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Stanford Football Recruiting, Class of 2017: 4-star RB/LB commits

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The night before Stanford battled Notre Dame, Stanford picked up a blue-chip recruit for the 2017 class. Sione Heimuli-Lund said on twitter, "Stanford football speaks for itself but I know there is life after football and I want to prepare for that". Sione is the #10 recruit for running backs and also the #3 recruit in the state of Utah. He held other offers from BYU and Washington. Sione is from Salt Lake City, Utah, and is from Brighton high school. The high school might sound familiar because that is where Stanford 2016 commit WR Simi Fehoko attends.

Sione, is a multifaceted player because he can play both sides of the ball. His junior year of high school, Sione played both inside linebacker and running back and was best the state in four different categories. He was the state leader in yards per carry with 10.5 yards, total yards with 1184, tackles per game with 10.9 and total tackles with 120. Playing both ways is very difficult and to lead the state in so many categories is quite impressive. This kid is the Myles Jack of high school football. Jack is 6'1 225 and Sione is 6'0 220. These guys have the exact same measurable, positions, and style of play. Stanford fans can only hope Sione, develops his football game as well as Jack did.

Watching Sione's highlight tapes I noticed how physical of a runner he is. He doesn't go out of bounds or shies away from contact, he fights for the extra yard through punishing hits. Every play I watch of his just reminds me of a Stanford running back. He is very powerful as he explodes through the holes. He reminds of Tyler Gaffney and how he plows over defenders. With all of his strength, it comes at expense of his speed. He is listed at running a 4.9 40-yard dash. While at running back this isn't too great, but at linebacker it is average. His speed is something that will make him standout even more if he can improve in that area.

As a line backer, Sione shows some veteran skill sets. In fact, ESPN ranks Sione as the #8 linebacker. One particular skill is his brute force in his tackles. He is a sure tackler and wraps up running backs with ferocity. He can get to the running back by quickly evading the lead blockers or by bouncing off of their "blocks". His vision to see the ball carrier and then attack, also helps him when he is at running back. Whether Sione plays RB or LB, he could be the next Myles Jack.