Future Cardinal tight end Colby Parkinson is eager to get to Stanford, and he enjoyed the experience of his family hosting Stanford coaches twice during the past week.

Head coach David Shaw, special teams coach Pete Alamar and tight ends coach Morgan Turner stopped by on Nov. 30; and Turner visited again on Tuesday. While recruits and their families throughout the country try to handle visits of staffs from multiple schools, Parkinson said it was great to be able to focus only on building relationships with his future coaches.

"I absolutely loved it," he said. "It was an amazing time. I’m so excited to get up to Stanford."

Parkinson said it was friendly, easy-going environment and, just as important, there was great food.

"We went all out," Parkinson said of his family's preparations. "My dad smoked Tri-tip, pork and chicken. We sliced up the Tri-tip to make sliders. My mom made salad, potatoes and green beans. She made apple strudel for the first time."

The new addition to the menu was a big winner for Parkinson and he wondered why his mom never baked strudel before now. Maybe the special occasion presented an opportunity for strudel to get called from the cooking playbook?

Parkinson joked that the plan going forward is that when he wants strudel he'll tell his mom that the coaches are coming to visit. "You can come over any time if we have food like that," he said of hosting the Cardinal staff. "Now I’m going to be asking for it all the time."

The Stanford coaches have talked to Parkinson about the vision for him on the football field, but during the in-home visits he estimated that maybe "25% of the time" was spent talking football. The rest of the conversations were about life, becoming a good person and family.

"A lot of good nuggets from Coach Shaw," Parkinson said. "He has a lot of wisdom in him."

When looking ahead to next season, Parkinson said the coaches haven't made any promises about playing time. If he can earn a role in the passing offense then he will play, but he also understands he has work to do to be more than a receiving tight end at the college level.

He said the challenge of blocking a college defensive player is nothing like plowing through a "5-foot-10, 180-pound Newbury Park defensive end." He worked hard in the summer to get better as a blocker, but he was frank about how well he would block college defenders if he had to take the field today.

"Right now I am 100 percent not ready for that, if I’m honest," he said. "I think in time I’ll become a complete tight end. I don’t want to be just a receiver. I want to be a hybrid, like a true tight end."

He was optimistic that time in the weight room and on the practice field would get him ready sooner rather than later.

Parkinson will join a talented group of tight ends on The Farm who have a variety of skills.

Dalton Schultz has been called the most complete tight end in the conference and maybe the country by Shaw. Kaden Smith and Scooter Harrington are red-shirting and Greg Taboada has not announced if he is returning for a fifth year. Also, Tucker Fisk will arrive with Parkinson, who said the group could have "some special times ahead."

"They have said in the past that they’ll be using tight ends in multiple sets, especially if they have the guys," Parkinson said of talking to the coaches. "That’s why tight ends go to a place like Stanford. Try to keep the tradition alive. They (the coaches) know what they’re doing."

As a receiver there are not many, if any, prep tight ends better in the country who can match the 6-foot-7 Parkinson. While his athleticism and ability to make plays didn't lead to big numbers in his senior season at perennial power Oaks Christian, Parkinson didn't fret as long the numbers on the scoreboard favored the Lions.

Parkinson missed 2 1/2 games due to an injury but overall he was happy with the season.

"I played hard every single game," he said. "I think I had one drop on the year."

Parkinson played his entire senior season as a Stanford commit and has been a verbal pledge for months, but he said it was only recently he felt like he was no longer a recruit. He said "Michigan was hounding me" and other schools were poking around. But it became clear to everyone he wasn't changing his mind when an offer from Alabama had no impact on his commitment.

Parkinson has been able to turn his attention to other members of the 2017 recruiting class.

He was excited to see Davis Mills rise to No. 4 overall in the latest Rivals100 ranking. His quick evaluation of Mills: "I have never seen someone with better mechanics than him."

He added that the Georgian puts the ball exactly where it needs to be. At The Opening the two Stanford commits played on the same 7-on-7 team and Mills often made Parkinson his first read, much to the tight end's delight and their shared success.

And he learned about Mills' personality: "We’re similar. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We hang out and play the game we love. He’s a great dude and he deserves that ranking for sure."

Parkinson and Mills are also hoping to convince elite tackle recruits Foster Sarell and Walker Little to join them at Stanford. The plan is to do a recruiting "tag team"at the Army All-American Game.

But the sales pitch won't be new. It has remained the same since they were all visitors at the USC game and had a chance to experience being a Stanford student.

"It was cool to see how different it (Stanford) was," Parkinson said. "They recruit not only the best athletes, but great people. I keep preaching, 'Come on, this place is special.' That’s why you go to a place like Stanford. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. You don’t have to be just a football player."