Was thinking about this the other day: It's becoming increasingly clear that Stanford hit more than it missed in the 2014 class. At minimum, half of the class will fill starting roles in 2016. (In fairness, the small 2013 class + lack of fifth-year contributors factors in to this. But, bottom line, there are not many non-contributors from 2014.)
The class will fill six or seven starting spots on offense
McCaffrey
Marx
Schultz
Tucker, Burkett. Hall OR Fanaika (Three OL from the 2014 class will likely start - Tucker, Burkett, and AT Hall or Brandon Fanaika.)
Maybe Chryst
-Perhaps even more remarkable - the only two offensive players from the 2014 class who do not project as starters (or the sixth OL) are Reilly Gibbons (who was on track to be an impact player at South Florida before being forced into a medical retirement) and Isaiah Brandt-Sims (who received limited action in certain packages last season).
The picture is slightly murkier on defense, but the following players have been at least co-starters at some point in their career
Thomas
Alexander
Phillips
Alfieri
Perez
Holder
Murphy
As for the ones who have not:
-Denzel Franklin and Brandon Simmons will be in the mix at safety; it might be tough to crack the starting unit, but both project as special teams contributors at minimum.
-It's probably fair to expect Bobby Okereke to figure more prominently into the defense in 2016 than 2015. He could earn a starting spot.
-Lane Veach has dealt with injuries and probably faces a bit of an uphill battle for playing time with Kalambayi, Mike Tyler and Joey Alfieri slotted as the top three OLB's at this stage.
Anyway, just thought this was interesting. The 2014 class will have a lot to say about Stanford's success the next few years, and the returns to date have been encouraging.
The class will fill six or seven starting spots on offense
McCaffrey
Marx
Schultz
Tucker, Burkett. Hall OR Fanaika (Three OL from the 2014 class will likely start - Tucker, Burkett, and AT Hall or Brandon Fanaika.)
Maybe Chryst
-Perhaps even more remarkable - the only two offensive players from the 2014 class who do not project as starters (or the sixth OL) are Reilly Gibbons (who was on track to be an impact player at South Florida before being forced into a medical retirement) and Isaiah Brandt-Sims (who received limited action in certain packages last season).
The picture is slightly murkier on defense, but the following players have been at least co-starters at some point in their career
Thomas
Alexander
Phillips
Alfieri
Perez
Holder
Murphy
As for the ones who have not:
-Denzel Franklin and Brandon Simmons will be in the mix at safety; it might be tough to crack the starting unit, but both project as special teams contributors at minimum.
-It's probably fair to expect Bobby Okereke to figure more prominently into the defense in 2016 than 2015. He could earn a starting spot.
-Lane Veach has dealt with injuries and probably faces a bit of an uphill battle for playing time with Kalambayi, Mike Tyler and Joey Alfieri slotted as the top three OLB's at this stage.
Anyway, just thought this was interesting. The 2014 class will have a lot to say about Stanford's success the next few years, and the returns to date have been encouraging.
