Published Jun 20, 2018
Harding, Toomer and several 2020 four stars highlight Stanford camp
Jacob Rayburn  •  CardinalSportsReport
Publisher

Every coaching staff starts camp week with a shopping list of needs they want to address. Arguably the top one for Stanford Tuesday was to find a defensive back or two to offer.

The Cardinal want five defensive backs in the class and have one commit, four star Salim Turner-Muhammad. Stanford hasn't been able to build as much interest among its current defensive back offers as they would like, so there were fingers crossed that someone would shine at camp.

Enter Nicolas Toomer from Sandy Creek High in Tyrone, Georgia. Toomer's strong camp performance under the watchful eyes of defensive backs coach Duane Akina and defensive coordinator Lance Anderson earned him an offer within an hour after the conclusion of camp.

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The first thing that is noticeable is that his tall, lanky build is similar to multiple cornerbacks who Akina has offered at Stanford. Toomer was able to stay with receivers and win aerial fights for the ball. He took a lot of reps split between the morning and afternoon session and his performance didn't appear to wane as the day dragged on.

Toomer wasn't able to stay for the Wednesday junior day, which probably explains why Anderson whisked him away after the camp to show Toomer as much possible before he left.

Another 2019 defensive back who had good moments is Lousiana native Ishmael Burdine. Burdine remained at Stanford for the junior day and the student-athlete, who reports a 4.2 GPA in his Twitter bio, has a chance to see what The Farm has to offer.

Several other defensive backs had good moments. St. Francis teammates Evan Williams and Maurice Wilmer each won one-on-one battles with receivers. Clovis Buchanan safety Brock Jones had a good afternoon and had more wins as the day went on.

The top performer of the camp was a recruit who made life tough for most of the defensive backs he lined up against, and it wasn't often the fault of the defensive backs.

Like Toomer, Darrell Harding Jr. has the build that Stanford covets for his position. He appeared to be every bit of his listed 6-4 height.

The Florida native was able to create separation for the quarterbacks to feel comfortable and even better is he consistently won 50-50 throws. Harding impressed new Stanford wide receiver coach Bobby Kennedy, who often stood just far enough downfield that a lot of the routes took place in front of him. His praise of Harding's effort was clearly audible in the morning and afternoon.

Stanford wants four wide receivers in the 2019 class and Harding may be a strong candidate for an offer. He is attending Stanford's junior day.

The top competition for top performer recognition came from 2020 Brandon Jones.

Jones already has a Stanford offer and he got it during a junior day visit in May. He came back up to Stanford for the camp and to work with Akina. His potential future position coach undoubtedly liked what he saw from the physical rising junior.

Jones seemed to get better as the day went on and dominated reps at the end of camp. He knows how to play cornerback and doesn't rely on his speed to make up for mistakes. He delivered well timed jams at the line of scrimmage and didn't fall for double moves. And he brings a lot of positive energy to the field.

Several other 2020 prospects stood out and it was encouraging from Stanford's perspective to have them on campus.

The Cardinal don't seem to have decided yet if they want another 2020 quarterback to join Tanner McKee, who was a 2018 top-100 player who is on a two-year LDS mission. But Stanford had three intriguing 2020 quarterbacks on campus.

Jay Butterfield is a Stanford legacy (his father Mark played quarterback at Stanford) and the Bay Area native visited Stanford for the spring game. Quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Tavita Pritchard and running backs coach/area recruiter Ron Gould watched Butterfield throw in the spring.

Stanford also had a four star quarterback who made a cross country trip to camp. Tyler Van Dyke was just rated a four star from Rivals and the Connecticut native has had a good spring of camps. He has a strong arm and he delivered several good throws Tuesday.

The third 2020 quarterback has a relatively low profile right now, but that may change soon. Ben Gulbranson started last season at Newbury Park after waiting his turn behind Cameron Rising, who signed with Texas. Gulbranson has an offer from Arizona State and had a solid showing. Pritchard followed him on Twitter soon after the camp.

Stanford is fond of tight ends and The Farm has been a consistent landing spot the past 10 years for some of the best in the country. Rising junior Lukas Ungar came out from New Jersey to show the Cardinal coaches he has what it takes to join Austin Hooper, Zach Ertz, Colby Fleener, Levine Toilolo and Jim Dray in the NFL.

Ungar had a strong showing at camp, showing the fluid movement you want to see from a big target asked to create mismatches with linebackers who are slower and defensive backs who are smaller.

Several other tight ends had good moments, including San Clemente's Wakely Lush, who is on the radar of multiple Ivies and the academies because of is strong academics. Lush had some drops but overall had a strong showing while representing a program that has been known to produce college tight ends.