[CTcard]

I don't follow recruiting all that closely, so when I looked our class up on Rivals, I was stunned to see us rated at 72; 11th in the Pac-12. Is it really that bad? Are we expecting, hoping for a bunch or signings tomorrow?

I would say it isn't that bad, but it isn't good either.

First of all, the various recruiting services aren't identical. The 247 composite ranking (complete with its own secret sauce) has Stanford at #45 in the country, #7 in the Pac 12.

The biggest issue is that the class is small. Now that is somewhat due to Stanford's noted lack of turnover, but also apparently somewhat due to guys we wanted not choosing us. I believe we will have several open scholarships this fall, pending rewards to walk-ons, though I don't remember the count. I am sure Bobbk and Terry know. 

By average rating, Stanford comes in at #5 in the Pac 12. By this measure, as is almost always the case, nobody is close to $C. UW has a little clearance in the #2 spot, and Oregon (#3) and UCLA (#4) edge out Stanford by about a point. Behind us would be Utah back about a point, then cal another point back.

That's for 14 recruits.
That includes 11 signees from the early period, and verbal commits Magnum-Farrar and Kelly. It also includes Tae Le, who is reported to be a preferred walk-on. Dropping Le from the list would lower our overall ranking and increase our per player average.
Tanner McKee choosing Stanford would be our top ranked recruit, by rather a lot, so would both increase our ranking quite a bit and also be completely irrelevant for next season as he will be going on a mission.

Speaking of missions, our class really also has two other guys (presumably) who will be coming back from missions and really should be considered part of this class though that is not how the services do things. These are WR Semi Fehoko and DE Loa Kaufusi (though at this point I don't remember what position Stanford envisioned for Kaufusi). Fehoko was rated well above our 2018 average, Kaufusi below.

I don't know what other teams have mission guys coming in, presumably Utah.

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Overall, even if the coaches are doing a good job, Stanford recruiting is going to have its ups and downs (and it is not clear if the coaches did a good job this year).

This class generally resembles 2013.
That class was also small and poorly ranked. Again partly due to the way the available scholarships bunched and partly due to guys choosing elsewhere.
Officially 12 kids.
In that case, the count appears to include Sean Barton who really showed up two years later, it appears not to include Chandler Dorrell (did he get a scholarship?). I have a vague memory that there might have been a mission guy joining that class as well, though I cannot identify anyone from the list two years prior. 
It ranked #52 nationally (247 composite) and #11 in the Pac 12.
Our average recruit score was 87.80 (again way behind $C, also behind UCLA, but this time just beating out Oregon and UW).

The 2013 class didn't end up being any giant blow to Stanford football (and had standouts Kalambayi, Bright, and Hooper), but that was partly because both 2012 and 2014 classes were fairly large and highly regarded (2012 was nationally #7 with 22, 2014 was #13 with 20).

This time, 2017 was highly regarded but small (#14, with only 14 kids - actually beat out $C for highest average rating).
Folks are worried about 2019.
The biggest issue seems to be small numbers along the OL.

[CTcard]

I don't follow recruiting all that closely, so when I looked our class up on Rivals, I was stunned to see us rated at 72; 11th in the Pac-12. Is it really that bad? Are we expecting, hoping for a bunch or signings tomorrow?

I would say it isn't that bad, but it isn't good either.

First of all, the various recruiting services aren't identical. The 247 composite ranking (complete with its own secret sauce) has Stanford at #45 in the country, #7 in the Pac 12.

The biggest issue is that the class is small. Now that is somewhat due to Stanford's noted lack of turnover, but also apparently somewhat due to guys we wanted not choosing us. I believe we will have several open scholarships this fall, pending rewards to walk-ons, though I don't remember the count. I am sure Bobbk and Terry know. 

By average rating, Stanford comes in at #5 in the Pac 12. By this measure, as is almost always the case, nobody is close to $C. UW has a little clearance in the #2 spot, and Oregon (#3) and UCLA (#4) edge out Stanford by about a point. Behind us would be Utah back about a point, then cal another point back.

That's for 14 recruits.
That includes 11 signees from the early period, and verbal commits Magnum-Farrar and Kelly. It also includes Tae Le, who is reported to be a preferred walk-on. Dropping Le from the list would lower our overall ranking and increase our per player average.
Tanner McKee choosing Stanford would be our top ranked recruit, by rather a lot, so would both increase our ranking quite a bit and also be completely irrelevant for next season as he will be going on a mission.

Speaking of missions, our class really also has two other guys (presumably) who will be coming back from missions and really should be considered part of this class though that is not how the services do things. These are WR Semi Fehoko and DE Loa Kaufusi (though at this point I don't remember what position Stanford envisioned for Kaufusi). Fehoko was rated well above our 2018 average, Kaufusi below.

I don't know what other teams have mission guys coming in, presumably Utah.

-----------
Overall, even if the coaches are doing a good job, Stanford recruiting is going to have its ups and downs (and it is not clear if the coaches did a good job this year).

This class generally resembles 2013.
That class was also small and poorly ranked. Again partly due to the way the available scholarships bunched and partly due to guys choosing elsewhere.
Officially 12 kids.
In that case, the count appears to include Sean Barton who really showed up two years later, it appears not to include Chandler Dorrell (did he get a scholarship?). I have a vague memory that there might have been a mission guy joining that class as well, though I cannot identify anyone from the list two years prior. 
It ranked #52 nationally (247 composite) and #11 in the Pac 12.
Our average recruit score was 87.80 (again way behind $C, also behind UCLA, but this time just beating out Oregon and UW).

The 2013 class didn't end up being any giant blow to Stanford football (and had standouts Kalambayi, Bright, and Hooper), but that was partly because both 2012 and 2014 classes were fairly large and highly regarded (2012 was nationally #7 with 22, 2014 was #13 with 20).

This time, 2017 was highly regarded but small (#14, with only 14 kids - actually beat out $C for highest average rating).
Folks are worried about 2019.
The biggest issue seems to be small numbers along the OL.