[washingtonismoney]

"Shaw just signed what was, on average, his best recruiting class. ... Stanford has fewer players than normal to replace and is bringing in an even higher caliber of replacement."
Even if they play, true frosh rarely have a significant impact overall on a team. ...

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "significant impact," but I'd argue Stanford has consistently had true freshman contributors:

2011: Ty Montgomery is the most borderline member here
2012: Alex Carter was critical to the defense down the stretch; Peat, according to his gostanford bio, played about 25 snaps/game.
2013: No one. Small, low-rated class.
2014: McCaffrey and Phillips were both significant players.
2015: Quenton Meeks was highly significant. Jake Bailey handled kickoffs and some punts. Bryce Love was a borderline significant contributor, but played a big role in the UCF game.
2016: Nate Herbig was a significant contributor, but I suppose it's fair to have an asterisk given it was forced by injury. McNitzsky is also an asterisk given his role (long snapper).

Reviewing Shaw's history to me, it seems to me true freshmen contribute almost every year. 2013 is the exception. I attribute it to: 1) 2013 being the best Stanford team in the Shaw era; it was a deep, experienced team with few opportunities to contribute and 2) the incoming class being quite small and not-so-highly ranked.

If you squint 2017 looks kind of similar to 2013. It's experienced, though it doesn't look to be as loaded as the 2013 team. In particular, the offensive line appears to have an immediate opening at tackle. And while the incoming class is small, it's also highly rated. It's just a qualitative observation, but "skill" players tend to contribute quicker than linemen. One would think that weighs against quick contributions from the incoming frosh class, but, again, there's an obvious opportunity on the OL.

[washingtonismoney]

"Shaw just signed what was, on average, his best recruiting class. ... Stanford has fewer players than normal to replace and is bringing in an even higher caliber of replacement."
Even if they play, true frosh rarely have a significant impact overall on a team. ...

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "significant impact," but I'd argue Stanford has consistently had true freshman contributors:

2011: Ty Montgomery is the most borderline member here
2012: Alex Carter was critical to the defense down the stretch; Peat, according to his gostanford bio, played about 25 snaps/game.
2013: No one. Small, low-rated class.
2014: McCaffrey and Phillips were both significant players.
2015: Quenton Meeks was highly significant. Jake Bailey handled kickoffs and some punts. Bryce Love was a borderline significant contributor, but played a big role in the UCF game.
2016: Nate Herbig was a significant contributor, but I suppose it's fair to have an asterisk given it was forced by injury. McNitzsky is also an asterisk given his role (long snapper).

Reviewing Shaw's history to me, it seems to me true freshmen contribute almost every year. 2013 is the exception. I attribute it to: 1) 2013 being the best Stanford team in the Shaw era; it was a deep, experienced team with few opportunities to contribute and 2) the incoming class being quite small and not-so-highly ranked.

If you squint 2017 looks kind of similar to 2013. It's experienced, though it doesn't look to be as loaded as the 2013 team. In particular, the offensive line appears to have an immediate opening at tackle. And while the incoming class is small, it's also highly rated. It's just a qualitative observation, but "skill" players tend to contribute quicker than linemen. One would think that weighs against quick contributions from the incoming frosh class, but, again, there's an obvious opportunity on the OL.