2017 Introduction: Drew Dalman

Drew Dalman spent plenty of time on Stanford's campus in his youth - Dalman's father, Chris, was an assistant coach on The Farm in 2007 and 2008. Drew fondly recalls spending time alongside the Cardinal players when he was in elementary school.

"I have a pretty vivid memory of them," Dalman said. "I'm not sure if it was spring or during the season - but (I was) going up and trying to run along the sideline next to the players as they were conditioning and thinking how huge and fast they were and how great it is to play football and be at Stanford and everything like that."

Now, nearly a decade later, Drew Dalman has positioned himself to perhaps one day join the Stanford program. Dalman, a 2017 center/guard prospect from Palma High School, holds offers from the likes of Fresno State, Nevada and Columbia, as well as interest from several programs, including Stanford.

"They've shown a little bit of interest but I can't say it's been on a huge scale," Dalman said. "So I'm keeping all of my options open as of right now. But there has been a little bit of interest on both ends. They obviously know that Stanford is important to me and academics are important to me. That's about the extent of what's going on so far."

Dalman's relationship with the Cardinal could take another step forward this coming weekend when he visits The Farm for Stanford's first Junior Day of the 2017 recruiting cycle.

"As much as I've been up there, I've pretty much only seen the football practice field, the stadium and the offices," Dalman said. "So I haven't really seen much of the school itself as far as dorms and lecture halls and everything like that. So I'm pretty excited to see what they have from that standpoint and talk to most of the coaches and everything that's going on new with them. So that aspect of things - the educational side - is what I'm most looking forward to seeing."

Dalman has received recruiting attention from college for both the center and guard positions. He thinks that he's best suited to play center, and that's where he's received the most recruiting attention.

"A couple of schools have asked me if I'm comfortable playing both guard and center and I think center would be the preferred positions as far as body type goes and the way I like to play," Dalman said. "I love both center and guard, (but) I think center would be the position."

In addition to Stanford, Dalman intends to take plenty of college visits over the next few months. Several Ivy League institutions are among the programs he is currently planning to check out.

What is the interior offensive line prospect looking for in a program?

"I love the college town environment that I've seen in a couple of schools, like Stanford," Dalman said. "So that would be big for me. Of course the academic side, I definitely try to push myself educationally. So that would be a huge point of interest for me as far as colleges go. And then the feeling I get from the football team, the coaches, the facilities, everything about the team would be definitely up there with those three big points as far as choosing a college."

Dalman is currently considering a major in the engineering field. which has been a passion since he was little. Business is also an area of interest.

Dalman participated in Stanford's camp following his freshman year of high school - he plans to return to camp this summer. He's attended a number of games on The Farm over the past few years, including the Oregon matchup in 2015.

In addition to his connection to Stanford through Chris Dalman, Drew's older sister, Kate, assists in Stanford's athletic communications office. Additionally, one of Drew's best friends is Jack Richardson, a fellow Stanford legacy (and Palma High School student) who will be joining the program this summer as part of the Cardinal's 2016 class.

Drew's familiarity with Stanford and his father's connections to the university - Chris played for the Cardinal from 1988-1992 before moving on to the NFL in addition to coaching on The Farm - helped shape his upbringing and academic and athletic aspirations.

"(My father) is an alum, he's an ex-coach," Dalman said. "So I grew up around the place. I grew around the values that he learned there and Stanford football in itself. So there's definitely a lot of influence that has had on me. So it's been a point that I've been working toward and a goal and a lot of stuff that comes with that as far as working hard. It's a place that I love."