Some thoughts on the new commits and likely next ones, and an overall view. Each recruit's best offers appear in parethesis.
RB Bryce Love (Florida, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Clemson, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State, Tennessee)
A playmaker. Strongly suggests Kelsey Young with better vision and perhaps a step faster. Receiving skills unclear but a small (59, tops) target. Crazy fast and quick, gets to top end quickly. Could be an outstanding punt returner. Great kid by all accounts. Announces for us tomorrow.
OLB Jordan Fox (Georgia, Miami, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Nebraska)
Good big athlete. A more obvious take at OLB than Gabe Reid, similar size. Like the idea of him as a teammate: smart, well-spoken, ambitious. Excellent national offer list.
DE Dylan Jackson (Alabama, LSU, Tennessee)
Big, long (6-6) and strong (385 bench) DE with elite offers. From the well known Tennessee powerhouse program Maryville. Has clocked a 4.67 but a straight line guy who is very tight in the hips, likely from overdoing squat work (he squats around 500). Turley can help. Big upside at a position of need for us. Relentless worker and great references.
S Ben Edwards (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Auburn)
Think Steve Atwater, or John Lynch clanging Jerome Bettis. Ben Edwards is a sledge hammer like none weve seena true SS. Watch out for this guy.
S Justin Reid (Notre Dame, LSU, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Miss State)
    Just looks and moves like an elite safety, like his famous brother Eric, the former LSU All American and current 49ers safety who is pushing Justin to commit to us. Plays all over the field as the brains of his high school defense. Will announce on signing day, with a creative twist that might involve The Tree. Even many LSU fans agree with me and think he's ours.
CB Frank Buncom (Oklahoma, Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee, Nebraska)
Good frame, good but not great speed, good tackler, very savvy; plays all over the field. Passionate and dedicated. Nothing glows but he should be a good enough cover man and tackler to play early and start for two seasons.Â
CB Quenton Meeks (UCLA, Arizona State)
Could be an excellent get as a long (6-2) corner to cover bigger receivers. Not a burner either, so we might target a quick, true cover corner in the next class. Would have been one of our two or three most coveted recruits ten years ago. Will announce on signing day.
OLB Gabe Reid (Seven Pac-12 schools)
All State Utah DE with a burst off the line, at least two good moves. Excellent at mirroring and closing on his target. But can he get big enough for a 3-4 DE, or is he athletic enough for OLB? Regardless, he might be an effective nickel DE with his quickness, moves, and speed off the edge. Announces next Monday, Utah is his putative co-finalist.
WR Jabiari Tyler (Ivys , UTEP, Army, Air Force)
Son of former LSU QB Herb. Troy Walters/Luke Powell from famous Louisiana program (Isidore Newman) that produced the Manning brothers. Incredibly elusive and, at 5-8 and 170, hard to grab. Terrific references, great program in which to gain a foothold and, with Tylers friend Terrence Alexander and perhaps Justin Reid, another nice Stanford incursion into football-rich Louisiana.
A couple themes in this class:
Speed and elusiveness
Bryce Love, Jabiari Tyler and Trent Irwin are very fast (Love), quick and elusive (Tyler), or borderline uncoverable (Irwin). This is an unusual threesome for Stanforda Luke Powell, Kelsey Young, and Ken Margerum, say, all on one class.Â
DBsÂ
With the growth of nickel and dime packages, you cannot have too many defensive backs. Stanford has never recruited this many in two classes, and never this many four-star recruits over a span of a 20 years.
Hidden strength
A strength of this class is in three guys we rarely discuss. Four star recruits Brandon Fanaika and Sean Barton were consensus top 20 players at their positions, and Jake Bailey is a top HS punter, a skill we almost always overlook until Utah comes into Stanford Stadium and beats us with theirs. Our punting was bottom 20% of the nation last year, and Bailey should flip that from game one. Barton is a terrific, many-tools (hitting, catching, running) talent who might figure at safety, linebacker, or running back. And if we manage to land grad-school transfer Brennan Scarlett from Cal (incoming RB Camerons brother), we land an immediate, very good starter at DE
Returning to power
Cameron Scarlett is a power back, Reagan Williams and Houston Hieumuli are excellent fullback prospects, and out three young tight ends give us the third set of pieces to running power. If Nick Wilson can hit moving targets as a pulling guard, this class could eventually bring back Power, at least as a key option in Stanords offense.Â
Needs in the next class:
Three DLs, one a nose tackle. This is obvious.
Tight end. With only Schultz in 2014 and no tight ends in this class, we need to prepare for the day when Hooper, Cotton and Taboada disappear from this rostersimultaneously. Try for two,
QB. Chryst in 2014 abnd no one in the 2015 class. Cannot risk a two-year gap here.
A power back. Cameron Scarlett and his brother have injury histories, and Scarlett is the only power back on next years roster. If only for short yardage, we need this guy.
A true cover corner. Buncom and Meeks dont have elite speed and Terrence Alexander burned his redshirt this year. We need another Alexander.
Some elite OLs. Always a need, and Murphy, Shuler, Caspers, Davidson, and Garnett arent around much longer.
RB Bryce Love (Florida, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Clemson, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State, Tennessee)
A playmaker. Strongly suggests Kelsey Young with better vision and perhaps a step faster. Receiving skills unclear but a small (59, tops) target. Crazy fast and quick, gets to top end quickly. Could be an outstanding punt returner. Great kid by all accounts. Announces for us tomorrow.
OLB Jordan Fox (Georgia, Miami, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Nebraska)
Good big athlete. A more obvious take at OLB than Gabe Reid, similar size. Like the idea of him as a teammate: smart, well-spoken, ambitious. Excellent national offer list.
DE Dylan Jackson (Alabama, LSU, Tennessee)
Big, long (6-6) and strong (385 bench) DE with elite offers. From the well known Tennessee powerhouse program Maryville. Has clocked a 4.67 but a straight line guy who is very tight in the hips, likely from overdoing squat work (he squats around 500). Turley can help. Big upside at a position of need for us. Relentless worker and great references.
S Ben Edwards (Ohio State, Notre Dame, Auburn)
Think Steve Atwater, or John Lynch clanging Jerome Bettis. Ben Edwards is a sledge hammer like none weve seena true SS. Watch out for this guy.
S Justin Reid (Notre Dame, LSU, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Miss State)
    Just looks and moves like an elite safety, like his famous brother Eric, the former LSU All American and current 49ers safety who is pushing Justin to commit to us. Plays all over the field as the brains of his high school defense. Will announce on signing day, with a creative twist that might involve The Tree. Even many LSU fans agree with me and think he's ours.
CB Frank Buncom (Oklahoma, Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee, Nebraska)
Good frame, good but not great speed, good tackler, very savvy; plays all over the field. Passionate and dedicated. Nothing glows but he should be a good enough cover man and tackler to play early and start for two seasons.Â
CB Quenton Meeks (UCLA, Arizona State)
Could be an excellent get as a long (6-2) corner to cover bigger receivers. Not a burner either, so we might target a quick, true cover corner in the next class. Would have been one of our two or three most coveted recruits ten years ago. Will announce on signing day.
OLB Gabe Reid (Seven Pac-12 schools)
All State Utah DE with a burst off the line, at least two good moves. Excellent at mirroring and closing on his target. But can he get big enough for a 3-4 DE, or is he athletic enough for OLB? Regardless, he might be an effective nickel DE with his quickness, moves, and speed off the edge. Announces next Monday, Utah is his putative co-finalist.
WR Jabiari Tyler (Ivys , UTEP, Army, Air Force)
Son of former LSU QB Herb. Troy Walters/Luke Powell from famous Louisiana program (Isidore Newman) that produced the Manning brothers. Incredibly elusive and, at 5-8 and 170, hard to grab. Terrific references, great program in which to gain a foothold and, with Tylers friend Terrence Alexander and perhaps Justin Reid, another nice Stanford incursion into football-rich Louisiana.
A couple themes in this class:
Speed and elusiveness
Bryce Love, Jabiari Tyler and Trent Irwin are very fast (Love), quick and elusive (Tyler), or borderline uncoverable (Irwin). This is an unusual threesome for Stanforda Luke Powell, Kelsey Young, and Ken Margerum, say, all on one class.Â
DBsÂ
With the growth of nickel and dime packages, you cannot have too many defensive backs. Stanford has never recruited this many in two classes, and never this many four-star recruits over a span of a 20 years.
Hidden strength
A strength of this class is in three guys we rarely discuss. Four star recruits Brandon Fanaika and Sean Barton were consensus top 20 players at their positions, and Jake Bailey is a top HS punter, a skill we almost always overlook until Utah comes into Stanford Stadium and beats us with theirs. Our punting was bottom 20% of the nation last year, and Bailey should flip that from game one. Barton is a terrific, many-tools (hitting, catching, running) talent who might figure at safety, linebacker, or running back. And if we manage to land grad-school transfer Brennan Scarlett from Cal (incoming RB Camerons brother), we land an immediate, very good starter at DE
Returning to power
Cameron Scarlett is a power back, Reagan Williams and Houston Hieumuli are excellent fullback prospects, and out three young tight ends give us the third set of pieces to running power. If Nick Wilson can hit moving targets as a pulling guard, this class could eventually bring back Power, at least as a key option in Stanords offense.Â
Needs in the next class:
Three DLs, one a nose tackle. This is obvious.
Tight end. With only Schultz in 2014 and no tight ends in this class, we need to prepare for the day when Hooper, Cotton and Taboada disappear from this rostersimultaneously. Try for two,
QB. Chryst in 2014 abnd no one in the 2015 class. Cannot risk a two-year gap here.
A power back. Cameron Scarlett and his brother have injury histories, and Scarlett is the only power back on next years roster. If only for short yardage, we need this guy.
A true cover corner. Buncom and Meeks dont have elite speed and Terrence Alexander burned his redshirt this year. We need another Alexander.
Some elite OLs. Always a need, and Murphy, Shuler, Caspers, Davidson, and Garnett arent around much longer.
