Stanford football hits big on national signing day

You don’t win college football games in February, but you certainly can get in a position to win football game during the fall.

The Stanford Cardinal by all accounts had one of its best, if not the best, recruiting classes ever. 22 young scholar athletes put their names to print on their letters of intent to attend Stanford University on Wednesday, National Signing Day.

Stanford stunned the world by landing some big names on signing day itself. One by one, four and five star athletes made announcements that they were going to Stanford.

None was bigger then 6-7, 305-pound offensive tackle Andrus Peat from Tempe, Arizona. Stanford coaches were not sure which way he was going to go when he stood at the podium and put on a Stanford hat.

Tackle Kyle Murphy and defensive end Aziz Shittu also announced their intentions to go to Stanford on Wednesday and guard Josua Garnett announced over the weekend. All four players were regarded as five star talents by at least one recruiting service during the recruiting process.

“It is one of the best classes in the history of the school,” head coach David Shaw said at his press conference. “It has been a good day.”

In total, the Cardinal added seven offensive linemen, five defensive linemen, four wide receivers, three defensive backs, two linebackers and one running back to its roster.

13 of the players were at least four star athletes.

Coach Shaw likes what he sees in his new players. “We say that not because of how high this class is rated, but instead because of the combination of ability, intelligence, toughness and character in this class. We can not wait for these young men to join us this summer and have an immediate impact on our team this season.”

Playing time could be available for some of the true freshmen. Shaw has always said the best players will play and it is about hard work, competition and the understanding of the schemes that will decide who plays.

Offensive line is a tough position to walk into college and play because of the physical and mental demands. But this class could see one or two players see playing time.

A famous name also will arrive at Stanford in running back Barry J Sanders. The son of the Hall of Fame Detroit Lions running back could add an explosive threat.

Coach Shaw is very excited about the prospect of Alex Carter. The 6-0, 195-pound defensive back is slated to play cornerback. Shaw likes his big, physical play and says he can run with the wide receivers in the conference. “He has a NFL pedigree,” Shaw says of Carter’s potential.

Shaw compared safety Zach Hoffpauir, another signing day announcer, to former Stanford safety John Lynch. “They are cut from the same cloth,” Shaw said saying Hoffpauir is a little shorter.

There is an opening at wide receiver for plenty of competition from the four wide receivers that are coming to the Farm. Shaw mentioned Conner Crane for playing at the highest level of Texas football. He said Michael Rector “blew us away with his route running. Shaw likes Dontonio Jordan for his abilities after the catch. And Kodi Whitfield “is a big physical receiver that every west coast offense has.” Whitfield is the son of former Stanford tackle and NFL alumni Bob Whitfield.

Shaw said there was a chance that linebacker Noor Davis and Hoffpauir could also play baseball while at Stanford. That has not been decided for sure.

Shaw praised his coaches for the hard work they did in recruiting a great class. As with most recruiting classes there are often a couple of ring leaders that help keep everyone in line. Davis and center Graham Shuler were the two Shaw credited for making some phone calls and keeping in touch with players. Overall, Shaw said this class “just clicked” as they met each other and befriended each other over the recruiting process.

At Stanford, a top 25 recruiting class is usually considered a success given the academic standards required to get into the University. Stanford easily managed that one this year. Rivals.com currently ranks Stanford with the 5th best class in the country behind the likes of Alabama, Texas, Florida and Ohio State. Scout.com ranks Stanford 6th. ESPNU has Stanford down at 12.

How was Stanford able to get such a high caliber recruiting class? Back to back BCS appearances certainly did not hurt. The last two years Stanford has shown they can play football with the big boys, while athletes get diplomas from a University that will pay off for the rest of their lives. But there is more to the story then that.

“We are educating high school coaches about what we are looking for,” Shaw said. “Our reputation is preceding us now.” Stanford is not just looking for the smart athletes, but the ones that can play at a high level, and work at the highest level. Shaw said now high school coaches can help point the way to athletes the Cardinal might be interested in.

For now Stanford has 22 players set for the class of 2012. Shaw said they may not be done yet.

Either way, it certainly appears as if the future is bright at Stanford.

Here’s a breakdown of Stanford’s 2012 letter of intent signees:

· SuperPrep All-Americans (12):S Alex Carter, OL Nick Davidson, OL Brandon Fanaika, OL Joshua Garnett, DE Luke Kaumatule, DE Nate Lohn, OL Kyle Murphy, OL Andrus Peat, RB Barry Sanders, DE Aziz Shittu, OL Graham Shuler and DE Jordan Watkins.

· PrepStar All-Americans (13):S Alex Carter, OLB Noor Davis, OL Brandon Fanaika, OL Joshua Garnett, DE Luke Kaumatule, DE Nate Lohn, OL Kyle Murphy, OL Andrus Peat, RB Barry Sanders, DE Aziz Shittu, OL Graham Shuler, DE Jordan Watkins and WR Kodi Whitfield.

· Parade All-Americans (3):S Alex Carter, OL Andrus Peat and DE Aziz Shittu.

· MaxPreps Top 100 (8):OL Andrus Peat (8), OL Joshua Garnett (26), DE Aziz Shittu (41), RB Barry Sanders (43), OL Kyle Murphy (58), OLB Noor Davis (72), S Alex Carter (141), DE Jordan Watkins (147).

· ESPNU’s Top 150 (6):OL Andrus Peat (9), OLB Noor Davis (25), OL Kyle Murphy (27), OL Joshua Garnett (44), RB Barry Sanders (80) and S Alex Carter (111).

· 247Sports.com Top 247 (10):OL Kyle Murphy (11), S Alex Carter (64), OLB Noor Davis (67), OL Joshua Garnett (68), DE Aziz Shittu (80), OL Andrus Peat (96), RB Barry Sanders (130), OL Graham Shuler (190), DE Jordan Watkins (200) and DE Luke Kaumatule (207).

· Sporting News Top 125 (8):OL Andrus Peat (1), OL Joshua Garnett (14), OLB Noor Davis (20), RB Barry Sanders (47), S Alex Carter (44), OL Kyle Murphy (56), DE Aziz Shittu (63) and OL Brandon Fanaika (121).

· GatoradeState Player of the Year (1): S Alex Carter (Virginia)

· U.S.Army All-American Bowl selections (6):S Alex Carter, DE Luke Kaumatule, OL Kyle Murphy, RB Barry Sanders, DE Aziz Shittu and OL Graham Shuler.

· Under Armour All-American Bowl selections (3):OLB Noor Davis, OL Joshua Garnett, OL Andrus Peat.

· Offense-Defense Bowl selections (2):OL Brandon Fanaika and DT Ikenna Nwafor.

· International Bowl selections (3):S Alex Carter, OLB Noor Davis and DT Ikenna Nwafor.

· Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl selections (2):S Zach Hoffpauir and DE Jordan Watkins.

· Players whose fathers played in the NFL (3):Nick Davidson, Barry Sanders, Kodi Whitfield.

2012 Stanford Football Letter of Intent Signees

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Hometown (High School)

Carter, Alex CB 6-0 195 Fr. Ashburn, VA (Briar Woods HS)

Caspers, Johnny OL 6-4 285 Fr. Glen Ellyn, IL (Glenbard West HS)

Crane, Conner WR 6-4 190 Fr. Lantana, TX (John H. Guyer HS)

Davidson, Nick OL 6-7 285 Fr. Eden Prairie, MN (Eden Prairie HS)

Davis, Noor OLB 6-4 235 Fr. Leesburg, FL (Leesburg HS)