Stanford offered defensive lineman Tobin Phillips (San Joaquin Memorial, Fresno) Feb. 12 and he called it a "dream come true". Less than a month later he committed to the Cardinal after a two-day visit to The Farm last weekend.
He and his mother got home Sunday and Phillips decided to give his future position coach Diron Reynolds a call to deliver the good news. Head coach David Shaw joined the conversation and Phillips said they were "very happy and full of excitement" to hear that the imposing 6-4, 290-pound defender was choosing the Cardinal.
"I knew that Stanford was the place that I ultimately wanted to end up, so I decided to commit sooner rather than later," he messaged Cardinal Sports Report.
"The highlights of my visit were being able to spend time with the players, the professors, as well as being able to watch a couple of practices. It really was able to show what life as a Stanford football player would be like.
"After my time with the players, I realized that I would fit in well with them. And after talking with Coach Reynolds and seeing him coach I saw that he is very experienced and thorough in his coaching style."
Phillips reports a 4.3 GPA and attends the same school that gave Stanford the Lopez twins, Brook and Robin. The seven-footers powered Stanford to a top-10 regular season in 2008 ranking during their sophomore season and a run to the Sweet 16.
Stanford doesn't need Phillips to carry that much of a burden of responsibility, but he is a major addition to the defensive line pipeline. The Cardinal struck out on the position in the 2019 class and the staff went back and forth almost the entire cycle about whether to aggressively pursue a prospect. One reassuring thought was that incoming outside linebacker Joshua Pakola seems destined to play defensive line because he can't seem to stop getting bigger.
(Pakola watched practice Saturday with fellow senior signee Bradley Archer. He spent most of his time observing defensive coordinator/outside linebacker coach Lance Anderson coach his position group.)
Stanford could take up to three defensive linemen in the class and it has always been a struggle for the Cardinal to get interior linemen who have the size to take on two offensive linemen. Phillips shows that ability and he also is athletic enough to play on the edge. By the time he arrives at Stanford the hope will be he is the understudy to Dalyn Wade-Perry or Mike Williams.
There are several candidates to join Phillips in the class.
Like Phillips, Carlton is a Central Valley prospect and he is scheduled to visit The Farm in April. Hardy is interested in visiting Stanford and wants to study engineering in college, a subject that several current players are studying.
Carlton and Hardy are talented edge rushers who also have the build to be effective when they have to slide inside in nickel formations. The Cardinal want to continue to upgrade the quality of its pass rush with only four defenders instead of needing to bring extra pressure. Phillips is a good start and Carlton or Hardy would be great boosts to that effort.
