Meet the 2016 Stanford Recruiting Class: Offensive Preview

Stanford didn't go out with a bang on National Signing Day, but they still performed well on the recruiting trail

By Sean Levy Feb 4, 2016, 11:32am PST

National Signing Day is over and we can finally know which recruits are going to which colleges. It was exhausting trying to keep up with who committed to who and who backed off their pledge and who was a soft commit....it was a busy recruiting period. During this recruiting period, there were over 380 decommitments which is more than three decommitments or flips for each team in the FBS. Now the classes are set in stone, lets review Stanford's impressive class and how they stack up compared to everyone else.

Coming into National Signing Day, Stanford was the number one class in the Pac-12 and was within the top 15 in every major recruiting ranking. Stanford added only one more recruit, Andrew Pryts, so it was a pretty normal day for Stanford fans. They missed out on Texas OLB Jeffrey McCulloch, but no one was really counting on him being in this 2016 class later in the recruiting process. Throughout the day UCLA and USC both overtook Stanford in the rankings in 247sports and Rivals rankings. Stanford is the 2nd class in ESPN's rankings. But Stanford still remained at top 20 class in all three of these sites, #16 in 247sports ranking, #18 in Rivals rankings, and #13 in ESPN's rankings. Overall this was a great year of recruiting. By signing Stanford's largest class since the start of the Harbaugh era, Stanford managed to sign a talented group of freshmen.

QB K.J. Costello Commit Date: 03/26/15

High School/Hometown: Santa Margarita Catholic (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 3, 2
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 4, 4, 4
Height and Weight: 6-4 213
Strengths: Arm Strength, Accuracy, Goes through progressions well
Areas of Improvement: Athleticism, Needs to become quicker, Has a long delivery
Highlights with Commentary:

TE Kaden Smith Commit Date: 04/11/15

High School/Hometown: Marcus High School (Flower Mound, TX)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 2, 2, 3
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 4, 4, 4
Height and Weight: 6-6 235
Strengths: Yards after catch ability, Catching balls in traffic, Pinpointing the ball
Areas of Improvement: Hand placement when blocking, keeping pad level down, route running
Highlights with Commentary:

OT Clark Yarbrough Commit Date: 05/19/15

High School/Hometown: Woodberry Forest High School (Woodberry, VA)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 18, 12, 22
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 4, 4, 4
Height and Weight: 6-6 260
Strengths: hand placement, speed helps him gets down the field well in rush blocking, flexible enough to keep pass rushers in front, length
Areas of Improvement: get stronger to stop bull rushers, remaining balanced between upper and lower body, develop technical skills
Highlights with Commentary:

WR Simi Fehoko Commit Date: 07/19/15

High School/Hometown: Brighton High School (Salt Lake City, UT)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 33, 70, 61
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 4, 4, 4
Height and Weight: 6-4 182
Strengths: reaches second gear quickly, off the line quick, deep ball skills
Areas of Improvement: short cut off routes, precision in route running, wiry frame
Highlights with Commentary:

OT Henry Hattis Commit Date: 08/16/15

High School/Hometown: Cleveland High School (Rio Ranche, NM)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 44, 66, 48
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 3, 3
Height and Weight: 6-6 265
Strengths: length and physical form, strength of upper body, quickness when pulling
Areas of Improvement: faster coming out of stance, faster feet in pass protection, needs to make blocks with more than just his arms
Highlights with Commentary:

RB Trevor Speights Commit Date: 12/07/15

High School/Hometown: McAllen Memorial High School (McAllen, TX)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 19, 55, 22
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 3, 3
Height and Weight: 5-10 200
Strengths: Speed and agility (4.38 40-yard), Elusive while dodging defenders, Vision
Areas of Improvement: Power running, Blocking, Pass catching from out of the backfield
Highlights with Commentary:

TE Loa Kaufusi Commit Date: 01/11/16

High School/Hometown: East High School (Salt Lake City, UT)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 50, 12, N/A
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 3, 3
Height and Weight: 6-4 210
Strengths: Power blocking, Can adjust to the ball, Toughness to bring down
Areas of Improvement: Separation down field, Route Running, Develop to become a down the seems runner
Highlights:

WR Paxton Segina Commit Date: 01/23/16

High School/Hometown: Vandergrift High School (Austin, TX)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 343, N/A, N/A
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 2, 2, 2
Height and Weight: 6-4 200
Strengths: Length, Catching the ball away from his body, adjustment when the ball is in the air
Areas of Improvement: Add muscle, more experience in short to medium routes, positioning when blocking
Highlights with Commentary:

TE Scooter Harrington Commit Date: 01/24/16

High School/Hometown: Greenwich High School (Greenwich, CT)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 27, 10, N/A
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 4, 3
Height and Weight: 6-5 235
Strengths: Toughness, Versatility, Down the field blocking
Areas of Improvement: Adjusting to the ball outside his frame, Separation from defenders, Inline blocking
Highlights with Commentary:

OG Nate Herbig Commit Date: 02/24/15

High School/Hometown: St. Louis High School (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 46, 55, 38
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 3, 3
Height and Weight: 6-4 320
Strengths: Can maintain his ground when rushed, Powerful hands, Gets in front of the pass rush
Areas of Improvement: Hand placement in run blocking, Gives up ground in initial snap, Will struggle down field adjusting to change of direction
Highlight with Commentary:

OT Devery Hamilton Commit Date: 01/30/16

High School/Hometown: Gilman School (Baltimore, MD)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 22, 37, 24
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 4, 3, 4
Height and Weight: 6-6 290
Strengths: Can clog the holes, Matches well against power rushers, Can play either side of the ball
Areas of Improvement: More experience on the OL, Consistently maintain leverage, Come out low to avoid being of balance
Highlight with Commentary:

RB Dorian Maddox Commit Date: 01/30/15

High School/Hometown: Gilman School (Baltimore, MD)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 171, NR, NR
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 2, NR, 2
Height and Weight: 5-10 200
Strengths: Power running, Stiff arm, Yards after contact
Areas of Improvement: Blocking, Needs to be more instinctive, Agility and quick cuts
Highlights with Commentary:

WR Donald Stewart Commit Date: 01/30/15

High School/Hometown: Paramus Catholic (West Orange, NJ)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 103, 123, 74
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 3, 3
Height and Weight: 6-4 190
Strengths: Length, Fluid in and out of breaks, Catching the ball away from body
Areas of Improvement: Yards after catch, Big play ability, Explosiveness off the line of scrimmage
Highlights and Commentary:

OG Dylan Powell Commit Date: 02/01/16

High School/Hometown: Hannibal High School (Hannibal, MO)
Positional Rank (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 85, 67, 39
Stars (247sports, ESPN, Rivals): 3, 3, 3
Height and Weight: 6-3 270
Strengths: Quickness off the line and down the field, Arm extension-length, lateral movement
Areas of Improvement: Strength, More consistent hand placement, Comes off the line a little too high
Highlights of Commentary: