[CardinalSagehen]

As you and Lex posit, Alabama recruits extremely well every year, with one or two Solomon Thomas quality players every year on the front seven, so wouldn't that make it much harder for five true freshman to start? It's not like basketball and every good player is one and done. 

Our recruiting has been relatively deficient over the last few years, right? One would think it'd be easier to find four freshmen to play, especially as our line recruiting has be woeful.

And as Mick pointed out, there are smart kids that play for Alabama too. Not every straight A football player dreams of playing for the Cardinal. Probably even fewer these days.

So no, I still don't understand the point.

And what exactly is your point?

Alabama has 4 frosh starting on the front 7. They're not getting pushed around.

And how many of them were admitted to Stanford?

I find it hard to believe you don't understand the point.  A Solomon Thomas comes around to Stanford about once every five or ten years.  Alabama recruits two of him every year.

If you’re saying or implying that Stanford is on an even playing field with Alabama when it comes to recruiting or football in general, you can’t be serious.  

My wife’s much younger cousin hangs around with NFL players as his business - he helps organize signing events, gets them into shows and events (using their fame), plays designated driver for them, etc. Our cousin was hanging out regularly with a player from Alabama that was quite literally illiterate, and somehow he made it through three years of college. I’m not trying to pick on this guy - maybe he’s dyslexic, I don’t know - but the point is that the vast majority of elite HS football players don’t have a chance at admission to Stanford. There’s no way this guy was taking AP courses when he couldn’t read a book, a short sentence or even his own name (according to my wife’s cousin).  

It isn’t just the academic standards.  It’s also Stanford’s tiny fan base, the lack of local interest in college football, and the rigors of actually being a student vs. simply focusing on football. As the physical dangers of football become increasingly alarming, the opportunity cost also becomes a bigger factor - our kind of player always has a safer plan B outside of football. Stanford as an institution is ambivalent about football in a way that you’d never see at places like Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson, ND, Penn State or Michigan.  

So there’s no point in comparing Alabama’s players or their freshmen to ours. That’s not to say we can never compete with them, but it would take a perfect storm of recruiting, coaching and luck.

[CardinalSagehen]

As you and Lex posit, Alabama recruits extremely well every year, with one or two Solomon Thomas quality players every year on the front seven, so wouldn't that make it much harder for five true freshman to start? It's not like basketball and every good player is one and done. 

Our recruiting has been relatively deficient over the last few years, right? One would think it'd be easier to find four freshmen to play, especially as our line recruiting has be woeful.

And as Mick pointed out, there are smart kids that play for Alabama too. Not every straight A football player dreams of playing for the Cardinal. Probably even fewer these days.

So no, I still don't understand the point.

And what exactly is your point?

Alabama has 4 frosh starting on the front 7. They're not getting pushed around.

And how many of them were admitted to Stanford?

I find it hard to believe you don't understand the point.  A Solomon Thomas comes around to Stanford about once every five or ten years.  Alabama recruits two of him every year.

If you’re saying or implying that Stanford is on an even playing field with Alabama when it comes to recruiting or football in general, you can’t be serious.  

My wife’s much younger cousin hangs around with NFL players as his business - he helps organize signing events, gets them into shows and events (using their fame), plays designated driver for them, etc. Our cousin was hanging out regularly with a player from Alabama that was quite literally illiterate, and somehow he made it through three years of college. I’m not trying to pick on this guy - maybe he’s dyslexic, I don’t know - but the point is that the vast majority of elite HS football players don’t have a chance at admission to Stanford. There’s no way this guy was taking AP courses when he couldn’t read a book, a short sentence or even his own name (according to my wife’s cousin).  

It isn’t just the academic standards.  It’s also Stanford’s tiny fan base, the lack of local interest in college football, and the rigors of actually being a student vs. simply focusing on football. As the physical dangers of football become increasingly alarming, the opportunity cost also becomes a bigger factor - our kind of player always has a safer plan B outside of football. Stanford as an institution is ambivalent about football in a way that you’d never see at places like Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson, ND, Penn State or Michigan.  

So there’s no point in comparing Alabama’s players or their freshmen to ours. That’s not to say we can never compete with them, but it would take a perfect storm of recruiting, coaching and luck.