[BostonCard]

Enjoy this ride because all it would take is a lazy recruiter or a dean of  admissions that doesn't get athletics or a couple of losing seasons, and all the work Harbaugh and Shaw have put into get us into a top recruiting destination will be lost.  Stanford might recruit itself, but never to the extent that it will get top athletes to take the SAT multiple times, take AP classes, and spend time and effort to complete the application.  For that it takes a dedicated staff who can sell the recruit the idea that all that effort (for a somewhat uncertain payout) is worth it.  Moreover, while Stanford is well known in Pac-12 country, and about as well known as anybody outside the state, you still need someone who can sell kids from the south and midwest the idea that it is worth traveling that many miles away from home (and remember, Solomon Thomas is the best recruit we have EVER gotten out of Texas, and we STILL have trouble plucking kids out of the midwest when going up against Michigan, tOSU, and Notre Dame.

What I am trying to say is that while our recent success has made the job of David Shaw and company easier, recruiting at Stanford will always require a dedicated coach, good communications with the admissions department, and still, a fair bit of luck (that there the guys we need in positions we need have the athleticism and academics -- to wit, we've gone two years without a DT).  It is getting easier, but don't take it for granted.

I do think that we are at a position where if you have an academically oriented kid, and we get them in and visiting, we will win that battle 90+% of the time.  So yeah, don't bet against Stanford in a three-hat race.

BC

[BostonCard]

Enjoy this ride because all it would take is a lazy recruiter or a dean of  admissions that doesn't get athletics or a couple of losing seasons, and all the work Harbaugh and Shaw have put into get us into a top recruiting destination will be lost.  Stanford might recruit itself, but never to the extent that it will get top athletes to take the SAT multiple times, take AP classes, and spend time and effort to complete the application.  For that it takes a dedicated staff who can sell the recruit the idea that all that effort (for a somewhat uncertain payout) is worth it.  Moreover, while Stanford is well known in Pac-12 country, and about as well known as anybody outside the state, you still need someone who can sell kids from the south and midwest the idea that it is worth traveling that many miles away from home (and remember, Solomon Thomas is the best recruit we have EVER gotten out of Texas, and we STILL have trouble plucking kids out of the midwest when going up against Michigan, tOSU, and Notre Dame.

What I am trying to say is that while our recent success has made the job of David Shaw and company easier, recruiting at Stanford will always require a dedicated coach, good communications with the admissions department, and still, a fair bit of luck (that there the guys we need in positions we need have the athleticism and academics -- to wit, we've gone two years without a DT).  It is getting easier, but don't take it for granted.

I do think that we are at a position where if you have an academically oriented kid, and we get them in and visiting, we will win that battle 90+% of the time.  So yeah, don't bet against Stanford in a three-hat race.

BC