[OutsiderFan]

Since Kevin Gemmell doesn't really seem to follow Stanford all that closely anymore, there hasn't been any weekly recruiting roundup on the Stanford ESPN blog to give a sense for what is happening on a macro level on the recruiting front.  Rivals has some good stories, but it's pretty much one-off stuff.

Anyone have insight into how Stanford recruiting is going, particularly in light of yet another 3-0 start and Top 10 ranking?  Shaw said the coaches would be recruiting this week, I'm assuming that means this weekend in SoCal. 

It seems Stanford isn't in the hunt for nearly as many Top 10 players at their positions this year, but perhaps that may change or doesn't matter much.  The Stanford coaching staff has proven it knows how to evaluate talent, so it seems they have earned the benefit of the doubt in terms of who they recruit, scouting service rankings be damned.

[OutsiderFan]

Since Kevin Gemmell doesn't really seem to follow Stanford all that closely anymore, there hasn't been any weekly recruiting roundup on the Stanford ESPN blog to give a sense for what is happening on a macro level on the recruiting front.  Rivals has some good stories, but it's pretty much one-off stuff.

Anyone have insight into how Stanford recruiting is going, particularly in light of yet another 3-0 start and Top 10 ranking?  Shaw said the coaches would be recruiting this week, I'm assuming that means this weekend in SoCal. 

It seems Stanford isn't in the hunt for nearly as many Top 10 players at their positions this year, but perhaps that may change or doesn't matter much.  The Stanford coaching staff has proven it knows how to evaluate talent, so it seems they have earned the benefit of the doubt in terms of who they recruit, scouting service rankings be damned.

[StannyBoy]

there aren't as many highly guys looking at Stanford this year but that doesn't matter since this class size will be in the 10-15 range. We have 5-6 right now and we're still looking at top CB's Johnny Johnson and Will Likely, top WRs Devon Allen and Jordan Cunningham, TE Austin Hooper, a few good OL prospects, we could offer LB/FB Kevin Palma, and there are a few more. We'll definitely put together a good class. And we could end up stealing some committed recruits like Chris Hawkins from USC, that TE Parsons from CO, TE Hunter Henry from Arkansas, etc. so really no need to worry. I don't see us taking a RB though but Barry J is redshirting so not a big deal. I'm already getting excited for the 2014 class. ;-)

[StannyBoy]

there aren't as many highly guys looking at Stanford this year but that doesn't matter since this class size will be in the 10-15 range. We have 5-6 right now and we're still looking at top CB's Johnny Johnson and Will Likely, top WRs Devon Allen and Jordan Cunningham, TE Austin Hooper, a few good OL prospects, we could offer LB/FB Kevin Palma, and there are a few more. We'll definitely put together a good class. And we could end up stealing some committed recruits like Chris Hawkins from USC, that TE Parsons from CO, TE Hunter Henry from Arkansas, etc. so really no need to worry. I don't see us taking a RB though but Barry J is redshirting so not a big deal. I'm already getting excited for the 2014 class. ;-)

[yvonne]

Rivals has made a lot of mention of 2014 guys, including several who visited this weekend. I think the staff is paying more attention to juniors than usual since this class is going to be so small. Also, I don't think we'll hear as much about recruiting, since the class is going to be so small.

[yvonne]

Rivals has made a lot of mention of 2014 guys, including several who visited this weekend. I think the staff is paying more attention to juniors than usual since this class is going to be so small. Also, I don't think we'll hear as much about recruiting, since the class is going to be so small.

[97fan]

I haven't been following recruiting very closely, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But I have two related thoughts.

1) This year seems to make totally clear that Shaw has turned away from Harbaugh's approach of getting lots of verbal commitments early, and then letting the chips fall where they may. The new approach is more befitting of a program that's no longer desperate, and it obviously avoids the sometimes-embarrassing recruiting shenanigans that marked Harbaugh's tenure. Just speculating, but there could be some silent verbals by guys who the staff do not feel are slam dunks for admission -- the idea being that if they don't get admitted, this low-key approach works out better for everyone involved.

2) My guess is that even though this class will not have as many headliners as last year's, there are probably more guys this year than ever who a) are credible BCS conference football players; b) are admittable; and c) REALLY want to come to Stanford. So we're got more demand for scholarships than supply, which means the coaching staff can slow-walk certain kids to make sure they sign the best possible class.

[97fan]

I haven't been following recruiting very closely, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But I have two related thoughts.

1) This year seems to make totally clear that Shaw has turned away from Harbaugh's approach of getting lots of verbal commitments early, and then letting the chips fall where they may. The new approach is more befitting of a program that's no longer desperate, and it obviously avoids the sometimes-embarrassing recruiting shenanigans that marked Harbaugh's tenure. Just speculating, but there could be some silent verbals by guys who the staff do not feel are slam dunks for admission -- the idea being that if they don't get admitted, this low-key approach works out better for everyone involved.

2) My guess is that even though this class will not have as many headliners as last year's, there are probably more guys this year than ever who a) are credible BCS conference football players; b) are admittable; and c) REALLY want to come to Stanford. So we're got more demand for scholarships than supply, which means the coaching staff can slow-walk certain kids to make sure they sign the best possible class.

[Cardinal96]

Some of you are more optimistic than I am about this recruiting class.  We lost a good LB commit Randolph to Notre Dame.  Who knows why.  The Hawaiin inside LB is now only a soft commit.  Our only real star at this point looks to be Burns.

I think this year's class is worse than last year's class for a few reasons.  And we shouldn't use small class size as an excuse; that certainly hasn't harmed USC.  Maybe some potential recruits thought there would be a dropoff after Andrew Luck.  It could be that last year's top 300 had an unusually disproportionate amount of athletes who could qualify academically for Stanford.  Maybe this year it is worse in that regard.

Hopefully, we finish out strong and get some good players.  Given our recent performance on the field and last year's recruiting class that might be our best ever, it has surprised me that we haven't more high ranked recruits as of yet.

[Cardinal96]

Some of you are more optimistic than I am about this recruiting class.  We lost a good LB commit Randolph to Notre Dame.  Who knows why.  The Hawaiin inside LB is now only a soft commit.  Our only real star at this point looks to be Burns.

I think this year's class is worse than last year's class for a few reasons.  And we shouldn't use small class size as an excuse; that certainly hasn't harmed USC.  Maybe some potential recruits thought there would be a dropoff after Andrew Luck.  It could be that last year's top 300 had an unusually disproportionate amount of athletes who could qualify academically for Stanford.  Maybe this year it is worse in that regard.

Hopefully, we finish out strong and get some good players.  Given our recent performance on the field and last year's recruiting class that might be our best ever, it has surprised me that we haven't more high ranked recruits as of yet.

[Bruce Wang]

We likely have the leg up on somebody in the 2015 class: DE Canton Kaumatule (Luke's younger brother and the only sophomore on the USA Today 2012 Pre-season All-American team.

[Bruce Wang]

We likely have the leg up on somebody in the 2015 class: DE Canton Kaumatule (Luke's younger brother and the only sophomore on the USA Today 2012 Pre-season All-American team.

[washingtonismoney]

It's certainly not going to be as good as last year's class, so in that sense it's disappointing. Nevertheless, if the goal was to bring in a good number of high-quality players, it still doesn't look badly off-track--the class is still second in the Pac-12 in star average, and is, I believe, second in the Pac-12 in terms of top 250 players (Rivals).

Savaiinaea's been a "soft commit" for a while now; this is not new. If he gets in, he comes.

But, in terms of stars, you've got Burns, Kalambayi, Savaiinaea and Owusu. That's a pretty solid haul. If supplemented with guys like Johnny Johnson, Will Likely, Devon Allen, Tyrone Crowder and Jordan Cunningham (plus any stealth/mystery recruits), it'll be a solid class. Then 2014 would have the potential to be a really special class.

[washingtonismoney]

It's certainly not going to be as good as last year's class, so in that sense it's disappointing. Nevertheless, if the goal was to bring in a good number of high-quality players, it still doesn't look badly off-track--the class is still second in the Pac-12 in star average, and is, I believe, second in the Pac-12 in terms of top 250 players (Rivals).

Savaiinaea's been a "soft commit" for a while now; this is not new. If he gets in, he comes.

But, in terms of stars, you've got Burns, Kalambayi, Savaiinaea and Owusu. That's a pretty solid haul. If supplemented with guys like Johnny Johnson, Will Likely, Devon Allen, Tyrone Crowder and Jordan Cunningham (plus any stealth/mystery recruits), it'll be a solid class. Then 2014 would have the potential to be a really special class.

[stan01]

WR Devon Allen visited UCLA last weekend and apparently now favors Bruins over Stanford and Texas.  The story is here but I can't read it.  Hopefully it's just the usual post-visit high.

http://oregon.rivals.com/barrier_noentry...&mid=&rid=

[stan01]

WR Devon Allen visited UCLA last weekend and apparently now favors Bruins over Stanford and Texas.  The story is here but I can't read it.  Hopefully it's just the usual post-visit high.

http://oregon.rivals.com/barrier_noentry...&mid=&rid=

[Bruce Wang]

Take a look at the helmet on the kid's twitter page.  You have to scroll down to uncover the background image.

http://twitter.com/KellerChryst

[Bruce Wang]

Take a look at the helmet on the kid's twitter page.  You have to scroll down to uncover the background image.

http://twitter.com/KellerChryst

[stan01]

Jordan Cunningham took a hard hit last week and left the field on a stretcher while giving the crowd a thumbs up.  He visited Miami last weekend, check out the Miami fans' impressions of him here: http://miami.247sports.com/Article/Jorda...-Win-91311

[stan01]

Jordan Cunningham took a hard hit last week and left the field on a stretcher while giving the crowd a thumbs up.  He visited Miami last weekend, check out the Miami fans' impressions of him here: http://miami.247sports.com/Article/Jorda...-Win-91311

[Spiny_Norman]

Take a look at the helmet on the kid's twitter page.  You have to scroll down to uncover the background image.

http://twitter.com/KellerChryst

Someone else digs the black Stanford helmets.

[Spiny_Norman]

Take a look at the helmet on the kid's twitter page.  You have to scroll down to uncover the background image.

http://twitter.com/KellerChryst

Someone else digs the black Stanford helmets.

[StannyBoy]

Jordan Cunningham took a hard hit last week and left the field on a stretcher while giving the crowd a thumbs up.  He visited Miami last weekend, check out the Miami fans' impressions of him here: http://miami.247sports.com/Article/Jorda...-Win-91311

interesting to see that the guy who injured Cunningham is the FL RB Stanford has been recruiting. I don't think he ever received an official offer though.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/15/30...three.html

[StannyBoy]

Jordan Cunningham took a hard hit last week and left the field on a stretcher while giving the crowd a thumbs up.  He visited Miami last weekend, check out the Miami fans' impressions of him here: http://miami.247sports.com/Article/Jorda...-Win-91311

interesting to see that the guy who injured Cunningham is the FL RB Stanford has been recruiting. I don't think he ever received an official offer though.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/15/30...three.html

[CowboyIndian]

I think this year's class is worse than last year's class for a few reasons.

You know it's September, right? And that signing day is in February?

[CowboyIndian]

I think this year's class is worse than last year's class for a few reasons.

You know it's September, right? And that signing day is in February?

[OutsiderFan]

The change in recruiting approach is long overdue, IMO.

Everyone knows a verbal commitment to Stanford means nothing until admissions approves a recruit.  It always baffled me why Stanford would accept public verbals from guys who weren't slam dunks for admission.  Recruits with questionable profiles can always say Stanford is high on their list, and then commit when admitted.  This would also lessen the anxiety Stanford fans have, wondering if committed recruits will be admitted.

Of course, if guys only verbal after they are accepted, Stanford then loses the "they were committed but didn't come because they weren't admitted card" because recruits who switch to other schools after verballing to Stanford, rarely indicate the reason they switched was because they weren't admitted.  This can make it seem like nobody ever turns down a Stanford offer.  There aren't too many Deante Grays out there, who loudly proclaim their Stanford intentions, and then have to tell the world they were denied admission.

Perhaps one of the Stanford reporters can ask Shaw about any possible changes in the recruiting approach. 

[OutsiderFan]

The change in recruiting approach is long overdue, IMO.

Everyone knows a verbal commitment to Stanford means nothing until admissions approves a recruit.  It always baffled me why Stanford would accept public verbals from guys who weren't slam dunks for admission.  Recruits with questionable profiles can always say Stanford is high on their list, and then commit when admitted.  This would also lessen the anxiety Stanford fans have, wondering if committed recruits will be admitted.

Of course, if guys only verbal after they are accepted, Stanford then loses the "they were committed but didn't come because they weren't admitted card" because recruits who switch to other schools after verballing to Stanford, rarely indicate the reason they switched was because they weren't admitted.  This can make it seem like nobody ever turns down a Stanford offer.  There aren't too many Deante Grays out there, who loudly proclaim their Stanford intentions, and then have to tell the world they were denied admission.

Perhaps one of the Stanford reporters can ask Shaw about any possible changes in the recruiting approach. 

[Cardinal96]

[quote author=NYCCardinalFan link=topic=6494.msg48144#msg48144 date=1348171112]

I think this year's class is worse than last year's class for a few reasons.

You know it's September, right? And that signing day is in February?
[/quote]

Of course I know that.  But it's not like we are operating at an early stage where the bulk of top recruits are open.  Approximately 110 of the ESPN 150 have already sent in their verbal commitments.  We currently have 2 of them, and one is a soft commit.  By comparison, USC has 12 of the top 150 so far.

Is there a chance that we snag some solid recruits between now and signing day?  Absolutely.  Are we likely to get a late surge like last year when 4 blue chippers committed?  Unlikely but time will tell.

[Cardinal96]

[quote author=NYCCardinalFan link=topic=6494.msg48144#msg48144 date=1348171112]

I think this year's class is worse than last year's class for a few reasons.

You know it's September, right? And that signing day is in February?
[/quote]

Of course I know that.  But it's not like we are operating at an early stage where the bulk of top recruits are open.  Approximately 110 of the ESPN 150 have already sent in their verbal commitments.  We currently have 2 of them, and one is a soft commit.  By comparison, USC has 12 of the top 150 so far.

Is there a chance that we snag some solid recruits between now and signing day?  Absolutely.  Are we likely to get a late surge like last year when 4 blue chippers committed?  Unlikely but time will tell.

[washingtonismoney]

I think it's possible that that massive, early commitment of top players hides the true state of play. I wouldn't be shocked if there were a couple players who made a placeholder commitment, intending to flip whenever they get admitted.

I would just look at the revealed actions of the people who would be in a better position to know than we do: the coaches are playing things slowly and making offers deliberately; there was an article a while back where the committed recruits were asked something along the lines of, "Does it bother you that Stanford has a small class?" and they were like, "Psh, man, whatever" and went back to Tweeting, Skyping and whatever other things The Youth are doing these days. The conclusion to draw here then is either:

1) Everything's going fine.
2) They are delusional and insane.

A bit Manchean, I realize, but there you have it.

Judging from what we know about the coaching staff so far, 2) seems unlikely. So I'm guessing 1) is, in fact, the case. I don't expect it to be a blockbuster class, but a solid one that fills in depth. (2014 is the class we expect to be a blockbuster.)

[washingtonismoney]

I think it's possible that that massive, early commitment of top players hides the true state of play. I wouldn't be shocked if there were a couple players who made a placeholder commitment, intending to flip whenever they get admitted.

I would just look at the revealed actions of the people who would be in a better position to know than we do: the coaches are playing things slowly and making offers deliberately; there was an article a while back where the committed recruits were asked something along the lines of, "Does it bother you that Stanford has a small class?" and they were like, "Psh, man, whatever" and went back to Tweeting, Skyping and whatever other things The Youth are doing these days. The conclusion to draw here then is either:

1) Everything's going fine.
2) They are delusional and insane.

A bit Manchean, I realize, but there you have it.

Judging from what we know about the coaching staff so far, 2) seems unlikely. So I'm guessing 1) is, in fact, the case. I don't expect it to be a blockbuster class, but a solid one that fills in depth. (2014 is the class we expect to be a blockbuster.)

[jayasena]

Everyone knows a verbal commitment to Stanford means nothing until admissions approves a recruit.  It always baffled me why Stanford would accept public verbals from guys who weren't slam dunks for admission.  Recruits with questionable profiles can always say Stanford is high on their list, and then commit when admitted.  This would also lessen the anxiety Stanford fans have, wondering if committed recruits will be admitted.

First of all, i don't think lessening the anxiety for fans should be a concern at all. If grown adults want to lose sleep over the decisions of 17-year-olds they are not responsible for, that's on said adults and no one else.

Second, while I agree in principle that accepting verbals before admission is risky, I can see why that may be necessary. For example, a recruit may want to be "done" with the recruiting process early. If that means a choice between Stanford accepting a risky verbal or seeing the recruit commit elsewhere, it comes down to a calculated risk that may be worth taking. And in general, telling recruits who are ready to commit to wait can be interpreted as slow-playing and can drive them elsewhere. So maybe our level of risk tolerance (or need for such) has reduced over the past couple of years but I doubt it ever completely goes away.

[jayasena]

Everyone knows a verbal commitment to Stanford means nothing until admissions approves a recruit.  It always baffled me why Stanford would accept public verbals from guys who weren't slam dunks for admission.  Recruits with questionable profiles can always say Stanford is high on their list, and then commit when admitted.  This would also lessen the anxiety Stanford fans have, wondering if committed recruits will be admitted.

First of all, i don't think lessening the anxiety for fans should be a concern at all. If grown adults want to lose sleep over the decisions of 17-year-olds they are not responsible for, that's on said adults and no one else.

Second, while I agree in principle that accepting verbals before admission is risky, I can see why that may be necessary. For example, a recruit may want to be "done" with the recruiting process early. If that means a choice between Stanford accepting a risky verbal or seeing the recruit commit elsewhere, it comes down to a calculated risk that may be worth taking. And in general, telling recruits who are ready to commit to wait can be interpreted as slow-playing and can drive them elsewhere. So maybe our level of risk tolerance (or need for such) has reduced over the past couple of years but I doubt it ever completely goes away.

[slide]

just to add a bit on what has been offered.

this year's recruiting class will be small (10 to 15), but it looks like it will be high quality class.  we currently have 6 verbals (S/LB Barton, QB Burns, LB Kalambayi, TE Cotton, WR Owusu, LB Savaiinaea) -- all 3 or 4 stars.  Barton is effectively a '15 due to a mission, so I'd guess we have 6 to 7 more slots to fill with most of the outstanding uncommitted offers bunched at WR (Allen, Cunningham, Thomas), OL (Crowder, Crooks, Oser) and DB (Johnson, Likely, Walker). 

there are a few other recruits -- ILB Palma, TE Tabaoga etc -- reportedly close to receiving offers but nothing yet.  I think both these guys would commit if offered.  Tabaoga has commented that he'd go to Stanford over 'Bama (who has offered according to him and a couple of recruiting sites).

take us back to the days of Ted's Lil Buddy and the Wlat, Palma and Tabaoga would have been headliners. 

staff looks to be focused on '14s and '15s already as well with a couple of dozen offers out to '14s and at least 1 to a '15.

[slide]

just to add a bit on what has been offered.

this year's recruiting class will be small (10 to 15), but it looks like it will be high quality class.  we currently have 6 verbals (S/LB Barton, QB Burns, LB Kalambayi, TE Cotton, WR Owusu, LB Savaiinaea) -- all 3 or 4 stars.  Barton is effectively a '15 due to a mission, so I'd guess we have 6 to 7 more slots to fill with most of the outstanding uncommitted offers bunched at WR (Allen, Cunningham, Thomas), OL (Crowder, Crooks, Oser) and DB (Johnson, Likely, Walker). 

there are a few other recruits -- ILB Palma, TE Tabaoga etc -- reportedly close to receiving offers but nothing yet.  I think both these guys would commit if offered.  Tabaoga has commented that he'd go to Stanford over 'Bama (who has offered according to him and a couple of recruiting sites).

take us back to the days of Ted's Lil Buddy and the Wlat, Palma and Tabaoga would have been headliners. 

staff looks to be focused on '14s and '15s already as well with a couple of dozen offers out to '14s and at least 1 to a '15.

[yvonne]

Nothing matters until February. Nothing's close to mattering before a high school all star game. Even then, everything can change. Cal had a slew of guys commit at the Army All Star Game and all but one signed elsewhere. That's an unusual case, but in a case like this year in which we have 10-15 scholarships to give, I wouldn't sit with bated breath waiting for a kid to commit. There just aren't going to be that many.

[yvonne]

Nothing matters until February. Nothing's close to mattering before a high school all star game. Even then, everything can change. Cal had a slew of guys commit at the Army All Star Game and all but one signed elsewhere. That's an unusual case, but in a case like this year in which we have 10-15 scholarships to give, I wouldn't sit with bated breath waiting for a kid to commit. There just aren't going to be that many.

[OutsiderFan]

You would think with so few slots open for Stanford this year (and how hot a Stanford offer is becoming) that there would be a very high demand for Stanford schollies relative to openings, and guys committing early to guarantee themselves a spot.  So it seems likely there are a lot of guys who really would have committed by now if they knew they were admitted.

So there seems to be some anecdotal evidence to suggest Shaw has changed up the recruiting approach a bit.  I'm fairly certain if Harbs was the coach still that most of the open slots would be publicly spoken for right now.

[OutsiderFan]

You would think with so few slots open for Stanford this year (and how hot a Stanford offer is becoming) that there would be a very high demand for Stanford schollies relative to openings, and guys committing early to guarantee themselves a spot.  So it seems likely there are a lot of guys who really would have committed by now if they knew they were admitted.

So there seems to be some anecdotal evidence to suggest Shaw has changed up the recruiting approach a bit.  I'm fairly certain if Harbs was the coach still that most of the open slots would be publicly spoken for right now.