[Austroturf]

One observation after looking at all the videos. LB Matt Rose is my favorite recruit in the class. He has the fire to be that "Skov type" y'all have been clamoring to see. He is a 4-year starter type that you can build your program on, IMO.

Nice to hear about your expectations regarding Rose.  My fear is that Skov-types are a thing of the past at Stanford (and elsewhere for that matter).  A really good linebacker will probably check out after 3 seasons and head for the NFL; and if he spends one of those as a redshirt, he plays 2 seasons.  Let's see.   Skov started immediately in 2009 and started all 13 games, was injured early in 2011 vs. Arizona and used his medical redshirt to play out his entire eligibility (through 2013).  Who does that anymore?

We need fiery Skov-types for sure and we've seen that recruiting rankings don't correlate perfectly to college performance by any means. But it's premature and unfair to put 4-year starter (or three years so strong that he declares for the draft) expectations on Rose.

Shayne Skov was ranked #106 nationally in his class by 247 (#8 among inside linebackers) and higher by Rivals (#3 nationally at his position); Rose isn't ranked in the top 1,000 overall (he's ranked #152 among linebackers). Let's not set unrealistic expectations and call Rose a disappointment if he only contributes early on special teams and eventually becomes a contributor on defense. If he becomes a first team all-conference player like Skov (entirely possible) then we'll be thrilled. But Skov wasn't just a fiery, passionate player, he was a phenomenal athlete (with a freakish size/speed combination until he got injured).

Agree that Rose is currently a blank slate.  My comments were more aimed at how special Skov was not only in terms of performance, but also in terms of longevity.  He played all of 2009 and 2010, got injured, then played all of 2012 and 2013, thus exhausting his eligibility up to and including the 2014 Rose Bowl.  He was the kind of player who helped define a Stanford football era by his ability AND the length of his tenure.  Talented players today just don't stay that long, anywhere.  If they perceive their draft stock as high, they bolt as soon as they can before injury can compromise it.  Nowadays, the story of highly-talented players is more like Walker Little, who has also been mentioned in this thread: promising freshman season, excellent sophomore season, injured early in his junior season, recovered and never played another snap for Stanford.

[Austroturf]

One observation after looking at all the videos. LB Matt Rose is my favorite recruit in the class. He has the fire to be that "Skov type" y'all have been clamoring to see. He is a 4-year starter type that you can build your program on, IMO.

Nice to hear about your expectations regarding Rose.  My fear is that Skov-types are a thing of the past at Stanford (and elsewhere for that matter).  A really good linebacker will probably check out after 3 seasons and head for the NFL; and if he spends one of those as a redshirt, he plays 2 seasons.  Let's see.   Skov started immediately in 2009 and started all 13 games, was injured early in 2011 vs. Arizona and used his medical redshirt to play out his entire eligibility (through 2013).  Who does that anymore?

We need fiery Skov-types for sure and we've seen that recruiting rankings don't correlate perfectly to college performance by any means. But it's premature and unfair to put 4-year starter (or three years so strong that he declares for the draft) expectations on Rose.

Shayne Skov was ranked #106 nationally in his class by 247 (#8 among inside linebackers) and higher by Rivals (#3 nationally at his position); Rose isn't ranked in the top 1,000 overall (he's ranked #152 among linebackers). Let's not set unrealistic expectations and call Rose a disappointment if he only contributes early on special teams and eventually becomes a contributor on defense. If he becomes a first team all-conference player like Skov (entirely possible) then we'll be thrilled. But Skov wasn't just a fiery, passionate player, he was a phenomenal athlete (with a freakish size/speed combination until he got injured).

Agree that Rose is currently a blank slate.  My comments were more aimed at how special Skov was not only in terms of performance, but also in terms of longevity.  He played all of 2009 and 2010, got injured, then played all of 2012 and 2013, thus exhausting his eligibility up to and including the 2014 Rose Bowl.  He was the kind of player who helped define a Stanford football era by his ability AND the length of his tenure.  Talented players today just don't stay that long, anywhere.  If they perceive their draft stock as high, they bolt as soon as they can before injury can compromise it.  Nowadays, the story of highly-talented players is more like Walker Little, who has also been mentioned in this thread: promising freshman season, excellent sophomore season, injured early in his junior season, recovered and never played another snap for Stanford.