Dreyer talks Stanford commitment
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With a 4.26 cumulative GPA and an SAT score north of 2000, Serra High School (San Mateo) offensive tackle Jack Dreyer is extremely bright by any measure.
Yet when Stanford coach David Shaw informed Dreyer that the Cardinal was offering him a scholarship yesterday, the offensive tackle needed a moment to process. The news was that overwhelming.
"I had to have him repeat himself because I didn't really understand what he was saying the first time through," Dreyer said. "About 10 seconds later it sunk in, and it was a pretty good feeling."
It didn't take Dreyer as long to accept Stanford's offer.
"I came out (to watch practice on Tuesday) and when I got there I was able to talk to Coach Shaw and he told me that they were offering a full scholarship," Dreyer said. "I committed on the spot."
"He said that they're offering me a scholarship and I just said, 'I'm ready to commit, I'm committing right now.' I'm not going to waste anyone's time. I grew up in Stanford's backyard. Before they offered, I was strongly considering Cal and some Ivy League schools, and Stanford was really the best of both worlds because I didn't need to choose between BCS level football and Ivy Level education."
Dreyer's parents might have been even more excited about the offer and commitment than Dreyer was.
"I did have to hold my phone a couple of inches away from my ear for the first 30 seconds," Dreyer said. "They obviously shared my feelings. We had discussed before that if Stanford did come to offer that we would lock it in and we all agreed it was the best possible school for me to attend."
Dreyer had been in close contact with Stanford following a standout performance at the Cardinal's Saturday Night Lights camp in July. But while he knew earning an offer was a possibility at some point, he did not necessarily expect it to happen on Tuesday.
"I didn't have any idea that it would happen today," Dreyer said. "I knew that they were interested. I was able to talk with Coach Bloomgren several times, especially after my performance at the Junior Day camp. But I had no idea that it would be occurring at this point."
Though academics have long been a large part of Dreyer's life, he has dedicated himself to football since he started playing it in his freshman year of high school. He picked Stanford because he didn't want his football experience to suffer at the expense of attaining a quality education.
"I'd just have to say I've always stressed academics and I've always stressed the fact that I need to go to a great academic school," Dreyer said. "When I was considering Cal and the Ivies I really also realized that I want to play BCS-level football. Despite only starting football my freshman year, I've really grown to love the sport. With all the hard work I've put in, I couldn't imagine myself playing in an atmosphere where football is sort of on the backburner, not at the forefront. That's why I chose Stanford, because it presents the greatest education I could possibly get as well as a great football program that consistently performs well in the Pac-12, which is one of the toughest leagues in the country."
Watching Bloomgren and Stanford's offensive line in action at the practice eliminated any possible lingering questions about the Cardinal Dreyer may have had.
"I really enjoyed it," Dreyer said. "Their practice was really flawless and it just exemplified why I want to go there. Coach Bloomgren, just watching the o-line, I could already feel myself getting better. He runs a great program over there for linemen and they produce great linemen and there's a reason for it. And practice, it removed what very, very little doubts I may or may not have had. It exemplified the fact that this is one of the (top) programs in the country, and it's definitely one of the top programs for o-line."
Dreyer is the third 2015 offensive lineman to commit to Stanford; North Carolina center Brian Chaffin and Georgia guard Nick Wilson pledged to the Cardinal earlier this year. Dreyer met Wilson and Chaffin at the Cardinal's camp and Junior Day last month.
"When I was at Junior Day I was able to meet several commits, especially the other two guys that are coming in my class as linemen," Dreyer said. "I was able to get a great idea of those guys' personalities. I really liked what I saw, and that's just another factor that made me committing to Stanford a no-brainer."
What most excites Dreyer about joining the Stanford program?
"That 2012 class, the linemen class, they brought in six linemen," Dreyer said. "In a couple of years they'll all be gone. They're going to leave some big shoes to fill, and I'm really excited to go to Stanford and get to work and fill those shoes and keep Stanford on the championship streak it's on."