Rivals released its updated Rivals 100 for the current junior class and the list includes several prospects with offers from Stanford and a couple who could get one.
Stanford could be done with its 2019 class on Dec. 19 depending on how things break with admissions and the decisions of several recruits. If the first day of the "early" signing period plays out like last year the Stanford staff will also hold a recruiting meeting to discuss 2020 prospects.
There's not much reason to think Stanford has a relationship with the California Gatorade Player of the Year who also is an elite baseball prospect. But the Cardinal have been briefly mentioned at times as a spring visit destination.
There certainly hasn't been a shortage of opportunities to evaluate the imposing athlete who is capable of precisely placing a pass or running over a linebacker. Senior wide receiver Colby Bowman is one the Braves' best players and Stanford's first public commit in the 2019 class. There are plenty of Stanford recruits who play for the national top-five team.
Uiagalelei has visited Clemson twice since June and the first time was for a camp. He got the offer from Dabo Swinney and understandably is impressed. Clemson also has a top baseball program.
Why Stanford should offer: Stanford technically has a 2020 quarterback commit, Tanner McKee. He's in the first year of a two-year LDS mission in Brazil and the former Top 100 recruit is a great prospect who Stanford head coach David Shaw has said is "their guy" for 2020. That likely means there will need to be a strong argument made to offer another. This article reports Uiagalelei has a 3.46 GPA. He's an impact player at a position where Stanford's depth chart is shaky due to Davis Mills' injury history. The simplest argument is that if a program has a chance at a consensus top-10 recruit it should offer. There's a chance Uiagalelei will opt for professional baseball, but if he goes to college there are few football programs who can point to as many football-baseball two-sport athletes as Stanford.
Stanford has faded from its strongest standing with Smalls, which was probably during last fall. He's only visited once and has gone on multiple cross-country trips to several of the top recruiting powers in college football rather than make a shorter return trip south to the Bay Area. Smalls is a special talent at a position that can dramatically change games. The Cardinal need pass rush help and Smalls has a 4.0 GPA. Stanford should do everything possible to get him on campus again in the spring, which should include no hesitation to offer an official visit. Stanford's policy for the 2019 class was to not offer spring officials to juniors during the first offseason with the rule that allowed such visits.
Johnson visited Stanford in June and had a great visit. His stop at The Farm was during a tour of several California schools and the Ohio native went on more college visits than most recruits. He committed to Ohio State several days after he was at Stanford and there's no reason to think he'll sway from the home-state Buckeyes.
Ringo stays in touch with Stanford defensive back coach Duane Akina and there is a pulse of interest in the Cardinal. But until he visits The Farm it's tough to take Stanford's chances seriously to get one of the premier cornerback talents in the class. His most recent trip was to Washington.
Hinton is currently Stanford's best shot for a big splash in 2020 recruiting. The five star tackle has visited Stanford three times and the last trip was for the Oregon State game. He and his parents stayed on The Farm that Sunday to get more time with the coaches. That was a good development for Stanford because, according to one source, Hinton may not be an uncommitted recruit for much longer.
This recruitment has been a Michigan vs. Stanford contest almost since the start. But most consider Stanford to be in second place to the Wolverines, where Myles' older brother, Christopher, is committed for the 2019 class. Christopher is a five star defensive lineman who also had a Stanford offer.
Butterfield is a Stanford legacy and if the popular vote of Cardinal fans determined offers he'd already have one. Jay's father, Mark, played quarterback at Stanford and Jay visited twice this year as a recruit. The first was the June 19 quarterback camp and then again during the season.
Butterfield has steadily climbed the Rivals ranking and has had a fantastic season at Liberty High in Brentwood in the East Bay. Stanford has not started aggressively recruiting Butterfield, who has told Cardinal Sports Report several times that the coaches haven't decided if they'll offer another quarterback.
Why Stanford should offer: Butterfield is a talented quarterback who provides a different skill set than McKee. The 2018 signee is much more mobile than Butterfield. But Butterfield is accurate and his arm talent is lauded for the ability to make a variety of throws. Stanford shouldn't offer Butterfield only because he is a legacy. But there's no denying that gives the Cardinal a significant edge in the recruitment. And it makes for a rough couple years of "what if?" if he goes elsewhere -- say, to Cal -- and excels. If Shaw decides to pass on Butterfield it will be one of the most scrutinized recruiting decisions in recent years.
Mickens visited Stanford twice during the summer of 2017 and when he got the offer Sept. 24 of that year his interest in the Cardinal was high. Stanford no longer appears to be a serious contender for the Texan.
Stanford needs offensive linemen and do not have a 2020 commit in the position group, yet. Stanford's most recent offer is to another lineman from the heart of Big 12(14) country: Andrew Raym of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Corcoran is followed on Twitter by Stanford's area recruiter (Morgan Turner), recruiting director (Mike Eubanks) and position coach (Kevin Carberry). For Stanford Twitter sleuthers that's a strong indicator he's a candidate for an offer.
Why Stanford should offer: I mentioned Stanford needs offensive linemen. Well, they really do. There will be five linemen in the 2019 class but for the second spring in a row there won't be enough players for a second unit. And it's unlikely there will be enough for a return of "young guy scrimmages" on Fridays during the season. The pipeline needs a jolt. Corcoran reports a 3.8 GPA and a top six of Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State.
Stanford recently made Tyree's top-10 list and the Cardinal are probably in the top five. Veteran running back coach Ron Gould has made Tyree a priority and they communicate often. Tyree visited during the season and enjoyed everything he saw and learned about Stanford. He's a special talent who has the ability to affect games as a runner, receiver and returner -- the three 'Rs' that equate to an all-purpose gamechanger.
It's critical that Stanford do everything possible to keep pace with the other competitors whose campuses he can visit by getting into a car. He should be added to the list for a spring official if there's even a moment of hesitation that he'll pay his own way again. Tyree is scheduled to visit Notre Dame this week and has not planned any other trips, yet.
Henning is an all-purpose back in Rivals' ranking but he's a wide receiver recruit for Stanford. Henning is one of three receivers with a Stanford offer and the other two are Southern California natives Bryce Farrell and John Humphreys. Farrell is Stanford's lone commit in the class and it's a safe bet that Humphreys will follow the path of multiple family members who attended The Farm.
Henning and position coach Bobby Kennedy keep in touch and are building a relationship. It's going well enough that Stanford feels it can wait on another receiver offer even though the target will probably be three for the class.
McGowan and Tyree are the only running backs with offers and Stanford will sign two in 2019. McGowan has not taken any visits this year and doesn't discuss recruiting. Therefore it's difficult to know how well Stanford is doing with top Texas prospect.
Wypler was a painful recruiting loss for Stanford but the Cardinal haven't given up. It will be tough to sway him from his commitment to Ohio State but at one time his mind was set on Stanford. He's a straight-A student and a perfect fit for the university. He also is a special athlete who also plays lacrosse at St. Joseph's, which won a football state title this fall.
Stanford offered the big athlete in April several months after he committed to Oklahoma. He appears solid in his commitment to the Sooners. He plays quarterback and defensive end/outside linebacker for his high school. He's a defensive recruit for Stanford.