[msqueri]

Three-dimensional analysis on Mukam:

Services: 247 composite #932 (#81 Edge), On3 composite N/A, 247 #87 Edge, On3 NR, Rivals 5.6 (same grade as Zach Rowell, Jaxson Moi, Zach Buckey, Lance Keneley, Dalyn Wade-Perry, Jovan Swann, Bo Peek, Thomas Schaffer, Harrison Phillips, Nate Lohn, Ikenna Nwafor, JB Salem), ESPN NR

Offers: Stanford, Virginia, Appalachian State, Boise State, Cal, Colorado, Duke, Liberty, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Old Dominion, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Toledo, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Production: There are no Maxpreps stats listed, but self-reportedly Mukam had 41 tackles, 5 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss as a junior against extremely poor competition. The highlights also show two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. He is from Canada and started playing football in 2019, though it's unclear how many games he played as a freshman or sophomore. The freshman and sophomore Canada highlights show him exclusively as an edge defender, typically standing up. Junior year he was still playing on the edge but in a three point stance, what most would understand as a 4-3 defensive end. Aside from football, he played club hockey for ten years as a right wing and in track he has personal records of 52' 2.5 in the shot put and 147' 3 in the discus. Those are both above-average by Shaw recruit standards, with the shot put in particular on the hefty side. I hesitate to report this as "production" but Mukam says he went 8-0 in ping pong when he visited the Virginia Tech players' lounge.

The DL version of what we just saw on the other side of the trenches with Baklenko: a junior year late bloomer who amassed a respectable 3-star offer list/double digit Power Five offers entirely in the half year following his junior season. It's a no doubt about it Pac-12 guy even if the services may take a little bit to catch up. The bottom line is it's a 3-star DL, a position at which recruiting is always a crapshoot and we should welcome solid 3-stars. An interesting thing here is the positional issue: many observers, including the recruiting services, Cal coaches, and others, viewed Mukam as an edge defender. My feeling is Stanford has the luxury of being somewhat definitive about him as a DL, a position designation some of his comments suggest more comfort with, because we just knocked edge defender recruiting out of the park in the last class. We can plug him in with Buckey, Franklin, Rowell, Moi, and Caughey as one of the grunts up front knowing that the real fire power is coming off the edge with Armitage, Aybar, Bailey, Cooper, and Tafiti. Nonetheless, one should keep in mind that for some schematic purposes our DL/edge distinction is somewhat arbitrary and it's not crazy to view Mukam as depth behind Armitage, for instance. Finally, the fact we still have Cameron Brandt, Elijah Hughes, and Gavin Geweniger out there as possibilities for this class suggests that we are looking to amp up our volume at defensive line, even with the new defensive scheme. None of these are blue chip recruits, but there's a lot to be said about getting some volume so that you can manage the inherent uncertainty at this position. If the 2021-2023 classes give us 7-8 DL of this caliber, you could feel pretty good about 3-4 turning into solid Pac-12 players.

[msqueri]

Three-dimensional analysis on Mukam:

Services: 247 composite #932 (#81 Edge), On3 composite N/A, 247 #87 Edge, On3 NR, Rivals 5.6 (same grade as Zach Rowell, Jaxson Moi, Zach Buckey, Lance Keneley, Dalyn Wade-Perry, Jovan Swann, Bo Peek, Thomas Schaffer, Harrison Phillips, Nate Lohn, Ikenna Nwafor, JB Salem), ESPN NR

Offers: Stanford, Virginia, Appalachian State, Boise State, Cal, Colorado, Duke, Liberty, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Old Dominion, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Toledo, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Production: There are no Maxpreps stats listed, but self-reportedly Mukam had 41 tackles, 5 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss as a junior against extremely poor competition. The highlights also show two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. He is from Canada and started playing football in 2019, though it's unclear how many games he played as a freshman or sophomore. The freshman and sophomore Canada highlights show him exclusively as an edge defender, typically standing up. Junior year he was still playing on the edge but in a three point stance, what most would understand as a 4-3 defensive end. Aside from football, he played club hockey for ten years as a right wing and in track he has personal records of 52' 2.5 in the shot put and 147' 3 in the discus. Those are both above-average by Shaw recruit standards, with the shot put in particular on the hefty side. I hesitate to report this as "production" but Mukam says he went 8-0 in ping pong when he visited the Virginia Tech players' lounge.

The DL version of what we just saw on the other side of the trenches with Baklenko: a junior year late bloomer who amassed a respectable 3-star offer list/double digit Power Five offers entirely in the half year following his junior season. It's a no doubt about it Pac-12 guy even if the services may take a little bit to catch up. The bottom line is it's a 3-star DL, a position at which recruiting is always a crapshoot and we should welcome solid 3-stars. An interesting thing here is the positional issue: many observers, including the recruiting services, Cal coaches, and others, viewed Mukam as an edge defender. My feeling is Stanford has the luxury of being somewhat definitive about him as a DL, a position designation some of his comments suggest more comfort with, because we just knocked edge defender recruiting out of the park in the last class. We can plug him in with Buckey, Franklin, Rowell, Moi, and Caughey as one of the grunts up front knowing that the real fire power is coming off the edge with Armitage, Aybar, Bailey, Cooper, and Tafiti. Nonetheless, one should keep in mind that for some schematic purposes our DL/edge distinction is somewhat arbitrary and it's not crazy to view Mukam as depth behind Armitage, for instance. Finally, the fact we still have Cameron Brandt, Elijah Hughes, and Gavin Geweniger out there as possibilities for this class suggests that we are looking to amp up our volume at defensive line, even with the new defensive scheme. None of these are blue chip recruits, but there's a lot to be said about getting some volume so that you can manage the inherent uncertainty at this position. If the 2021-2023 classes give us 7-8 DL of this caliber, you could feel pretty good about 3-4 turning into solid Pac-12 players.

[LDN/SG Card]

LJ Martin RB flips from Texas Tech!

[LDN/SG Card]

LJ Martin RB flips from Texas Tech!

[BostonCard]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/aljaymartin/status/1541754172990709762?s=21&t=I0iEMk67q0GvijGolswsxg[/tweet]

BC

[BostonCard]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/aljaymartin/status/1541754172990709762?s=21&t=I0iEMk67q0GvijGolswsxg[/tweet]

BC

[msqueri]

Three-dimensional analysis on Martin:

Services: 247 composite #450 (#31 RB), On3 composite #447 (#31 RB), 247 #26 RB, On3 #22 RB, Rivals #14 all-purpose back (5.7 grade, same grade as Arlen Harris, Casey Filkins, Justus Woods, Trevor Speights, Delano Howell, Toby Gerhart), ESPN #28 RB

Offers: Stanford, Texas Tech, Air Force, Baylor, Colorado State, Kansas, Kansas State, Navy, New Mexico, SMU, UNLV, UTEP, UTSA

Production: As a junior against heinous competition (bottom four percent of all Shaw recruits, worst among running backs), Martin had 268 carries for 2737 yards (10.2 yards per carry) and 29 touchdowns (obviously all team lead) to go with 15 catches for 376 yards (25 yards per catch) and 6 touchdowns; he also had four kick returns for an average of 44.5 yards, two punt returns for an average of 28.5 yards, 5 tackles, an interception (off a tip) that he returned 20 yards, and 30 punts for an average of 36.4 yards (only four of them inside the 20 though). This domination merited Class 5A first team all-state in Texas (Collin Wright got honorable mention as a junior and senior, Jack Leyrer got first team as a senior, and Jimmy Wyrick got honorable mention as a senior) and District 1-5A DII MVP. In the pandemic-shortened sophomore season, he had 109 carries for 897 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and 9 touchdowns (team lead in each category) along with 6 catches for 50 yards (fourth); he had three kick returns for an average of 18.3 yards per return. As a freshman, he had 59 carries for 378 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and 5 touchdowns (third on the team in all of those categories) along with 5 catches for 56 yards (sixth) and 1 touchdown; he also had one kick return for 35 yards. He also threw a pass or two per year, presumably as trick plays and always successfully. In basketball, he was already a starter/sixth man type on varsity as a freshman and as a sophomore averaged 10.2 points (third but within half a point of first), 7.5 rebounds (first by a mile), 2.5 assists (second, 0.1 from first), 1.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks (tied for first) per game. As a junior he took a step back with 7.9 points (fourth), 6.8 rebounds (still first), 2.6 assists (second), and 1.5 steals (first) per game. He hasn't run track since freshman year (personal records of 12.11 in the 100, 25.26 in the 200, 5' 2 in the high jump, 17' 0 in the long jump, and 37' 10.5 in the triple jump), so it's probably best to judge his athleticism other ways, but those are not standout marks even for a freshman.

Fun news! We need offensive talent across the board in this class and it's good to get on the board with a solid running back. I find it disconcerting that running back recruiting the last few years has been more of the extremely high 3-star/low 4-star variety than bringing in guys who are super coveted (and I definitely would not call this offer list super coveted) but Martin is credible competition for Arlen Harris in the future pipeline. The obvious comparison for Martin based on production, level of competition, home state, recruiting profile, and to a somewhat lesser extent skill set is Trevor Speights. You don't see 259+ yard per game all-purpose guys every day, no matter the level of competition. Martin isn't quite the Texas legend Speights was and the pandemic-shortened season renders moot any sort of records discussions, but there's still another year left for Martin to make his mark. For what it's worth, Martin recently suffered a ding to his ranking on Rivals but in my estimation it's nowhere the evidence of plummeting stock I unfortunately observed with our other likely 2023 running back Sedrick Irvin, who at the moment has a similar recruiting profile to Martin but for whom there is evidence evaluators have become very wary following an awful junior season.

Martin's highlights are dominant, as one would expect based on the stats, though they have an odd quality to them. He dominates every play on the tape yet does so in a way that seems to lack speed or suddenness. A charitable read is he's one of those complete back types whose individual traits don't pop but whose combination of size, athleticism, versatility, and vision make him great. A less charitable read is that he looked like a man among boys because the competition stunk. Maxpreps certainly thought it was extremely woeful competition, and the highlights look like the opposing defenders don't know they're allowed to tackle him (Houdini is the best comparison I can come up with of Martin racking up enormous yards in situations where it doesn't seem like it's going to happen). In basketball, he is an all-around, defensive stalwart point guard who leads his team in rebounding despite being one of the shorter guys and makes three pointers regularly. Seems like a pretty encouraging athletic profile given the lack of same on the track, though the football highlights, freshman track times, and lack of big-time offers are enough for me to be definitive that this is not a standout athlete.

My bottom line is Martin looks like a worthy addition who will bolster competition. The running back room is looking like it's shaping up to be deep. I just worry we don't have a difference maker in the pipeline. Harris, Martin, and Irvin (assuming he commits) are recruits in the Speights/Scarlett mold. Maybe next year is the year for a stud recruit, though if this class has 2-3 running backs (remember Nolan Ray out there as well) that might decrease urgency for next year. Here's my hope: that the combination of offensive line recruiting (I have my reservations compared to our high standards but it's certainly been good by Pac-12 standards) and Heffernan coaching leads to good enough blocking that this kind of back really excels. We saw that with Taylor, Gaffney, Jones in 2020, and to a lesser extent Scarlett. That's got to be the hope. Tunnel Workers Union paving the way.

[msqueri]

Three-dimensional analysis on Martin:

Services: 247 composite #450 (#31 RB), On3 composite #447 (#31 RB), 247 #26 RB, On3 #22 RB, Rivals #14 all-purpose back (5.7 grade, same grade as Arlen Harris, Casey Filkins, Justus Woods, Trevor Speights, Delano Howell, Toby Gerhart), ESPN #28 RB

Offers: Stanford, Texas Tech, Air Force, Baylor, Colorado State, Kansas, Kansas State, Navy, New Mexico, SMU, UNLV, UTEP, UTSA

Production: As a junior against heinous competition (bottom four percent of all Shaw recruits, worst among running backs), Martin had 268 carries for 2737 yards (10.2 yards per carry) and 29 touchdowns (obviously all team lead) to go with 15 catches for 376 yards (25 yards per catch) and 6 touchdowns; he also had four kick returns for an average of 44.5 yards, two punt returns for an average of 28.5 yards, 5 tackles, an interception (off a tip) that he returned 20 yards, and 30 punts for an average of 36.4 yards (only four of them inside the 20 though). This domination merited Class 5A first team all-state in Texas (Collin Wright got honorable mention as a junior and senior, Jack Leyrer got first team as a senior, and Jimmy Wyrick got honorable mention as a senior) and District 1-5A DII MVP. In the pandemic-shortened sophomore season, he had 109 carries for 897 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and 9 touchdowns (team lead in each category) along with 6 catches for 50 yards (fourth); he had three kick returns for an average of 18.3 yards per return. As a freshman, he had 59 carries for 378 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and 5 touchdowns (third on the team in all of those categories) along with 5 catches for 56 yards (sixth) and 1 touchdown; he also had one kick return for 35 yards. He also threw a pass or two per year, presumably as trick plays and always successfully. In basketball, he was already a starter/sixth man type on varsity as a freshman and as a sophomore averaged 10.2 points (third but within half a point of first), 7.5 rebounds (first by a mile), 2.5 assists (second, 0.1 from first), 1.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks (tied for first) per game. As a junior he took a step back with 7.9 points (fourth), 6.8 rebounds (still first), 2.6 assists (second), and 1.5 steals (first) per game. He hasn't run track since freshman year (personal records of 12.11 in the 100, 25.26 in the 200, 5' 2 in the high jump, 17' 0 in the long jump, and 37' 10.5 in the triple jump), so it's probably best to judge his athleticism other ways, but those are not standout marks even for a freshman.

Fun news! We need offensive talent across the board in this class and it's good to get on the board with a solid running back. I find it disconcerting that running back recruiting the last few years has been more of the extremely high 3-star/low 4-star variety than bringing in guys who are super coveted (and I definitely would not call this offer list super coveted) but Martin is credible competition for Arlen Harris in the future pipeline. The obvious comparison for Martin based on production, level of competition, home state, recruiting profile, and to a somewhat lesser extent skill set is Trevor Speights. You don't see 259+ yard per game all-purpose guys every day, no matter the level of competition. Martin isn't quite the Texas legend Speights was and the pandemic-shortened season renders moot any sort of records discussions, but there's still another year left for Martin to make his mark. For what it's worth, Martin recently suffered a ding to his ranking on Rivals but in my estimation it's nowhere the evidence of plummeting stock I unfortunately observed with our other likely 2023 running back Sedrick Irvin, who at the moment has a similar recruiting profile to Martin but for whom there is evidence evaluators have become very wary following an awful junior season.

Martin's highlights are dominant, as one would expect based on the stats, though they have an odd quality to them. He dominates every play on the tape yet does so in a way that seems to lack speed or suddenness. A charitable read is he's one of those complete back types whose individual traits don't pop but whose combination of size, athleticism, versatility, and vision make him great. A less charitable read is that he looked like a man among boys because the competition stunk. Maxpreps certainly thought it was extremely woeful competition, and the highlights look like the opposing defenders don't know they're allowed to tackle him (Houdini is the best comparison I can come up with of Martin racking up enormous yards in situations where it doesn't seem like it's going to happen). In basketball, he is an all-around, defensive stalwart point guard who leads his team in rebounding despite being one of the shorter guys and makes three pointers regularly. Seems like a pretty encouraging athletic profile given the lack of same on the track, though the football highlights, freshman track times, and lack of big-time offers are enough for me to be definitive that this is not a standout athlete.

My bottom line is Martin looks like a worthy addition who will bolster competition. The running back room is looking like it's shaping up to be deep. I just worry we don't have a difference maker in the pipeline. Harris, Martin, and Irvin (assuming he commits) are recruits in the Speights/Scarlett mold. Maybe next year is the year for a stud recruit, though if this class has 2-3 running backs (remember Nolan Ray out there as well) that might decrease urgency for next year. Here's my hope: that the combination of offensive line recruiting (I have my reservations compared to our high standards but it's certainly been good by Pac-12 standards) and Heffernan coaching leads to good enough blocking that this kind of back really excels. We saw that with Taylor, Gaffney, Jones in 2020, and to a lesser extent Scarlett. That's got to be the hope. Tunnel Workers Union paving the way.

[TrumpCard]

Speights is definitely the comparison in terms of home state, level of competition, and high school stats. But Cameron Scarlett seems like the better comparison for body type and skill set. Or Tyler Gaffney if we’re dreaming. Pretty big kid who would fit well with Shaw’s style of play from the earlier years (though not sure we want that) or who could end up being a terrific third down back as a blocker/receiver out of the backfield.

[TrumpCard]

Speights is definitely the comparison in terms of home state, level of competition, and high school stats. But Cameron Scarlett seems like the better comparison for body type and skill set. Or Tyler Gaffney if we’re dreaming. Pretty big kid who would fit well with Shaw’s style of play from the earlier years (though not sure we want that) or who could end up being a terrific third down back as a blocker/receiver out of the backfield.

[TrumpCard]

Couple of weeks to the biggest recruiting news of the year:

https://amp.thestate.com/sports/college/...55463.html

[TrumpCard]

Couple of weeks to the biggest recruiting news of the year:

https://amp.thestate.com/sports/college/...55463.html

[OutsiderFan]

Couple of weeks to the biggest recruiting news of the year:

https://amp.thestate.com/sports/college/...55463.html

Does 247's 100% to South Carolina prediction seem on target to those who follow recruiting?

[OutsiderFan]

Couple of weeks to the biggest recruiting news of the year:

https://amp.thestate.com/sports/college/...55463.html

Does 247's 100% to South Carolina prediction seem on target to those who follow recruiting?

[TrumpCard]

If he goes to SC, I’ll be even more concerned about the short- to medium-term future of the program. Stanford desperately needs high quality QBs to compete in the Pac-12.

[TrumpCard]

If he goes to SC, I’ll be even more concerned about the short- to medium-term future of the program. Stanford desperately needs high quality QBs to compete in the Pac-12.

[SamuelMcF]

Couple of weeks to the biggest recruiting news of the year:

https://amp.thestate.com/sports/college/...55463.html

Does 247's 100% to South Carolina prediction seem on target to those who follow recruiting?

No.

They are months old and all from South Carolina homers. No national guys.

Lonergan moved his announcement back a week after his OV to Stanford, which I find significant. I think it's very much a coin flip.

[SamuelMcF]

Couple of weeks to the biggest recruiting news of the year:

https://amp.thestate.com/sports/college/...55463.html

Does 247's 100% to South Carolina prediction seem on target to those who follow recruiting?

No.

They are months old and all from South Carolina homers. No national guys.

Lonergan moved his announcement back a week after his OV to Stanford, which I find significant. I think it's very much a coin flip.

[SamuelMcF]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/sedirvin1/status/1542577214885167105[/tweet]

[SamuelMcF]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/sedirvin1/status/1542577214885167105[/tweet]

[TrumpCard]

Rushing onto the Titanic just after it hits the iceberg of B1G poaching.  Nevertheless, welcome, Mr. Irvin. Stanford is going to need your services, and I hope you have as great an experience there as I did. Looking forward to Matt’s 3-D evaluation. The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

[TrumpCard]

Rushing onto the Titanic just after it hits the iceberg of B1G poaching.  Nevertheless, welcome, Mr. Irvin. Stanford is going to need your services, and I hope you have as great an experience there as I did. Looking forward to Matt’s 3-D evaluation. The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

[SamuelMcF]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfepVTqJR9k/

OG Simione Pale has committed!

6'4" 320. That's a big boy.

---

The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

Irvin was previously a whale for a reason, and is still a 4* by 3 of the 4 services.

We'll see what happens his senior year at a new HS (against tougher competition).

[SamuelMcF]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfepVTqJR9k/

OG Simione Pale has committed!

6'4" 320. That's a big boy.

---

The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

Irvin was previously a whale for a reason, and is still a 4* by 3 of the 4 services.

We'll see what happens his senior year at a new HS (against tougher competition).

[newguy]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfepVTqJR9k/

OG Simione Pale has committed!

6'4" 320. That's a big boy.

---

The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

Irvin was previously a whale for a reason, and is still a 4* by 3 of the 4 services.

We'll see what happens his senior year at a new HS (against tougher competition).

this is good news.
any chance he can play defensive tackle?  because that's a big-time position of need.

[newguy]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfepVTqJR9k/

OG Simione Pale has committed!

6'4" 320. That's a big boy.

---

The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

Irvin was previously a whale for a reason, and is still a 4* by 3 of the 4 services.

We'll see what happens his senior year at a new HS (against tougher competition).

this is good news.
any chance he can play defensive tackle?  because that's a big-time position of need.

[SamuelMcF]

this is good news.
any chance he can play defensive tackle?  because that's a big-time position of need.

Considering "defensive tackle" is not a thing in a 4-3 defense (as I've had to repeatedly state on this board) and we will have at least 2, maybe 3 DL commits in this class, no.

[SamuelMcF]

this is good news.
any chance he can play defensive tackle?  because that's a big-time position of need.

Considering "defensive tackle" is not a thing in a 4-3 defense (as I've had to repeatedly state on this board) and we will have at least 2, maybe 3 DL commits in this class, no.

[msqueri]

Three dimensional analysis on Irvin:

Services: 247 composite #400 (#28 RB), On3 composite #385 (#27 RB), 247 #16 RB, On3 #61 RB, Rivals #13 RB (5.8 grade, same grade as Barry J Sanders, Kelsey Young, Remound Wright, Anthony Wilkerson, Ricky Seale, Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney), ESPN #22 RB

Offers: Stanford, Notre Dame (offer pulled), Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Duke, Florida International, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Tennessee, Tulane, UCF, UNLV, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Production: As a junior, Irvin had 137 carries for 739 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns to go with 12 catches for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns (all fourth on the team). In the pandemic-shortened sophomore season, he had 81 carries for 552 yards (6.8 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns (all team lead) along with 9 catches for 104 yards (fourth). As a freshman, he had 55 carries for 429 yards (7.8 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns (all second), and 4 catches for 54 yards (7th). He's not really used in the return game (extremely minimal return yardage that makes me think it was pooch kicks or something). An interesting thing happened with the competition he faced at Gulliver Prep, which was that the competition was subpar his first two years and then took a big step up his junior year (top third of competition for Shaw recruits). The yards per carry marks are very troubling red flags. I have tracked 41 junior and senior year performances by Shaw RB recruits and Irvin's junior year is neck and neck with Justus Woods' junior year for dead last at #41 (5.39 versus 5.37). His freshman and sophomore highlights show a smattering of game-breaking plays but nothing notable as far as major college running back recruits go, and then he didn't even put together a junior highlight tape. That's how catastrophic his junior year was. The only track time I'm tracking is an 11.9 100 but that was as a freshman, which would not be a burner but leaves open the possibility he's gotten faster.

Good news first: Stanford has a need to bolster the running back room and this is now two low 4-star/extremely high 3-star commits at the position in less than a week. Irvin has an immaculate offer list (although I doubt many of those top programs would have honored their offers, and we know that Notre Dame didn't) and services still think he may be a 4-star. Ok, now the bad news. This is the most imploding recruitment we've seen this side of Silas Starr. Irvin had double digit Power Five offers before his sophomore season. The big offers all came in the first half of his high school career. Heading into his junior season, he had a composite ranking that if it held would place him #155 in the nation. Rivals once ranked him the #81 overall recruit in the country and now he’s outside the national rankings. It's not hard to see what happened here. He looked promising as a freshman and, given his name and his dad's role as a significant figure in Southeast football, programs flocked, but then the on-field results didn't follow. His junior year was so abysmal as to be beyond any real credibility that he's a star. Against good but not great competition and playing on a team with one of the most talented passing offenses in Florida (a QB who went to Tulane, TEs who went to West Virginia and Florida Atlantic, a WR who went to West Virginia, and Irvin classmates/now rising seniors that included a current 5-star and two 4-stars), which meant there wasn't very much pressure on the run game (they only ran 34.5 percent of the time), Irvin had such a horrible season he didn't make highlights of it, got kicked out of Notre Dame's class, and has had his recruiting rankings steadily plummet all year. I hope he has a major chip on his shoulder after this demoralizing past year and comes out with a vengeance to dominate as a senior. 

We need RBs and, after having just gotten LJ Martin, it's plausible to view this as a RB2 in the class (though the strange signal that we might consider Martin at ILB raises eyebrows). While Irvin currently has higher recruiting rankings, his rankings are moving in the wrong direction and it's not crazy to view Martin as the more attractive prospect - I do. I am pleased we're getting some RB depth. But I just can't be too happy with a 5.4 yards per carry back. That is so heinous. Prove me (and I think more poignantly Marcus Freeman) wrong young man!

[msqueri]

Three dimensional analysis on Irvin:

Services: 247 composite #400 (#28 RB), On3 composite #385 (#27 RB), 247 #16 RB, On3 #61 RB, Rivals #13 RB (5.8 grade, same grade as Barry J Sanders, Kelsey Young, Remound Wright, Anthony Wilkerson, Ricky Seale, Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney), ESPN #22 RB

Offers: Stanford, Notre Dame (offer pulled), Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Duke, Florida International, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Tennessee, Tulane, UCF, UNLV, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

Production: As a junior, Irvin had 137 carries for 739 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns to go with 12 catches for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns (all fourth on the team). In the pandemic-shortened sophomore season, he had 81 carries for 552 yards (6.8 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns (all team lead) along with 9 catches for 104 yards (fourth). As a freshman, he had 55 carries for 429 yards (7.8 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns (all second), and 4 catches for 54 yards (7th). He's not really used in the return game (extremely minimal return yardage that makes me think it was pooch kicks or something). An interesting thing happened with the competition he faced at Gulliver Prep, which was that the competition was subpar his first two years and then took a big step up his junior year (top third of competition for Shaw recruits). The yards per carry marks are very troubling red flags. I have tracked 41 junior and senior year performances by Shaw RB recruits and Irvin's junior year is neck and neck with Justus Woods' junior year for dead last at #41 (5.39 versus 5.37). His freshman and sophomore highlights show a smattering of game-breaking plays but nothing notable as far as major college running back recruits go, and then he didn't even put together a junior highlight tape. That's how catastrophic his junior year was. The only track time I'm tracking is an 11.9 100 but that was as a freshman, which would not be a burner but leaves open the possibility he's gotten faster.

Good news first: Stanford has a need to bolster the running back room and this is now two low 4-star/extremely high 3-star commits at the position in less than a week. Irvin has an immaculate offer list (although I doubt many of those top programs would have honored their offers, and we know that Notre Dame didn't) and services still think he may be a 4-star. Ok, now the bad news. This is the most imploding recruitment we've seen this side of Silas Starr. Irvin had double digit Power Five offers before his sophomore season. The big offers all came in the first half of his high school career. Heading into his junior season, he had a composite ranking that if it held would place him #155 in the nation. Rivals once ranked him the #81 overall recruit in the country and now he’s outside the national rankings. It's not hard to see what happened here. He looked promising as a freshman and, given his name and his dad's role as a significant figure in Southeast football, programs flocked, but then the on-field results didn't follow. His junior year was so abysmal as to be beyond any real credibility that he's a star. Against good but not great competition and playing on a team with one of the most talented passing offenses in Florida (a QB who went to Tulane, TEs who went to West Virginia and Florida Atlantic, a WR who went to West Virginia, and Irvin classmates/now rising seniors that included a current 5-star and two 4-stars), which meant there wasn't very much pressure on the run game (they only ran 34.5 percent of the time), Irvin had such a horrible season he didn't make highlights of it, got kicked out of Notre Dame's class, and has had his recruiting rankings steadily plummet all year. I hope he has a major chip on his shoulder after this demoralizing past year and comes out with a vengeance to dominate as a senior. 

We need RBs and, after having just gotten LJ Martin, it's plausible to view this as a RB2 in the class (though the strange signal that we might consider Martin at ILB raises eyebrows). While Irvin currently has higher recruiting rankings, his rankings are moving in the wrong direction and it's not crazy to view Martin as the more attractive prospect - I do. I am pleased we're getting some RB depth. But I just can't be too happy with a 5.4 yards per carry back. That is so heinous. Prove me (and I think more poignantly Marcus Freeman) wrong young man!

[TrumpCard]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfepVTqJR9k/

OG Simione Pale has committed!

6'4" 320. That's a big boy.

---

The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

Irvin was previously a whale for a reason, and is still a 4* by 3 of the 4 services.

We'll see what happens his senior year at a new HS (against tougher competition).

Thanks for the optimistic view on Irvin. Good news on Pali too. Anyone with offers from the entire Pac 12 (minus CO) is good with me.

[TrumpCard]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfepVTqJR9k/

OG Simione Pale has committed!

6'4" 320. That's a big boy.

---

The strong downward trend in YPC is very worrisome, but hopefully the tools are there.

Irvin was previously a whale for a reason, and is still a 4* by 3 of the 4 services.

We'll see what happens his senior year at a new HS (against tougher competition).

Thanks for the optimistic view on Irvin. Good news on Pali too. Anyone with offers from the entire Pac 12 (minus CO) is good with me.

[TrumpCard]

I hadn't really looked at the whole 2023 recruiting board until now.  Although the recruiting cycle still could end up just fine, it seems like there are significant risks.  The biggest is QB, which is the reason I'm anxiously awaiting Lonergan's decision.  His arrival could turn the tide of negativity on this board and help revive the team's fortunes by 2024.  If he were to choose South Carolina, I don't know who else Stanford might land this cycle, but nothing I've heard seems promising.  

Beyond the QB position, there are sufficient quality players left on the board, but Stanford needs to close strong (as always).  That might be a challenge this year, and in the foreseeable future, given Stanford's declining win totals, Stanford's lack of a competitve NIL situation, and the LA Schools' abandonment of the Pac-12.  Here's the current situation as I see it:

Stanford has 10 current commits, including three players ranked 4-star in the 247 composite (all well outside the top 100 whale territory).  You could argue whether these three are all truly 4-star players and whether there are more who should qualify, but I need an objective standard, and this one is easy to use.  You also could really call this a class of 9 plus a punter because the COVID rules have made specialist scholarships even less common than in the olden days.  Stanford didn't have any major conference competition for this guy (and given the conference situation, Stanford may not count as a major conference school either).  

Stanford has approximately 16 players on the board who I would consider at least Plan A-/B+.  The list of 16 is on the generous side as not all of these guys even have a profile on all the main recruiting sites and a few are either NR or outside the top 1000 in the 247 composite.  Maybe there are stealth recruits or even non-stealths who I overlooked, but this is the universe I found.  And I'm not sure all these guys are even viable, but I'm trying to be inclusive.   Here they are:  Lonergan, Lyons, Clegg, Link, Su'a, Esera, Thomason, Snowden, Newsom, Minch, Yamauchi, Brandt, Geweniger, Ray, Fanoimoana, and Hughes.  

The biggest issue I see is that there are only six uncommitted composite 4-star recruits on Stanford's board.  That means Stanford is likely capped at nine 4-star recruits in this class, and at most two whales.  You can safely bet the final number will be lower than that.  

The other issue I see is that the 90+ offers Shaw made this cycle don't seem likely to net a full class.  If we assume a class of 20 (and that's really a guess because I haven't crunched any numbers at all), then Shaw will need to land 10 of the remaining 16 on the board.  That's a tall order, especially in such a challenging recruiting environment for Stanford.  I'm guessing that Shaw will need to dip even further into the pool, and from history we know that, with minor exceptions, offers we see after June mostly tend to be the Plan B type.

I don't want to sound the alarm just yet because, as you can see, there are a number of possibilities still on the board.  But I'm getting a little concerned that Stanford will have trouble matching the quality/quantity of 2022's class, which itself was only what I would call "pretty good."  I'd like all your thoughts on whether I'm off base here.

[TrumpCard]

I hadn't really looked at the whole 2023 recruiting board until now.  Although the recruiting cycle still could end up just fine, it seems like there are significant risks.  The biggest is QB, which is the reason I'm anxiously awaiting Lonergan's decision.  His arrival could turn the tide of negativity on this board and help revive the team's fortunes by 2024.  If he were to choose South Carolina, I don't know who else Stanford might land this cycle, but nothing I've heard seems promising.  

Beyond the QB position, there are sufficient quality players left on the board, but Stanford needs to close strong (as always).  That might be a challenge this year, and in the foreseeable future, given Stanford's declining win totals, Stanford's lack of a competitve NIL situation, and the LA Schools' abandonment of the Pac-12.  Here's the current situation as I see it:

Stanford has 10 current commits, including three players ranked 4-star in the 247 composite (all well outside the top 100 whale territory).  You could argue whether these three are all truly 4-star players and whether there are more who should qualify, but I need an objective standard, and this one is easy to use.  You also could really call this a class of 9 plus a punter because the COVID rules have made specialist scholarships even less common than in the olden days.  Stanford didn't have any major conference competition for this guy (and given the conference situation, Stanford may not count as a major conference school either).  

Stanford has approximately 16 players on the board who I would consider at least Plan A-/B+.  The list of 16 is on the generous side as not all of these guys even have a profile on all the main recruiting sites and a few are either NR or outside the top 1000 in the 247 composite.  Maybe there are stealth recruits or even non-stealths who I overlooked, but this is the universe I found.  And I'm not sure all these guys are even viable, but I'm trying to be inclusive.   Here they are:  Lonergan, Lyons, Clegg, Link, Su'a, Esera, Thomason, Snowden, Newsom, Minch, Yamauchi, Brandt, Geweniger, Ray, Fanoimoana, and Hughes.  

The biggest issue I see is that there are only six uncommitted composite 4-star recruits on Stanford's board.  That means Stanford is likely capped at nine 4-star recruits in this class, and at most two whales.  You can safely bet the final number will be lower than that.  

The other issue I see is that the 90+ offers Shaw made this cycle don't seem likely to net a full class.  If we assume a class of 20 (and that's really a guess because I haven't crunched any numbers at all), then Shaw will need to land 10 of the remaining 16 on the board.  That's a tall order, especially in such a challenging recruiting environment for Stanford.  I'm guessing that Shaw will need to dip even further into the pool, and from history we know that, with minor exceptions, offers we see after June mostly tend to be the Plan B type.

I don't want to sound the alarm just yet because, as you can see, there are a number of possibilities still on the board.  But I'm getting a little concerned that Stanford will have trouble matching the quality/quantity of 2022's class, which itself was only what I would call "pretty good."  I'd like all your thoughts on whether I'm off base here.

[Phogge]

Have they scheduled a "De-commitment" Day yet?

[Phogge]

Have they scheduled a "De-commitment" Day yet?

[msqueri]

Three dimensional analysis on Pale:

Services: 247 composite #485 (#32 interior OL), On3 composite #608 (#53 interior OL), 247 #17 interior OL, On3 #35 interior OL, Rivals 5.5 (same grade as Luke Baklenko, Jesse Burkett, Johnny Caspers, Tyler Mabry, John Kyed, Andrew Phillips, Chris Marinelli, Ben Muth), ESPN #277 (#8 interior OL)

Offers: Stanford, BYU, Cal, Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Fresno State, Nevada, Oregon, San Diego State, USC, Utah, Washington State

Production: As a junior playing against very poor competition (bottom 13 percent of Shaw recruits), Pale led the way for a line that was on the very extreme run-focused end of the spectrum, with Elk Grove running 89.9 percent of the time, to strong effect. The team averaged 342.8 rushing yards per game and 8.4 yards per carry, with the running back (now a freshman at Sacramento State) averaging 8.4 yards per carry and the "quarterback" (essentially a full time wildcat) averaging 9.0 yards per carry. On defense Pale had 8 tackles (18th on the team) and 2 sacks (tied for 7th). As a freshman he got called up to varsity mid-season and rotated in at left and right guard, the same positions he started at in the pandemic-delayed/shortened sophomore season. The junior highlights almost exclusively show him plowing straight ahead in run blocking, though there are a few highlights of him pulling or trapping and a couple in pass protection. He has been selected for the Polynesian Bowl, which will be televised on January 20 by NFL Network. Walker Lyons, Leviticus Su'a, and Siale Esera have also been invited. Stanford has a nice tradition with that bowl's five year history as Connor Wedington and Tanner McKee are past MVPs.

We have ourselves a road grader. Pale is a wide load; Nate Herbig is the only comparable body type I can recall us ever recruiting. Pale's bread and butter is clearing up space in the run game. He's a very regional recruit but certainly has a more than credible recruiting profile for the Pac-12. He differs from Baklenko in that he had a lot of early interest (half the Pac-12 offering by his junior season) but is similar to Baklenko in that he's been a significant post-junior season riser in the estimation of recruiting services. I take that as a good sign that he could be on radars for so long and remain stable or rise after the junior year. I think most of us believe that Stanford needs a dominant line to succeed so every quality OL commit is significant. I think this puts us half way to the kind of OL class we need. I still would have loved to see big national recruits at OL this year, but Pale and Baklenko are nice additions.

[msqueri]

Three dimensional analysis on Pale:

Services: 247 composite #485 (#32 interior OL), On3 composite #608 (#53 interior OL), 247 #17 interior OL, On3 #35 interior OL, Rivals 5.5 (same grade as Luke Baklenko, Jesse Burkett, Johnny Caspers, Tyler Mabry, John Kyed, Andrew Phillips, Chris Marinelli, Ben Muth), ESPN #277 (#8 interior OL)

Offers: Stanford, BYU, Cal, Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Fresno State, Nevada, Oregon, San Diego State, USC, Utah, Washington State

Production: As a junior playing against very poor competition (bottom 13 percent of Shaw recruits), Pale led the way for a line that was on the very extreme run-focused end of the spectrum, with Elk Grove running 89.9 percent of the time, to strong effect. The team averaged 342.8 rushing yards per game and 8.4 yards per carry, with the running back (now a freshman at Sacramento State) averaging 8.4 yards per carry and the "quarterback" (essentially a full time wildcat) averaging 9.0 yards per carry. On defense Pale had 8 tackles (18th on the team) and 2 sacks (tied for 7th). As a freshman he got called up to varsity mid-season and rotated in at left and right guard, the same positions he started at in the pandemic-delayed/shortened sophomore season. The junior highlights almost exclusively show him plowing straight ahead in run blocking, though there are a few highlights of him pulling or trapping and a couple in pass protection. He has been selected for the Polynesian Bowl, which will be televised on January 20 by NFL Network. Walker Lyons, Leviticus Su'a, and Siale Esera have also been invited. Stanford has a nice tradition with that bowl's five year history as Connor Wedington and Tanner McKee are past MVPs.

We have ourselves a road grader. Pale is a wide load; Nate Herbig is the only comparable body type I can recall us ever recruiting. Pale's bread and butter is clearing up space in the run game. He's a very regional recruit but certainly has a more than credible recruiting profile for the Pac-12. He differs from Baklenko in that he had a lot of early interest (half the Pac-12 offering by his junior season) but is similar to Baklenko in that he's been a significant post-junior season riser in the estimation of recruiting services. I take that as a good sign that he could be on radars for so long and remain stable or rise after the junior year. I think most of us believe that Stanford needs a dominant line to succeed so every quality OL commit is significant. I think this puts us half way to the kind of OL class we need. I still would have loved to see big national recruits at OL this year, but Pale and Baklenko are nice additions.

[SamuelMcF]

I hadn't really looked at the whole 2023 recruiting board until now.  Although the recruiting cycle still could end up just fine, it seems like there are significant risks.  The biggest is QB, which is the reason I'm anxiously awaiting Lonergan's decision.  His arrival could turn the tide of negativity on this board and help revive the team's fortunes by 2024.  If he were to choose South Carolina, I don't know who else Stanford might land this cycle, but nothing I've heard seems promising.  

I am cautiously optimistic.

Stanford has 10 current commits, including three players ranked 4-star in the 247 composite (all well outside the top 100 whale territory).  You could argue whether these three are all truly 4-star players and whether there are more who should qualify, but I need an objective standard, and this one is easy to use.  You also could really call this a class of 9 plus a punter because the COVID rules have made specialist scholarships even less common than in the olden days.  Stanford didn't have any major conference competition for this guy (and given the conference situation, Stanford may not count as a major conference school either).  

It IS a class of 9. Aidan Flintoft is 1) a kicker and 2) a PWO.

Stanford has approximately 16 players on the board who I would consider at least Plan A-/B+.  The list of 16 is on the generous side as not all of these guys even have a profile on all the main recruiting sites and a few are either NR or outside the top 1000 in the 247 composite.  Maybe there are stealth recruits or even non-stealths who I overlooked, but this is the universe I found.  And I'm not sure all these guys are even viable, but I'm trying to be inclusive.   Here they are:  Lonergan, Lyons, Clegg, Link, Su'a, Esera, Thomason, Snowden, Newsom, Minch, Yamauchi, Brandt, Geweniger, Ray, Fanoimoana, and Hughes.  

The biggest issue I see is that there are only six uncommitted composite 4-star recruits on Stanford's board.  That means Stanford is likely capped at nine 4-star recruits in this class, and at most two whales.  You can safely bet the final number will be lower than that.

The other issue I see is that the 90+ offers Shaw made this cycle don't seem likely to net a full class.  If we assume a class of 20 (and that's really a guess because I haven't crunched any numbers at all), then Shaw will need to land 10 of the remaining 16 on the board.  That's a tall order, especially in such a challenging recruiting environment for Stanford.  I'm guessing that Shaw will need to dip even further into the pool, and from history we know that, with minor exceptions, offers we see after June mostly tend to be the Plan B type.

I don't want to sound the alarm just yet because, as you can see, there are a number of possibilities still on the board.  But I'm getting a little concerned that Stanford will have trouble matching the quality/quantity of 2022's class, which itself was only what I would call "pretty good."  I'd like all your thoughts on whether I'm off base here.

You are missing at least 6 uncommitted players: Jacobe Johnson, Cayden Lee, Kelby Valsin, Trey Wilson, Tre Williams, and Jordan Matthews. 4 of those 6 recently took OVs.

I think our odds of landing 10+ out of these 22 are pretty good, and "dipping even further into the pool" will be minimal.

We wouldn't have extended 92(!!!) offers for a class smaller than 20. I do agree with you that top-end quality may be a bit lackluster, though that depends on a few guys still on the board and we'll have to see how rankings shake out otherwise. Some "non-4* composite" commits are 4*s by multiple services (Pale and Irvin are both actually 4*s by 3 of the 4). Quantity, addressing all positions, and not "dipping even further into the pool" for guys who aren't credible P5 recruits is just as important to me.

[SamuelMcF]

I hadn't really looked at the whole 2023 recruiting board until now.  Although the recruiting cycle still could end up just fine, it seems like there are significant risks.  The biggest is QB, which is the reason I'm anxiously awaiting Lonergan's decision.  His arrival could turn the tide of negativity on this board and help revive the team's fortunes by 2024.  If he were to choose South Carolina, I don't know who else Stanford might land this cycle, but nothing I've heard seems promising.  

I am cautiously optimistic.

Stanford has 10 current commits, including three players ranked 4-star in the 247 composite (all well outside the top 100 whale territory).  You could argue whether these three are all truly 4-star players and whether there are more who should qualify, but I need an objective standard, and this one is easy to use.  You also could really call this a class of 9 plus a punter because the COVID rules have made specialist scholarships even less common than in the olden days.  Stanford didn't have any major conference competition for this guy (and given the conference situation, Stanford may not count as a major conference school either).  

It IS a class of 9. Aidan Flintoft is 1) a kicker and 2) a PWO.

Stanford has approximately 16 players on the board who I would consider at least Plan A-/B+.  The list of 16 is on the generous side as not all of these guys even have a profile on all the main recruiting sites and a few are either NR or outside the top 1000 in the 247 composite.  Maybe there are stealth recruits or even non-stealths who I overlooked, but this is the universe I found.  And I'm not sure all these guys are even viable, but I'm trying to be inclusive.   Here they are:  Lonergan, Lyons, Clegg, Link, Su'a, Esera, Thomason, Snowden, Newsom, Minch, Yamauchi, Brandt, Geweniger, Ray, Fanoimoana, and Hughes.  

The biggest issue I see is that there are only six uncommitted composite 4-star recruits on Stanford's board.  That means Stanford is likely capped at nine 4-star recruits in this class, and at most two whales.  You can safely bet the final number will be lower than that.

The other issue I see is that the 90+ offers Shaw made this cycle don't seem likely to net a full class.  If we assume a class of 20 (and that's really a guess because I haven't crunched any numbers at all), then Shaw will need to land 10 of the remaining 16 on the board.  That's a tall order, especially in such a challenging recruiting environment for Stanford.  I'm guessing that Shaw will need to dip even further into the pool, and from history we know that, with minor exceptions, offers we see after June mostly tend to be the Plan B type.

I don't want to sound the alarm just yet because, as you can see, there are a number of possibilities still on the board.  But I'm getting a little concerned that Stanford will have trouble matching the quality/quantity of 2022's class, which itself was only what I would call "pretty good."  I'd like all your thoughts on whether I'm off base here.

You are missing at least 6 uncommitted players: Jacobe Johnson, Cayden Lee, Kelby Valsin, Trey Wilson, Tre Williams, and Jordan Matthews. 4 of those 6 recently took OVs.

I think our odds of landing 10+ out of these 22 are pretty good, and "dipping even further into the pool" will be minimal.

We wouldn't have extended 92(!!!) offers for a class smaller than 20. I do agree with you that top-end quality may be a bit lackluster, though that depends on a few guys still on the board and we'll have to see how rankings shake out otherwise. Some "non-4* composite" commits are 4*s by multiple services (Pale and Irvin are both actually 4*s by 3 of the 4). Quantity, addressing all positions, and not "dipping even further into the pool" for guys who aren't credible P5 recruits is just as important to me.