Thomas Booker of Gilman School (Baltimore, Maryland) announced Sunday his commitment to Stanford, which gives the Cardinal a strong presence on the defensive line in the 2018 class and a Top 250 recruit.

Booker's final five also included Notre Dame, Princeton, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. He held more than 35 offers from programs such as Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson and Florida State.

He explained in detail several days ago to Rivals recruiting analyst Adam Friedman why Stanford appealed to him: "Football-wise, they play a really physical brand of football that reminds me of how we play at Gilman. I think Coach (David) Shaw has a unique approach to blend that physicality with an intellectuality that is fresh and it has been working. Coach Shaw is really an extension of Stanford’s culture of excellence. They have a lot of excellent things going on there in terms of their students and their faculty. I’d say the football program is no aberration."

Booker seems to embody "Intellectual Brutality".

Stanford was considered a favorite for the Maryland native ever since the summer before his junior year when he took two classes at Stanford. When he attended the football camp and a junior day that summer it was just a matter of walking from Florence Moore residential hall.

He took "Principles of Economics" and "African American Science Fiction, Literature and Studies". Booker earned "As" in both and said at the time: "It has been a pretty authentic Stanford experience."

Booker was admitted during the summer, which was not a surprise given his work off the field.

Counting returning LDS missionaries Simi Fehoko (WR) and Loa Kaufusi (OLB), Stanford now has 12 recruits committed to arrive on The Farm in June 2018.

Booker's announcement also marks a return for Stanford to the list of schools with a Rivals Top 250 commit. The Cardinal are in contention for several other players currently on that list, and by the end of the cycle some recruits with Stanford interest or already committed may play there way onto it.

Booker will now join the effort to help finish the class.

Along with Booker, two other 2018 recruits visited Stanford for the Arizona State game: defensive back Kendall Williamson (Brookwood High, Snellville, Georgia) and edge rusher Caleb Kelly (Hapeville Charter, Atlanta).

Williamson has already committed to Stanford and the Cardinal are likely the favorite for Kelly.

There aren't many spots remaining, but one of the top priorities left on the board is Andres Fox. The elite pass rusher from Alabama could line up next to or opposite of Booker, depending on where Booker ends up on the line.

A pairing of Fox and Booker on signing day would be a very reassuring extension of the pipeline for that unit.

Stanford's current defensive line depth chart is heavy on underclassmen and head coach David Shaw has said several times that college football is generally a game of juniors and seniors. That is especially true at defensive line at Stanford, where the best defensive lines in recent years were manned by players in years three to five in college. So, it's necessary to bring in several athletes each year who develop into players who can win the line of scrimmage.

Booker can be one of those players given his ability to stop the run and already demonstrated drive to maximize his potential.