Stanford pulls in highly-rated class of 20 recruits for Shaw

Stanford’s disappointing 2021 season didn’t impact its recruiting.

Despite a 3-9 season, its worst record in 15 years, the Cardinal finished Early Signing Day on Wednesday with the top class in the Pac-12 according to ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports. Overall, the class is ranked No. 12 by ESPN, No. 14 by Rivals and No. 15 by 247Sports.

“A class that was recruited amidst a very difficult season for us,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “Which says a lot about Stanford University and the allure of the education here, it says a lot about our coaching staff and our ability to find and recruit these young people, and it says a lot about these young people that they were able to see that this season was not the direction of our football program—that it was an aberration.”

The Cardinal signed 20 players Wednesday, including at least one at every position on offense and defense. The signing class is split evenly between offense and defense and is represented by 13 states and Canada.

Seven of the players were designated as four-star recruits by 247Sports. It was a big change from last year, when Stanford signed only two four-star recruits and was ranked 43rd nationally, per 247Sports.

Here are the biggest highlights from National Signing Day:

TOP POSITION GROUP >> The two top players in the class are outside linebackers: Santa Ana native David Bailey and Arlington, Texas native Ernest Cooper.

Stanford held off a late charge by USC to sign Bailey, who plays for the nation’s top-ranked football program in Mater Dei and is considered the 71st best player nationally by 247Sports. Shaw called Bailey a game changer because of his ability to get around the edge on the pass rush but also cover tight ends and running backs.

Cooper, who also took official visits to Texas A&M and Ohio State, is regarded as a five-star recruit by PrepStar and was named an Under Armour All-American. And Tevarua Tafiti, the third outside linebacker in the class, is the highest-ranked player in Hawaii and a consensus four-star prospect.

TIGHT END U >> Stanford hopes to find the next in a long line of NFL tight ends by singing Sam Roush out of Tennessee and C.J. Hawkins from Tampa, Fla.

“I know in my heart that this is the best tight end class in America,” Shaw said.

Shaw said Roush already has a college football-ready body, while Hawkins is a physical blocker and a big red zone threat.

Roush, the grandson of Pro Football Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, is a consensus four-star prospect and unanimous top 20 tight end prospect. He formerly played for Valley Christian School in San Jose and was the first player in the class to commit.

Hawkins is ranked in the top 15 by ESPN despite playing just two years of high school football. He also hopes to play on the basketball team, which Shaw said he would support if Hawkins would get playing time on the court. TUNNEL WORKERS UNION >> After some uncharacteristic trouble running the ball, Stanford hopes to get back on track with help from a four-player offensive line class of tackles Fisher Anderson and Kenji Swanson, guard Lucas Heyer, and guard/tackle Jake Maikkula.

Anderson (6-7, 288) and Heyer (6-5, 300) are both top 300 recruits and top 50 at their respective positions.

“Standing next to them, if you kind of close your eyes and didn’t really look at their faces, it was hard to see who was on the team and who the recruits were,” Shaw said. “We have a history here playing really well up front and we brought in some guys we think that can carry the torch.”

THE QB >> Stanford seemingly can’t have enough signal callers. It started a program-record four QBs last season because of injuries and ineffectiveness, and played five QBs overall.

Its tradition of signing one QB in each class continued with the addition of Buford, Georgia native Ashton Daniels. Daniels was ranked 34th among pocket passers by ESPN and was named the MVP of the state championship game three straight times. He is the son of former Georgia receiver Juan Daniels.

EARLY ENROLLEES >> The program’s first-ever early enrollees, quarterback Ari Patu and defensive back Jaden Slocum, joined Stanford this past year and made immediate impacts. Slocum made three starts at cornerback and Patu started at Oregon State before suffering a season-ending injury.

This year Stanford is welcoming three more early enrollees in Bailey, Roush and receiver Mudia Reuben.