Stanford never gave up on Herron after he committed to Michigan last July. The Cardinal coaches knew Herron was a perfect on and off the field and almost a year later their efforts resulted in Herron joining Stanford's 2019 class.
He is the Cardinal's second Top 100 commit of the class, joining Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) running back Austin Jones.
Herron was one of Stanford's earliest offers in the class and even before he had the offer he detailed to Cardinal Sports Report why he was interested in the prestigious university. A top student at Trinity High in Louisville, Kentucky, Herron recently learned he was admitted to Stanford and that was the final development needed before he declared The Farm as his future home.
Herron is Stanford's highest rated defensive commit since Curtis Robinson in the 2016 class. Robinson was a five star at Mater Dei who was the No. 28 overall prospect in the final Rivals ranking of his class. James Vaughters (No. 54 overall in 2011), Noor Davis (No. 77 overall 2012) and Peter Kalambayi (No. 97 overall in 2013) are the other outside linebackers recruited to Stanford during the David Shaw era with profiles similar to Herron.
Herron actually hasn't spent much time playing standing up in high school. That was the plan for his junior season at national powerhouse Trinity High, but an injury to a teammate forced him to play with his hand in the ground as an undersized defensive end.
He still managed to wrack up 66 tackles -- 28 TFL and 13.5 sacks.
Stanford identified outside linebacker as a major need for the 2019 class and Herron is a fantastic start to a haul that may also include Joshua Pakola and Aeneas DiCosmo. It's possible that by signing day (whether December or February) Stanford will have three elite talents ready to join the party in the backfield.
Herron attended the Rivals Five Star Challenge last month and it was his second straight year at the top event of the Rivals camp series. Southeast Recruiting Analyst Woody Wommack has followed Herron's rise from when he first appeared on the radar two years ago.
Playing out of position for Trinity and in camps: "He is still, in my opinion, a hybrid, so in a camp setting it's tough because a lot of those pass rush (drills) one-on-one are requiring him to have his hand on the ground. All of a sudden you go from being an undersized defensive end to a really nice sized outside linebacker. That's the toughest part of the evaluation is projecting that, because he really hasn't done a lot of it.
"There's no question that the bigger tackles can't keep up with him when he's coming off the edge. In camp, if we were to let him come standing up like he would in a game setting, a lot of times guys won't be able to get a hand on him. Camp (settings) at times can be misleading with guys like him.
How he fits at Stanford: "Personally, I think going to the Pac-12 is good for him. I think the type of athlete he is, he will do really well out there. I think he's meant to play in space where he can use his athleticism and rush the passer. There are teams out there passing a lot. I think it's a good decision for him.
"I think he was smart to play it out the way he did, because he was waiting on his admission. Now he's in. We've seen it in the past where some guys from my neck of woods ... they think they're in and they get one bad grade and they're stuck scrambling.
"He has all that taken care of now. He really fits into the culture out there. He's one of the brightest kids I've dealt with in this class in terms of talking to him about actual issues in recruiting. He has a lot of opinions and I think he will be a great fit all around."
The impact of Herron joining the class: "It's big because I know they liked him last year and he went out there. At that time everyone thought he'd go to Ohio State and in my mind I thought he seems to like Stanford quite a bit. All of a sudden he committed to Michigan. That took me by surprise because he made the effort to get out to Stanford. I think he liked Michigan a lot but as time went along Stanford has been the favorite for a while. From a perception standpoint, at some point the rankings line up with what Stanford has been able to produce. They have done a good job of evaluating talent and developing guys. Herron is a smart kid who has done his homework and he knows what they've been able to do. It's definitely big for Stanford because (Herron's commitment) is going to get a lot of attention."
