Legendary name among Stanford’s top recruits

STANFORD — Stanford added a quartet of four-star recruits in the early signing period as 10 high school seniors inked national letters of intent on Wednesday, but in terms of name recognition it’s a preferred walk-on that stands out.

Jake Lynch, a 6-foot-2, 215pound outside linebacker out of Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego, is the son of 49ers general John Lynch, a former quarterback turned safety as a Cardinal who became a nine-time Pro Bowl selection in the NFL.

“He’s physical, strong, athletic, has some name recognition for the people around here, which is great,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “But he’s his own man and he earned his way here.”

He’s not the most touted recruit, though.

That distinction goes to Jack West, a 6-4, 210-pound quarterback out of Alabama. It’s the third year in a row the Cardinal signed one of the top pocket passers in the nation.

“At some point in the next couple of years I wouldn’t mind not taking a quarterback in the class,” Shaw said. “But that wouldn’t be in this class. Jack is our guy.”

In recent past, each of these recruits needed to wait until the first Wednesday of February to sign on the dotted line.

This year, the NCAA granted a three-day window that ends Friday.

“Exciting day and a different way for all us in college football today,” Shaw said. “Still getting used to this thing, but I will say this as a reminder. Most of you know, in order for anybody that’s coming here to sign a letter of intent, they need to be admitted into school, which is different than every place else. A lot of credit goes to these guys that we talk about today for getting their applications in, writing those essays, taking the tests, sometimes multiple times, to get to this point in December.”

He added: “A lot of guys left to come in February, but excited about these guys today. This class is starting to take shape.”

Length, strength and athleticism appeared to be a trend on the recruiting trail, which included only one scholarship player within the state — wide receiver Michael Wilson (6-2, 190) out of Simi Valley.

The other four-star signees were defensive ends Thomas Booker (6-4, 270) out of Maryland and Tobe Umerah (6-4, 240) out of Georgia.

The rest of the class is comprised of three-star recruits, including a trio of cornerbacks — “Especially in our conference, you’ve got to have as many guys that can cover as possible,” Shaw said — plus a fullback, an offensive lineman and a running back.

There’s a good chance Stanford is not done stockpiling talent during the early signing period after a verbal commitment on Wednesday from four-star recruit Andres Fox, a 6-4, 232pound defensive end out of Mobile, Alabama, who spurned offers from SEC powers Alabama, Auburn and LSU, according to reports.

“I don’t anticipate very many, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s at least one more,” said Shaw, who couldn’t comment on specifics.

One verbal commit not expected to sign at the moment is Jacob Mangum-Farrar, a 6-3, 210pound outside linebacker out of Sugar Land, Texas.

Shaw can revisit any scenarios in seven weeks, when national signing day commences on Feb. 7, at which point he’ll have a better idea of whether he’ll need to put together a class closer to 16 or 19 players.

“Don’t have a clear number just yet,” said Shaw, who is waiting to hear from admissions on a few players, as well as some on the current roster who might forego eligibility to turn pro. “So that number is very fluid.”