Barry J. Sanders Isn't the Only Stanford Recruit with NFL Bloodlines
by Scott Allen on Jan 6, 2026 7:30 AM PST
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PrintBarry J. Sanders is expected to commit to Stanford over Oklahoma State on Saturday. As the talented son of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, who led the NFL in rushing in 4 of his 10 seasons before retiring at the age of 30, Sanders would easily become the highest profile member of David Shaw's outstanding recruiting class. He's not the only one with a father who played in the NFL, however. Here's a look at the NFL dads of Stanford's other recruits.
Nick Davidson
Nick's father, Jeff, was drafted in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL Draft out of Ohio State by the Denver Broncos and played 44 games over the next three seasons. After a shoulder injury ended his playing career, Davidson got into coaching. He won three Super Bowls as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots, served as offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, and is currently the offensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings. If you missed Hank's profile of Nick Davidson, check it out here.
Alex Carter
The Washington Redskins drafted Alex's father, Tom, in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft after a standout career at Notre Dame. Carter had six interceptions as a rookie cornerback and 27 picks in his 10-year NFL career.
Noor Davis
Noor's father, who played college football at San Diego State and Purdue, prefers not be identified in interviews so as not to distract attention away from his son's recruiting experience. Noor Davis is the nephew of New England Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett.
Kodi Whitfield
Kodi's father and former Stanford star lineman, Bob Whitfield, was the No. 8 overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 1992 and played in 220 games over his 15-year NFL career. Whitfield helped lead an upset of Cal in the 94th Big Game after Cal's Brian Treggs guaranteed a victory. Brian's son, Bryce, has committed to Cal.
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If...
We add either Josh Garnett or Andrus Peat, the theme continues.
by dth1 on Jan 6, 2026 8:17 AM PST reply actions
Indeed
Peat’s father, Todd, spent 7 years in the League.
Garnett’s father, Scott, was an OL for the Broncos, Niners, Chargers, and Bills.
Stumbled upon this quote from Garnett: “I’m like Suh, but on offense.”
by Scott Allen on Jan 6, 2026 8:49 AM PST up reply actions
It's amazing
how much time and emotional energy we devote to these kids before they’re even signed. How many of the top flight receivers we were excited to sign the past few years have panned out? A walk on has been our most consistent WR option the past two years.
I guess once bowl season is over, we need something to keep our minds off of work…
Don’t get me wrong, I want to sign an elite class as much as the next guy. But it’s not going to change next season’s outcome. Heck, James Vaughters was considered a beast with 1st year impact potential, but I rarely heard his name called this year. These are still kids, by most any measure.
by farmerboy99 on Jan 6, 2026 10:17 AM PST reply actions
Yes, but...
many of the recruits do actually pan out. Andrew Luck, for instance. It’s definitely tough to know how they’ll perform in college—at any college—but the excitement stems more from the competition with other schools to land a top recruit.
by CardiGrl on Jan 6, 2026 10:44 AM PST up reply actions
Exactly.
Stepfan Taylor? 4 star.
Toilolo and Ertz? 4 stars.
Skov? 4 star.
etc.
Obviously these things don’t pan out 100% of the time, but that’s true of any projection-based exercise—most startups fail too.
by dth1 on Jan 6, 2026 10:57 AM PST up reply actions
I hear you, farmerboy.
Anyone who has followed this blog over the past 2 years knows it isn’t exactly rife with recruiting news and updates (sorry). I like to link to and sometimes read recruiting news on other sites, but it’s never interested me enough to pay for recruiting updates.
As noted below, it’s a lot of fun to get excited about guys who are more likely to pan out (4 and 5 star recruits) than not. It’s equally exciting to watch guys who fly under the radar emerge as solid contributors.
That said, if there’s anyone interested in becoming the Rule of Tree recruiting guru, I can pay you…in Internet fame.
by Scott Allen on Jan 6, 2026 11:09 AM PST up reply actions
It is still encouraging
Recruiting high profile kids does a couple of things… first, it increases the profile of the program, which will help recruit additional players in the future and it will help the team draw more fans in. Second, and perhaps more important, it increases the depth of the team. Even if the highly touted recruits don’t turn into stars, generally they are more likely to turn into solid players, so when a star gets hurt, the gap between him and the next guy isn’t as severe. Compare what happened when Shane Skov went got hurt this year to what would happen in the past - the team was far, far better able to absorb the injury this year.
by RickeySteals on Jan 6, 2026 12:04 PM PST up reply actions
Snowball effect
Also helps because the recruits recruit each other. I remember reading about how when Shayne Skov picked Stanford he lobbied a bunch of other touted recruits to join him.
by Cardinal&Orange; on Jan 6, 2026 12:10 PM PST up reply actions
Not denying
it’s important. I just marvel at the emotional energy some folks invest on recruiting. I don’t see as much here, but on some boards, every 3rd post seems to eventually go back to recruits.
Conversely, coaching has a MUCH bigger influence on success than recruiting. Look was Harbaugh did with Walt and Buddy’s guys. And yet, you rarely see posts that analyze our assistants or strategies for upgrading there.
Again, I’m hoping for a highly rated class as much as the next year. I want to land Murphy and Garnett and Obenigbo and Shittu. But the pomp and circumstance around an 18 year old kid picking a hat off a table in front of his entire school is just plain silly. It’s gotten out of hand. But then, that’s what you get when sports is a multi-million dollar AMATEUR athlete business
by farmerboy99 on Jan 6, 2026 12:51 PM PST up reply actions
Good points...
Coaching is indeed far more important. Strength and conditioning training is also huge (this was a vastly underestimated component of how Harbaugh turned it around with the players on the team when he started).
by RickeySteals on Jan 6, 2026 1:35 PM PST up reply actions
I agree.
I’ve never been much into high school recruiting, either. And you’re right, coaching plays a huge part. I remember being shocked when one year Stanford had the most players drafted to the NFL (if I remember correctly), who were Tyrone Willingham’s recruits, but played on the Teevens and Harris teams. It’s much more important to make sure that the guys can fit into the system, in my opinion. But it’s still fun to look across the field and laugh at the other team that didn’t land some of these guys.
by CardiGrl on Jan 6, 2026 1:44 PM PST up reply actions
Bill Walsh Era #2
Maybe someone who paid more attention to college football back then than did I can weigh in on this, but I recall that during the 2nd Coming of the Genius at Stanford it seemed to be a popular, if not the #1 destination, for NFL progeny.
I know Joe Gibbs’ kid went there, for one.
by Cardinal&Orange; on Jan 6, 2026 12:07 PM PST reply actions
I think it did happen
But I think it had almost as much to do with the fact that Ed McCaffrey, Tommy Vardell, John Lynch, and Glyn Milburn were on the team not but a few years earlier.
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by RedOscar on Jan 6, 2026 2:37 PM PST up reply actions
Odenigbo
He wasn’t admitted, a source tells Kyle Bonagura.
by Scott Allen on Jan 6, 2026 1:37 PM PST reply actions
Although that’s disappointing for everyone involved, it makes me proud that the university is continuously willing to stand up for the importance of the academic program over the athletic program.
by CardiGrl on Jan 6, 2026 1:49 PM PST up reply actions
I once had the opportunity to listen in on some coaches for a Stanford team (who are no longer at the university) discuss who they wanted to apply to Stanford the following September. I remember them looking at midterm exam grades as well as their overall grades, classes, and scores. (A former student-athlete told me that their coach was adamant on having all their grades for one particular class sent to them as they got them so as to be sure they were progressing adequately.)
These coaches were highly interested in the academic rigor of their recruits, and at one point were trying to decide how best to tell a rising high school senior who was interested in Stanford that they shouldn’t plan on applying for a scholarship because they weren’t likely to be accepted. It stemmed from them noticing that this student did “average or below-average” in two of their non-AP classes their junior year. It really was one of the most interesting debates to hear.
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by RedOscar on Jan 6, 2026 2:30 PM PST up reply actions
Stanford leak?
Bonagura implies that the source of the information is inside Stanford. If so, it seems highly inappropriate that someone at Stanford is leaking which football applicants are admitted and which aren’t. That should be completely private, and up to the player to communicate, should they wish to. I know I’d hate for my application success to have been broadcast, had it been a rejection.
Hopefully Bonagura’s off base on the source.
by farmerboy99 on Jan 6, 2026 3:06 PM PST up reply actions
Recruiting at Stanford
The issue with recruiting at Stanford is that it’s almost entirely based on the admissions office in the end. If a high school senior is deadset on going to Stanford, and the coaches (of any sport) want them, they can apply early and know their admission decision by the end of September. That cuts down on the pressure that recruits have, and the recruiters have far less incentive to evaluate these players because they’ve already decided where they’re going to school. The only exceptions are when that recruit is still highly coveted by another school, particularly the SEC schools.
Add to that, as Harbaugh, Shaw, and Bowlsby have long claimed, of the 3,000 or so high school football players that are capable of getting a Division I scholarship in college, Stanford is only able to speak to at most 250, so recruiting news only emerges when Stanford is in direct competition with another school, particularly the large state schools. That’s why Luck was so under the radar to almost everyone but Vandy and Rice. (By the way, it still warms my heart to hear that Texas fans were furious at Mack Brown for failing to recruit him.)
Finally, as I said, Admissions gets the final say on who gets to come to Stanford. The coaches can recruit players all they want, and those recruits can be 3+ star players highly lauded by evaluators, but unlike other schools, even if they’re recruited, there’s no assurances to them getting in. That tempers a lot of enthusiasm that fans might have for a potential recruit. Harbaugh and Shaw have both had recruits get turned down by Admissions only to end up at USC, UCLA, and Notre Dame, so to get invested in a particular recruit without knowing that they’ve been accepted can be folly.
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by RedOscar on Jan 6, 2026 2:23 PM PST reply actions
Luck wasn't underlooked by anyone
He was highly ranked by just about everyone.
by dth1 on Jan 6, 2026 3:30 PM PST up reply actions
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