[TrumpCard]

I think it makes all the sense in the world to take some specialists as PWOs to save roster spots (especially now that Stanford is filling its allotted scholarships finally).  I don't have a problem with offering scholarships to some high schoolers, but why not also fill the specialist ranks in part with guys who are willing to earn that scholarship in year two or three?

For position players, the calculus is a little different.  Stanford can't count on filling recruiting gaps with PWOs because those players do not pan out with sufficient frequency.  The goal is to keep a solid pipeline of PWOs so that the team will find a valuable diamond in the rough occasionally.  Even landing one position player every other year who ends up starting at some point in his career is a good result for the PWO program, especially if the PWOs are earning their playing time with solid performances rather than due to attrition and desperation...  

There are pro/con arguments from the standpoint of university admissions, but taking PWOs for football does align with the "two excellences" model that's been discussed here for a number of years.  And Stanford does have an advantage in recruiting PWOs due to the university's generous financial aid policy (which effectively is like a scholarship for some students, even though the team doesn't use one of its 85).

[TrumpCard]

I think it makes all the sense in the world to take some specialists as PWOs to save roster spots (especially now that Stanford is filling its allotted scholarships finally).  I don't have a problem with offering scholarships to some high schoolers, but why not also fill the specialist ranks in part with guys who are willing to earn that scholarship in year two or three?

For position players, the calculus is a little different.  Stanford can't count on filling recruiting gaps with PWOs because those players do not pan out with sufficient frequency.  The goal is to keep a solid pipeline of PWOs so that the team will find a valuable diamond in the rough occasionally.  Even landing one position player every other year who ends up starting at some point in his career is a good result for the PWO program, especially if the PWOs are earning their playing time with solid performances rather than due to attrition and desperation...  

There are pro/con arguments from the standpoint of university admissions, but taking PWOs for football does align with the "two excellences" model that's been discussed here for a number of years.  And Stanford does have an advantage in recruiting PWOs due to the university's generous financial aid policy (which effectively is like a scholarship for some students, even though the team doesn't use one of its 85).