Hornibrook recaps successful visit, may be nearing decision

Stanford is looking for a grand slam 2019 offensive line class and one potentially critical member visited last week -- Malvern Prep’s Jake Hornibrook. The Pennsylvania native enjoyed his time on The Farm and Stanford secured a place among his favorites.

Hornibrook wants to make a decision within the next couple months and evaluating his relationships with coaches will be a big part of where he commits. The highlight of his visit at Stanford was how much time he spent with offensive line coach Kevin Carberry.

“That’s what matters the most is who you’re going to spend time with in college for the next four years,” Hornibrook said. “It was really cool to sit down with him and get to know how he coaches and to see the drills he runs in practice was cool.

“He’s definitely detail oriented, which is really good. It looks like he really gets down to the basics and techniques. It looks like he’s a really good O-line coach. He was giving me some tips, so it was pretty cool to see how he coaches his guys and the feedback he gave to me.”

Hornibrook talked regularly with Carberry before the trip. His visit included his first conversation with head coach David Shaw.

“He seems like he’s a great guy. His record and all his accomplishments speak for themselves. That’s what he was saying … he wants his recruits to see Stanford. He was glad I was there because I get to see what Stanford is all about and it speaks for itself.”

And Hornibrook liked what he heard: “It was pretty impressive.”

Hornibrook and his parents arrived Thursday and left Saturday afternoon. In addition to a tour of campus -- “It was unbelievable” -- they had dinner with Carberry, his wife Emily, and current Stanford offensive linemen Dylan Powell and Devery Hamilton.

Hamilton attended Gilman High in Maryland, which is actually a school on Malvern Prep’s schedule.

“They all seem like well-rounded kids,” Hornibrook said. “It was pretty cool talking to them because he (Hamilton) can relate to me because he’s from the East Coast.

“They both said they loved it and it’s a great opportunity to come to Stanford. The distance doesn’t matter that much. It’s just a longer flight.”

When Stanford offered Hornibrook March 16 he said he had a lot to learn about the school and football program. A little more than a month later, and after the visit, that has changed.

“I think I got a pretty good feel for it. It seems like a very well respected program and a well run program. I got that feel when I went out there. It just seems like a lot of good people.

“It made a big impression on me. They’re definitely going to be one of my top choices. I’ll see how this recruiting process finishes up.”