Irwin isn't the best candidate to make the highlight reels with breakaway speed or dazzling moves. But you can't discount his ability to catch anything and everything thrown his way.. Whether it be on a diving grab or an Odell Beckham style one-handed catch, Irwin figures to wow with his terrific hands at some point in his career on The Farm.

Honorable Mention: Bryce Love -- An elusive speedster, Stanford will likely try to find ways to get Love the ball in space so that he can take advantage of his 4.4 speed. Stanford would hope that such a scenario would result in an explosive and successful play, possibly with some missed tackles and impressive moves along the way. Jabiari Tyler, whose high school highlight film contains some impressive special teams runbacks, is another candidate here.

Chaffin possesses many of the leadership traits one might associate with the center position, and that was evident as he did his best to help convince other 2015 recruits to join him in the Cardinal's 2015 recruiting class. He was in touch with the likes of Bryce Love, Nick Wilson J.J. Arcega-Whiteside before they committed to Stanford, and reached out to pretty much everyone else in the class at one point or another.

Honorable Mention: Arrington Farrar -- At first glance, it may seem unusual that a player who is not in Stanford's 2015 recruiting class would make this list. But Farrar, who committed to the Cardinal after his sophomore year of high school, was long the class's most vocal recruiter, trying to convince anybody and everybody to join him on The Farm. Things did not ultimately work out between the two sides, but Farrar's recruiting contributions are still worth noting. Outside linebacker Casey Toohill, who was constantly in the ear of fellow San Diego area products Buncom and Quenton Meeks, also deserves a mention in this category.

This was a relatively easy call. Love, whose Wikipedia page details some of his track accomplishments, ran an electronically timed 4.4 40-yard dash at The Opening all-star showcase this summer. He's among the fastest players the Cardinal has inked in its last few recruiting classes, and should team with Christian McCaffrey to form one of the more dynamic and athletic backfield duos in the conference. They'll complement the team's bigger backs - like Remound Wright and Cameron Scarlett - well.

As a 5.5-rated three-star prospect, Gabe Reid is the third-lowest ranked prospect in Stanford's 2015 recruiting class per the Rivals rankings. He should probably be ranked higher. Reid was an early Cardinal recruiting target, receiving his Stanford offer last February. He might not possess ideal height for a pass rushing outside linebacker, but he still boasts a very strong skillset.

Honorable Mention: Justin Reid is ranked as a mid-level three-star prospect and the nation's No. 47 prospect. He's a strong candidate to outplay that ranking. His offer list, which includes schools like Oklahoma, LSU and Notre Dame, is among the pieces of evidence that speak to the possibility. Casey Toohill was in the a similar boat for much of his recruitment, but he was bumped to a 5.7 three-star prospect, the highest tier of three-star, in the final Rivals.com rankings. Though centers are not valued in the Rivals.com rankings as much as other positions, Brian Chaffin could outplay his mid-three-star designation, as well.

There are several strong contenders for this distinction, but we'll go with Irwin, who some consider the most college-ready receiver in this class. With Devon Cajuste, Francis Owusu and Michael Rector returning, Stanford is actually pretty well stocked at wideout. But Irwin will be very tough to keep off the field. He's proven himself against all levels of competition at the high school level, and has the polish and football IQ to contribute immediately on The Farm.

Honorable Mention: Jake Bailey -- Stanford will hold open competitions to replace punter Ben Rhyne and kicker Jordan Williamson, and Bailey will be a candidate for both of those spots. One of the top specialists in the country, Bailey is a terrific athlete who also has a strong leg. It would not surprise if he earns one of the starting nods. Walk-on specialist commit Charlie Beall is in a similar position. Bryce Love and all four of Stanford defensive back signees were also considered here. Cameron Scarlett would have been as well if not for the torn ACL he suffered late in the high school season.

Irwin was the leading receiver in the history of California High School football, and there's no reason to think he won't continue to be productive at the college level. He faced strong competition during the high school season and even stronger competition on the camp circuit, where he bested the best cornerbacks in the nation on a regular basis.

Honorable Mention: Nick Wilson and Quenton Meeks - Wilson fits right in with some of the talented interior linemen who seen the field for the Cardinal in recent years. Stanford hopes that he'll help lead the team's power run game for years to come. Meanwhile, all of Stanford's defensive backs come to The Farm with sparkling credentials. It's very difficult to know which will end up being the best of the bunch, but for the sake of argument we'll pick Meeks, who was excellent at Stanford's camp this summer and could further elevate his play when he focuses solely on defense rather than splitting time between receiver and defensive back.

Both Buncom and Meeks thrived at wide receiver on the high school level, and it wouldn't be a total shock if either suited up on offense for the Cardinal at some point in their respective careers.

In addition to recording 68 tackles and playing well as a defensive back, Buncom caught 38 passes this past season, per Max Preps. He'll start his Cardinal career playing cornerback, but Buncom doesn't object to the idea of having a versatile role on The Farm. "Richard Sherman went from offense to defense. I might go defense to offense. I might go out and start playing kicker," Buncom laughed. "Whatever can best help the team is fine by me."

Like Buncom, Meeks had a terrific offensive season in 2015 in addition to playing defensive back at a high level. He caught 32 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns per Max Preps. The notion that Meeks might play receiver was not foreign to Stanford throughout his recruitment. The Cardinal liked him on offense in the earlier stages of their pursuit of the four-star prospect, and Meeks actually took reps as a receiver at Stanford's camp.

Both players will begin their careers at cornerback, and Stanford hopes the duo will be able to take their game to the next level once they start focusing on only one side of the ball. But at some point down the road, if the Cardinal is looking for an injection of talent to its wide receiver corps, Buncom and Meeks are more than capable.

Ben Edwards' path to signing with Stanford was a long and windy one. The Cardinal offered him a scholarship after this sophomore year of high school, but while he included Stanford among his early list of favorites, he ended up committing to Ohio State in mid-February.

Edwards' pledge to the Buckeyes didn't last very long, however. A few months into his Ohio State commitment, Edwards changed his mind and decided to flip to Auburn. But Edwards' second commitment didn't stick, either. He decommitted from the Tigers in early August and seemingly out of nowhere named Stanford his favorite. But behind the scenes, Cardinal assistants Mike Bloomgren and Duane Akina had continued to recruit Edwards, even when it publicly appeared Stanford's chances of landing the four-star safety were minimal. Edwards worked tirelessly to improve his academic standing and eventually committed and was admitted to the school, giving Stanford an impressive recruiting victory over both fierce recruiting competition and geography.

In light of offensive lineman Nick Davidson's recent move to the Stanford hoops team, Arcega-Whiteside is clearly the top hoopster among Stanford's incoming 2015 football recruits. After all, the sport is in his blood. Arcega-Whiteside's mother, Valorie Whiteside, was a three-time basketball All-American at Appalachian State, scoring 2,944 points during her college career. Arcega-Whiteside's father, Joaquin, played professionally in Spain. Though J.J. will be focused on football in college, he did receive recruiting attention from schools for his skills on the hardwood. He's currently a standout on Dorman's 17-5 basketball team.

Irwin was the choice for the player most likely to appear in the 2015 season opener, but Bailey could have very easily been the pick in that category, as well. With the Cardinal returning Michael Rector, Devon Cajuste and Francis Owusu, and given the program's history of working in freshmen into the starting lineup slowly, Bailey is the logical selection for this category. With Jordan Williamson and Ben Rhyne gone, Stanford have to find a new starting kicker and punter in 2015. There are several candidates for those roles already on the roster in Alex Robinson and Conrad Ukropina, but Bailey might have the most physical talent of the bunch.

Honorable Mention: Charlie Beall While Bailey will challenge for the starting punting job and for kickoff duties, Beall will be in the mix to become the teams placekicker.

All four of Stanford's defensive backs - there will be ample opportunity for playing time in the secondary next year - are also candidates, as is Irwin.

When considering both quality and quantity of players at a particular position, Stanford's four-player defensive back class is the strongest of any incoming position group for the Cardinal. On paper, anyway, it's the top defensive back class Stanford has signed since Rivals began ranking prospects nearly a decade-and-a-half ago.

Three of the four incoming defensive backs have four-star rankings by Rivals.com. The fourth, Justin Reid, picked the Cardinal over offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Notre Dame. It's a talented, versatile group that could flourish in a major way under the tutelage of defensive backs coach Duane Akina in years to come.