stanford in mid-April after visiting for Junior Day earlier that month. The Cardinal was an idea fit for the five-star, who had long aspired to attend Stanford.
Like Rand, Simms was an early Stanford lean - he described the Cardinal as a dream offer of sorts after receiving a scholarship. He attended Stanford's Junior Day and raved about his time on The Farm. Unfortunately, the academics didn't work out. He ended up signing with Oregon.
I went into more detail in the initial best guess post, but as of mid-May, Stanford was still involved with a number of linebacker targets that appeared to be various degrees of longshots. Okonya was the only one of the group who had visited at the time - he joined Brandon Stephens and Malik Antoine on campus for the first Junior Day of the 2016 cycle. Okonya was and is a good fit, but I really think the distance was somewhat prohibitive here. Okonya ended up signing with Duke.
Lamar did not end up visiting, though he, like Okonya, would have been a good fit. Things didn't progress very far with McCloud.
The McCulloch story is well known at this point - he took his first trip to Stanford in November for the Cal game and was admitted, but he ultimately decided to stay closer to home and attend Texas.
-Defensive back: Stanford's DB board was in terrific shape last spring, as it appears it will be this spring. I had to cut down the list somewhere, so I omitted the likes of Andrew Pryts, Jordan Griffin and Jordan Fuller. (Though additional detail/explanation is included in the initial post.)
'
Edmonds committed to Stanford in April. He signed with Cal after a rough semester in the classroom.
Antoine committed to Stanford in April; he was admitted relatively early and stayed solid with the Cardinal throughout.
Treyjohn Butler was very high on Stanford throughout the process. He was one of the first admits in the class and committed to the Cardinal in August.
Robinson is a sharp kid who took a methodical approach to the recruiting process. Stanford I think was in his final three or so, but as the spring rolled into summer, it became clear that he wasn't doing the sorts of things you would expect a Stanford commit to do (academically + visit-wise). He ended up at Arizona State.
Chacho committed to Stanford in mid-October but things didn't work out on the admissions front and he ended up at Arizona.
Okeke favored Stanford and Notre Dame at one point but really slipped from the board during the fall; he never made it to campus and signed with Texas A&M.
