The weekend of May 20-21 may end up being a significant one to look back on in the recruitment of 2018 four-star linebacker Cameron McGrone. The Indianapolis native visited Stanford Saturday and then excelled Sunday at The Opening Oakland camp only a few weeks after being cleared from a knee injury.
McGrone does not have a Stanford offer, but there is serious mutual interest. Maybe even more so now that the Lawrence Central prospect has visited.
"It was amazing and pretty life changing, honestly," he said. "Being out here and really getting to see what Stanford is like was awesome. It’s a great place.
"I was talking to Coach (Peter) Hansen and Coach (Morgan) Turner the majority of the day. We got a tour of all the facilities and got to ride around campus. I hung out with Jovan Swann, an Indy guy. He came from Center Grove. I got to meet more football players and it was pretty cool."
Two of the highlights for McGrone were talking to the current players about managing their daily schedules and taking in the campus environment. Contemplating a possible move from Indiana to a school in California, he wanted to know if he could see himself being on The Farm: "Yeah, definitely," he smiled.
According to McGrone, Stanford hasn't really talked to him about the injury he suffered in the final regular season game of his junior year. Instead they talk about keeping his grades up and staying patient.
"It’s understandable," he said of the academic focus. "Stanford has a reputation to keep. I respect that. If I want to go there then I have to put forth the work to be able to get there."
McGrone said, "I would love to come out again" to visit Stanford. His preference is that his next trip would be on an official visit after an offer.
While Stanford encourages McGrone to maintain his grades, other programs recruiting him are waiting to see him in person to evaluate him for the first time since his recovery. McGrone relies on speed and ability to stay in front of ball carriers, he didn't appear to have any problem doing just that at the camp.
