[Goose]

Except that historically Stanford has been able to recruit elite QBs even when the depth chart looks crowded.

True. And how has that worked out for the recruits? I would say, on average, not so well. On the one hand, some guys who initially didn't look like they were going to get a shot, like Hogan, did, and did well. OTOH, the two guys he beat out didn't benefit much. The problem at Stanford, as opposed to many other schools, is that the QB has such a long gestation period that he can't easily transfer out when it looks like it isn't happening. Recruits notice this. They know that they won't get to play early, because that is not how we do it. If there is a logjam, it could be too late before the find out that the aren't going to get a shot.

And across the country you find numerous example of quarterbacks undeterred by competition. Justin Fields committed to Georgia despite the presence of Jake Fromm, who himself committed there a year ago despite Jacob Eason starting the entire season as a true freshman. Tua Tagavailoa chose Alabama even though Jalen Hurts had just won the national championship as a true freshman and been named SEC offensive player of the year. Trevor Lawrence committed to Clemson this year to compete against the formidable trio of Kelly Bryant, Hunter Johnson and Chase Brice.

True, but I think you must admit that the last example you cited is a very rare happening. Competing with one guy is pretty much the deal you are going to get in most cases. If you are good, even if you don't win the battle, you red-shirt and probably have at least a year as the #1 guy, worst case.  If your competition is really good and goes NFL early, you get two years as #1. That is a  reasonable risk. Worst case, you find out in your freshman year (which won't happen at Stanford, most probably) that you have no shot and transfer. But, when you have 4 guys in the mix, three of which haven't used any eligibility yet, that is a big hill to climb. Not saying nobody would attempt it, but if you have aspirations of playing on Sunday, I doubt you can risk it.

[Goose]

Except that historically Stanford has been able to recruit elite QBs even when the depth chart looks crowded.

True. And how has that worked out for the recruits? I would say, on average, not so well. On the one hand, some guys who initially didn't look like they were going to get a shot, like Hogan, did, and did well. OTOH, the two guys he beat out didn't benefit much. The problem at Stanford, as opposed to many other schools, is that the QB has such a long gestation period that he can't easily transfer out when it looks like it isn't happening. Recruits notice this. They know that they won't get to play early, because that is not how we do it. If there is a logjam, it could be too late before the find out that the aren't going to get a shot.

And across the country you find numerous example of quarterbacks undeterred by competition. Justin Fields committed to Georgia despite the presence of Jake Fromm, who himself committed there a year ago despite Jacob Eason starting the entire season as a true freshman. Tua Tagavailoa chose Alabama even though Jalen Hurts had just won the national championship as a true freshman and been named SEC offensive player of the year. Trevor Lawrence committed to Clemson this year to compete against the formidable trio of Kelly Bryant, Hunter Johnson and Chase Brice.

True, but I think you must admit that the last example you cited is a very rare happening. Competing with one guy is pretty much the deal you are going to get in most cases. If you are good, even if you don't win the battle, you red-shirt and probably have at least a year as the #1 guy, worst case.  If your competition is really good and goes NFL early, you get two years as #1. That is a  reasonable risk. Worst case, you find out in your freshman year (which won't happen at Stanford, most probably) that you have no shot and transfer. But, when you have 4 guys in the mix, three of which haven't used any eligibility yet, that is a big hill to climb. Not saying nobody would attempt it, but if you have aspirations of playing on Sunday, I doubt you can risk it.