I've been seeing elsewhere top ___ rankings of players for some of Stanford's opponents. I thought it might be fun to do my own list. What follows is my attempt to rank Stanford's top 35 players for this season. It attempts to discern the growth/development players have had from last year to this but not to project beyond this season or compare players from different class years on equal footing (i.e., a senior being ahead of a freshman does not mean I think that senior is better than the future senior version of that freshman). My general approach is to try to think about how players rate compared to peers elsewhere (with the most natural comparison for me being to other Pac-12 players at their positions). There is of course a large degree of subjectivity whenever comparing players across positions. I've also taken account of my sense of availability (St. Brown and Wade-Perry, for instance, could be higher if I had confidence in their availability, Hamilton and Sarell could be higher if they had better track records on availability, etc.). And, as you'll see, given the nature of the exercise I've allowed myself to take a few leaps of faith.
1. Walker Little
2. Paulson Adebo
3. KJ Costello
4. Colby Parkinson
5. Davis Mills
6. Jordan Fox
7. Thomas Booker
8. Michael Wilson
9. Michael Williams
10. Jet Toner
11. Casey Toohill
12. Jovan Swann
13. Drew Dalman
14. Simi Fehoko
15. Cameron Scarlett
16. Malik Antoine
17. Tucker Fisk
18. Devery Hamilton
19. Gabe Reid
20. Foster Sarell
21. Curtis Robinson
22. Andres Fox
23. Kendall Williamson
24. Dylan Powell
25. Connor Wedington
26. Osiris St. Brown
27. Scooter Harrington
28. Jacob Mangum-Farrar
29. Kyu Blu Kelly
30. Trevor Speights
31. Henry Hattis
32. Obi Eboh
33. Ricky Miezan
34. Nathaniel Peat
35. Dalyn Wade-Perry
I am hardly being novel in grouping the top four as elite. I think the top 20 or so should all have all-conference as a goal (though obviously a much smaller number will get it). I think all of these guys make the 2019 team better and are a comparative advantage over most opponent rosters, though some (the RBs, ILBs, and non-Adebo corners) are guys you'd rather have as depth than as starters.
And with that I invite you to violently agree/disagree/tear me apart!
1. Walker Little
2. Paulson Adebo
3. KJ Costello
4. Colby Parkinson
5. Davis Mills
6. Jordan Fox
7. Thomas Booker
8. Michael Wilson
9. Michael Williams
10. Jet Toner
11. Casey Toohill
12. Jovan Swann
13. Drew Dalman
14. Simi Fehoko
15. Cameron Scarlett
16. Malik Antoine
17. Tucker Fisk
18. Devery Hamilton
19. Gabe Reid
20. Foster Sarell
21. Curtis Robinson
22. Andres Fox
23. Kendall Williamson
24. Dylan Powell
25. Connor Wedington
26. Osiris St. Brown
27. Scooter Harrington
28. Jacob Mangum-Farrar
29. Kyu Blu Kelly
30. Trevor Speights
31. Henry Hattis
32. Obi Eboh
33. Ricky Miezan
34. Nathaniel Peat
35. Dalyn Wade-Perry
I am hardly being novel in grouping the top four as elite. I think the top 20 or so should all have all-conference as a goal (though obviously a much smaller number will get it). I think all of these guys make the 2019 team better and are a comparative advantage over most opponent rosters, though some (the RBs, ILBs, and non-Adebo corners) are guys you'd rather have as depth than as starters.
And with that I invite you to violently agree/disagree/tear me apart!
