The Stanford football program truly belongs to David Shaw now, starting with the outstanding, top-10 recruiting class he signed on Feb. 1 and going forward into the spring when he will begin life without Andrew Luck.
Officially, his first recruiting class was last year’s, when the Cardinal pulled in a highly rated class. But much of the legwork on that class was performed by Jim Harbaugh, and most of the commitments came in before he left for the 49ers’ job.
Shaw was wholly responsible for the 2012 class, though, and it probably is Stanford’s best recruiting class ever. By the end of signing day, Stanford’s class was ranked the No. 5 recruiting class in the country by Rivals.com, and No. 6 by Scout.com, which is considerably higher than last year’s top-25 class.
It probably dispels any suggestions that the Cardinal’s recruiting would drop off with the departure of Harbaugh and the promotion of Shaw to the top spot.
Stanford’s recruiting ranking rose significantly on Feb. 1 as the Cardinal received commitments from five players who announced their decision on signing day. Among those five players who committed on signing day were two of the top offensive tackles in the country -- Kyle Murphy, rated the nation’s No. 14 overall recruit by Rivals.com and No., 19 by Scout.com, and Andrus Peat, rated the nation’s No. 32 overall recruit by Rivals.com, and No. 51 by Scout.com.
Another of the Cardinal’s five signing-day commitments was made by DL Azzi Shittu, who is rated the nation’s No. 27 overall recruit by Rivals.com but only No. 191 by Scout.com.
The other top signees were RB Barry Sanders, OG Joshua Garnett, OLB Noor Davis and S Alex Carter, representing pretty good diversity as far as positions, although the Cardinal did particularly well in acquiring top-notch offensive linemen.
"We are excited to welcome one of the best recruiting classes in school history," said Shaw. "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 cannot wait for these young men to join us this summer and have an immediate impact on our team this season."
The 22-player class does not include any quarterbacks, though, and that will be the focus of spring practice. No remaining Stanford quarterback has close to the talent of Luck, who is apt to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, and was as responsible as Harbaugh – perhaps more so – for the Cardinal’s rise to top-10 status the past two seasons.
Brett Nottingham, Luck’s backup this past season, seems the most likely to land the starting job for next season, but Nottingham, who will be a third-year sophomore in 2012, has thrown only eight passes in his college career and did nothing to show imminent stardom in his brief appearances in 2011. He still has to win the job in the spring.
Add the fact that two offensive linemen – Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro – are likely to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, and Shaw has a lot of rebuilding to do on the offensive side of the ball. Several of his top signees are offensive linemen, so they may see action soon.
The Cardinal may have to rely more heavily on its defense, and that will be risky, because the Cardinal lost two of their best defensive players – FS Michael Thomas and SS Delano Howell. But the Cardinal got a major boost when OLB Chase Thomas opted to return to Stanford next season rather than enter the NFL Draft. Presumably ILB Shayne Skov will be ready for next season, although he is not expected to do much if anything during the spring after tearing his anterior-cruciate ligament early last season. There is the potential for the defense to be quite good.
BEST OF THE CLASS
OT Kyle Murphy (Sam Clemente High School, San Clemente, Calif.) – Relatively light for a college offensive tackle at the moment at 268 pounds, Murphy figures to put on weight, and has a chance to be an outstanding college player. Rated the nation’s No. 3 offensive tackle prospect by Rivals.com and No. 4 by Scout.com, Murphy is already an outstanding pass-blocker.
OG Joshua Grant (Puyallup HS, Puyallup, Wash.) – Grant is rated the nations’s No. 33 overall recruit by Rivals.com and No. 42 by Scout.com. An athletic lineman at 275 pounds, Grant is an outstanding run blocker, able drive defensive linemen back. He will fit in well with the Cardinal’s run-oriented offense, and has a chance to see playing time immediately.
RB Barry Sanders (Heritage High Schools, Oklahoma City) – The son of the great NFL back, Sanders is rated the No. 60 overall recruit by Scout.com, but the recruiting services vary considerably on their assessment of Sanders. That may be because he issued most of his junior season with an ankle injury. Even though the Cardinal has several talented running backs, don’t be surprised if Sanders sees playing time next season.
OT Andrus Peat (Corona Del Sol High School, Tempe, Ariz.) – Rated the nation’s No. 32 overall recruit by Rivals.com, Peat announced on signing day that he had chosen Stanford over USC, Nebraska and Florida State. At 6-7, 305 pounds, Peat is still growing. Already a good pass blocker, Peat has the makings of something special because of his quick feet.
NOTES
--- The biggest news in January involved the Cardinal’s 2012 schedule and the fact that the traditional rivalry game with Cal, known as the Big Game, will be played in October, in the middle of the season, not at or near the end. Athletic directors of both schools protested, but the majority of the schools approved the schedule. The Big Game had to be moved to Oct. 29 because of television commitments.
--- OLB Chase Thomas surprised a lot of people by returning for his senior season at Stanford. Projections on where he would go in the NFL Draft were inconsistent, some suggesting he would go in the second round while other thought he would not be taken until the seventh. That uncertainty was a major reason Thomas will come back.
--- OT Jonathan Martin declared for the NFL Draft, giving up his senior season. His decision was virtually a foregone conclusion, because he expected to be among the top 10 picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.
SPRING OVERVIEW
Practice begins/ends: Feb. 27/March 10 and April 2/April 14
Practice priorities: The big priority is finding a new quarterback and tailoring the offense to fit his skills. That offense will be a lot different than it was for Andrew Luck, who did a lot of the play-calling himself on the field. The coaches will have to be a lot more hands-on with Luck’s successor, and the coaches are hoping Brett Nottingham emerges as the clear No. 1 quarterback in the spring. The Cardinal needs to reconstruct an offensive line that loses two likely first-round NFL draft picks – David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin. Defensively, the focus will be on the secondary, partly because it was the weakness of the defense in 2011, and partly because it loses its two best defensive backs – safeties Michael Thomas and Delano Howell – plus starting CB Johnson Bademosi. The Cardinal will have a glut of talented linebackers, and coaches will have to figure out how to best utilize that talent.
QUOTE: “"It was probably the hardest decision I've ever had to make. Each day when I woke up I'd be changing my mind. At the end, I was still kind of lost. I just had to go with my gut instinct." – OLB Chase Thomas, to the San Francisco Chronicle, on his decision to return to Stanford next season instead of turning pro.
KEY LOSSES: Andrew Luck obviously is the biggest loss, and it’s difficult to determine just how crippling his departure will be. It’s noteworthy, though, that the Cardinal had seven straight losing seasons before Luck became the starter and went 8-5, 13-1 and 12-2 in the three season with him as the starter. Brett Nottingham is likely to become the starter, Two future NFL players – David DeCastro and Jonathan Martin – are gone from the offensive line, and that was the strength of the team, although the Cardinal has a number good offensive linemen to choose from to replace them. The Cardinal may have to shuffle some positions on defense, with the loss of DL Matt Masifilo, S Michael Thomas and S Delano Howell, with Howell being first-team all-conference picks. Jordan Richards and Devon Carrington figure to be the safeties. The Cardinal loses all-conference TE Coby Fleener, but with Levine Toilolo and Zach Ertz back, Stanford will still be strong there.
PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012:
RB Stepfan Taylor – A second-team all-conference pick in 2011, Taylor rushed for 1,330 yards this season and will be more of focal point of the offense next season with Andrew Luck gone. He’s also a good receiver and excellent pass-blocker.
ILB Shayne Skov – He was the team’s most acclaimed defender heading into the 2011 season, but he tore his anterior-cruciate ligament in the third game of the season. How well he recovers will have a major influence on the team’s defensive success.
QB Brett Nottingham – No one knows whether Nottingham will be any good, but he will be the determining factor as to whether Stanford can maintain its high level of play.
TE Zach Ertz/Levine Toilolo – Although Coby Fleener is gone, the Cardinal has found a way to use its talented corps of tight ends and figures to continue to do so.
OLB Chase Thomas – He has 29 tackles for losses over the past two seasons, and he will be the key pass-rusher for the Cardinal in 2012.
PLAYER NOTES
-- S Patrick Skov, younger brother of Shayne, will not participate in spring drills after breaking his leg during practice leading up to the Fiesta Bowl.
--- WR Chris Owusu will be cleared to participate in NFL combine workouts, David Shaw said on Wednesday. That comes as somehwat of a surprise, becasue Owusu's career was believed to be over after he missed much of the 2011 season after incurring three head injuries.
--Stanford signee Barry Sanders makes a point of noting that his name is not Barry Sanders Jr., just Barry Sanders, because his middle name is different from his dad’s.
--- CB Johnson Bademosi was the only Stanford player to participate in a postseason all-star game. He played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
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