Powell talks Stanford commitment

Stanford added a key final piece to its 2016 offensive line class on Monday night when three-star Missouri OL Dylan Powell announced his commitment to the Cardinal.

Powell took his official visit to The Farm over the weekend.

"I decided that I was going to (commit) Saturday," Powell said. "Just getting around campus and getting around the coaches all day, I knew it was something I couldn't pass up. I wasn't sure if I was going to wait until Monday to do it and just call them when I got home and tell them with my mom. But we had a couple of phone calls where we called her and talked to her. And we sent her a lot of pictures so she could get a feel for it. And we had her talk to one of the current players there, Brian Chaffin. And his mom actually called and talked to her so they could kind of get a feel for being far away and how it would work out, just from her perspective."

After getting the green light from his mother, Powell officially committed to Stanford during a conversation with Cardinal head coach David Shaw on Sunday.

"It went great," Powell said. "He was excited and he knows the program, we're going to be successful. And no matter what I'm going to at least have a great chance of getting a good education. He was excited. Most of the coaches are excited."

"Just the academic opportunity there (gave Stanford the edge). No matter what, football is going to end some time. The meaning of a Stanford degree was really what pushed them over the top. The opportunity after graduation is going to be tremendous. Obviously that's been proven by some of the guys that have left this year there that are obviously great players and can play, but they have such good opportunities that they want to start right away. Just the ability to get a quality education like that, I'll have that to my advantage."

Powell was accompanied by his father and brother on the visit to Stanford - the trip was his first to The Farm.

"I'd say the highlights were getting to meet with the academic people, seeing the support they give." Powell said.

"Getting to meet a professor and talk with him and him showing me that the professors actually care and that they're going to do whatever they can to help you be successful. It won't just be you go into a classroom and they never know what your name is or anything. You're going to have a personal relationship with them. And just spending time with the coaches and some players to feel a comfort level of how it would be on a day to day basis out there."

The three-star standout also got to spend some time chatting with his future position coach, Cardinal offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren, who identified Powell as a potential Stanford prospect long before many of the schools currently involved in his recruitment. (Powell said Stanford started recruiting him last spring.)

"He said he loves my athleticism, my ability to move and my mean streak," Powell said. "He said he thinks I could be really successful there and that he could help me become a great player."

Powell's commitment is the culmination of a hectic last few weeks on the recruiting front. Powell committed to his lone Power 5 offer (at the time) from Purdue in June, but has exploded onto the recruiting scene this winter. Rutgers, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Stanford and Georgia Tech are among the programs that recently extended him offers.

"It's just been a crazy month," Powell said. "Everybody coming in and talking to me - I wish it would have happened a lot earlier so I would have had more time to just relax and not try to plan all these visits out in such short notice. But it's a great feeling to have it done. It's a huge weight off of my shoulders and I know that I can just relax and enjoy the rest of my senior year before I get out there in June."

Powell joins four other offensive linemen - Devery Hamilton, Clark Yarbrough, Nate Herbig and Henry Hattis - who will sign with Stanford on Wednesday.