McNitzky talks Stanford commitment

2016 long snapper Richard McNitzky didn't have to spend much time weighing his college options after Stanford offered him a scholarship last weekend.

The Macarthur High School (San Antonio, Texas) standout verbally committed to the Cardinal just a few days later and then went public with his choice yesterday.

"I committed Thursday," McNitzky said. "I was very excited. As I said previously, I planned on calling Coach Alamar later that week so I gave him a call and he was excited. He said that they expect me to do great things over at Stanford and he was telling Coach Shaw and the rest of the staff. It was an awesome experience, just to officially, verbally be part of such a great team."

"Its academics are unmatched and they're obviously an amazing football team, top 10 in the nation. And I truly believe in what Coach Alamar and Coach Shaw and the rest of the coaching staff, their mindset and how they approach special teams and just football in general. So I knew I couldn't go wrong with the Cardinal."

Two days after making informing the Cardinal coaching staff of his decision, McNitzky stayed up late to watch his first game as a Stanford pledge.

"It was awesome," McNitzky said. "I definitely watched them play Washington. It was a little bit later of a game here in San Antonio with the two-hour time difference but I stayed up, watched the whole game. They pulled off another nice win and many more to come. It was awesome - I can't wait to be there next year."

McNitzky will take his official visit to The Farm in mid-January for the Cardinal's big recruiting weekend. He might also take an unofficial trip to Stanford for a game next month if his schedule permits.

McNitzky should receive his copy of the Stanford application soon. He's in the top five percent of his high school class and reports an 1810 SAT score.

He's looking forward to the next stage of his life, in a Cardinal uniform and at Stanford University.

"It's an unbelievable opportunity to be able to play football at a school that has had the success it's had in the past few years with the coaching staff that has the experience and great schemes," McNitzky said. "But I'm also going to be able to graduate with the best degree from the best school in the nation. So, I mean, I'm going to be set for life, pretty much."