Rivals released its last ranking update for the 2019 class and Stanford's longtime lone top-100 representative, Austin Jones, fell just outside of that cutoff. Stanford has five recruits who will end their time as recruits as members of the Rivals 250.

Jones came close to being only the second Stanford running back recruit to head to The Farm as a Rivals top-100 recruit. (Christian McCaffrey was No. 77.) But hey, the Cardinal's most recent Heisman runner-up, all-time great running back was "only" No. 134 overall on Rivals.

Jones will bring a solid well-rounded game to Stanford. He won't wow onlookers with his breakaway speed at the college level like Bryce Love, but he's a successful runner because he knows how to gain to yards. He was the No. 2 all-time rusher in Bay Area history by the time his career ended at Bishop O'Dowd. Everyone knew he was getting the ball but he still found room to go forward.

He's a skilled pass catcher and has been praised for using his physicality well in pass protection. There may be a wide open competition at running back this offseason and Jones' ability to impact a game a number of ways increases his chances of earning playing time.

Higgins has been a rising star in the rankings for months and his commitment Dec. 18 was an important recruiting win for the Cardinal on the eve of signing day. (He's almost a top-50 recruit according to another site.) He fits Stanford's offense perfectly because of his combination of size, physicality and athleticism lined up out wide. He has the potential to create the type of mismatches that made JJ Arcega-Whiteside a favorite target for KJ Costello.

Stanford is not in desperate need of freshmen contributors at the position, but in a world where fifth-year players are becoming less common he might find playing time beyond the four-game redshirt rule.

Pakola is a big athlete and he can become a great edge defender either at defensive end or outside linebacker. He'll start his career at Stanford working with defensive coordinator Lance Anderson in the outside linebacker room. There is one report that he already weighs about 260 pounds.

The Cardinal once had outside linebackers that size and they excelled switching between OLB in the 3-4 and defensive end in nickel. Stanford's talent pipeline looks good on paper at outside backer with multiple athletes with similar physical skill sets as Pakola. Which means Stanford could have a new wave of such talents at the position or there's a greater comfort level to move him permanently to defensive end.

While Pakola may play outside linebacker at Stanford after most of his prep career was at defensive end, Herron will transition to a stand-up position after battling offensive linemen as relatively undersized defensive end. Herron had a highly productive career for one of the top programs in the country and often competed against national or regional competition.

He had 47 career sacks and his speed off the edge combines well with his agility/flexibility. Stanford is stocked well at outside linebacker for next season so Herron can develop more pass rush skills and weight.

Bragg is Stanford's only offensive lineman ranked in the Top 250 and is part of a five-recruit group whose development is critical to the future success of the team. Bragg has been ranked as a top center prospect since he was a sophomore, which also happens to be the last time he played center. He has the position versatility that position coach Kevin Carberry wants to develop in his players and he will be trained as a guard/center at Stanford.

Bragg plays mean than on the field and is a soft-spoken piano player off it. He is an eager learner who loved getting sent extra football homework by Carberry to study well before he even committed to Stanford. He may be needed to take snaps next season because the Cardinal will be short-handed up front.