The Stanford Cardinal took another big step in recruiting this past week with the commitment of 3-star offensive lineman Austin Maihen. Maihen had previously committed to Washington State but after being admitted to Stanford he switched his commitment to the Cardinal.
Maihen is primarily and offensive tackle with excellent size and above-average blocking skills according to 247 Sports.
Maihen had committed to Washington State last fall but remained interested in joining Stanford. From Scout Recruiting in November 2014:
"Stanford just offered me last week," Maihen said. "I've been talking with Stanford for two years now so the offer is pretty big. I camped with them the last two years and also went to their Junior Day last summer. They said they liked me but wanted to see my senior film and see how I developed. They must have liked what they saw because they went ahead and offered and I'm definitely going to consider them moving forward."
Maihen said he won't make any final decisions until he finds out if he has cleared Stanford's admissions.
"They're going to send me the admissions packet and also want me to re-take the SAT or ACT again," Maihen said. "I'm already signed up to take both the ACT and SAT and will get going on the packet when it gets here. Right now, I'm still solid with Washington State but I've been up front and honest with them. I talked to Coach McGuire, the OL coach, last week after I got the offer and then he and Coach Yost were at my school today.
"I told them I was still committed but did plan on submitting my application to Stanford. If I'm cleared, I'll have to sit down and make a decision between the two schools and they seemed to understand that. I have my official visit set to Washington for the Apple Cup (Nov. 28) and Stanford wants me to visit in January.
Here is more on Maihen from Scout.com
Hudl.com has also provided video highlights from his Junior season
The Recruiting class was already shaping up nicely according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury news:
"Stanford's disappointing season has not created significant problems for the Cardinal during the recruiting season.
One month from national signing day, Stanford is positioned to land one of the top classes in the Pac-12 as judged by the quality of the prospects, if not the quantity."
Maihen is another great addition to an already solid class. With National Signing day on February 4th do not be surprised if there are more recruiting announcements in the coming weeks.