[CTcard]

Basically from Harbaugh until 2018 it was at or close to 85

I don't believe that is true, though I am not sure and I cannot find clear information on the matter.

Going by memory, Stanford has a long history of being well under the scholarship limitations. There was discussion of the matter under Willingham. While I don't remember explicitly, I think that Harbaugh got us to the limit (he was certainly aggressive generally about recruiting, and cutting guys late).

As Shaw took over he seemed to be reacting to perceived excesses under Harbaugh in recruiting, and I think most years was well under the cap. I remember extensive discussions about the class entering in 2013. It was poorly ranked, though at least to a large extent because it was so small (ranked #52 by 247 composite, 12 commits the way they count). The average recruit rating was good enough to be ranked in the low 20s range, but the tiny size was a real problem. My memory tells me that there was plenty of room for more signees - but to be sure that is only my memory.

[CTcard]

Basically from Harbaugh until 2018 it was at or close to 85

I don't believe that is true, though I am not sure and I cannot find clear information on the matter.

Going by memory, Stanford has a long history of being well under the scholarship limitations. There was discussion of the matter under Willingham. While I don't remember explicitly, I think that Harbaugh got us to the limit (he was certainly aggressive generally about recruiting, and cutting guys late).

As Shaw took over he seemed to be reacting to perceived excesses under Harbaugh in recruiting, and I think most years was well under the cap. I remember extensive discussions about the class entering in 2013. It was poorly ranked, though at least to a large extent because it was so small (ranked #52 by 247 composite, 12 commits the way they count). The average recruit rating was good enough to be ranked in the low 20s range, but the tiny size was a real problem. My memory tells me that there was plenty of room for more signees - but to be sure that is only my memory.