[JohnR34231]

Lost out on two recruits today: 4 star TE Jack Pedersen (UCLA) and 4 star RB Jadarian Price (Notre Dame)... 

Glad we already have a recruit committed for each position but the staff was still after both. 
This quote from Price is telling: 
"Stanford was one of my top schools at one point. That was a serious one for me. Obviously the academics at Stanford are up there and it's ranked toward the top across the country. But Notre Dame, its academics and football,” said Price. “I will have the chance to make it to the NFL, meet people all around the world, and get one of the best degrees in the world. It's both for me. It doesn't get any better than that when looking at football and academics."

Definitely unfortunate that we are now being looked at as an excellent academic school, but if you want top drawer football you go somewhere else.

Even in our best years that was true. Shaw has recounted the story about one recruit telling him that his (Shaw's) team "just wasn't good enough" to showcase the recruit's talents. Shaw has made it a goal to have that condition not recur, but it undoubtedly is an issue with the current team. However, even when Stanford is at it's best, if you want "top drawer" football you will find it at Alabama, Clemson, tOSU etc. The UFDG puts itself in that group. Their performance doesn't really justify that IMHO, but it is obviously somewhat commonly accepted. Hype sometimes does count.

That said, can Stanford beat those teams? Well, UFDG certainly, as we often demonstrate. However, facts aside, we are not and do not desire to be a "Football School". Just how it is. Some guys want a "Football School". Good on em, but that isn't Stanford.

Well, in 2010-2015 we went to five NY6 bowls, culminating in a #3 in the nation ranking.
I would call that a top drawer team.
I think our 2017 recruiting class considered us top drawer, since it included the #1 QB and TE in the nation, and two of the top OL.

[JohnR34231]

Lost out on two recruits today: 4 star TE Jack Pedersen (UCLA) and 4 star RB Jadarian Price (Notre Dame)... 

Glad we already have a recruit committed for each position but the staff was still after both. 
This quote from Price is telling: 
"Stanford was one of my top schools at one point. That was a serious one for me. Obviously the academics at Stanford are up there and it's ranked toward the top across the country. But Notre Dame, its academics and football,” said Price. “I will have the chance to make it to the NFL, meet people all around the world, and get one of the best degrees in the world. It's both for me. It doesn't get any better than that when looking at football and academics."

Definitely unfortunate that we are now being looked at as an excellent academic school, but if you want top drawer football you go somewhere else.

Even in our best years that was true. Shaw has recounted the story about one recruit telling him that his (Shaw's) team "just wasn't good enough" to showcase the recruit's talents. Shaw has made it a goal to have that condition not recur, but it undoubtedly is an issue with the current team. However, even when Stanford is at it's best, if you want "top drawer" football you will find it at Alabama, Clemson, tOSU etc. The UFDG puts itself in that group. Their performance doesn't really justify that IMHO, but it is obviously somewhat commonly accepted. Hype sometimes does count.

That said, can Stanford beat those teams? Well, UFDG certainly, as we often demonstrate. However, facts aside, we are not and do not desire to be a "Football School". Just how it is. Some guys want a "Football School". Good on em, but that isn't Stanford.

Well, in 2010-2015 we went to five NY6 bowls, culminating in a #3 in the nation ranking.
I would call that a top drawer team.
I think our 2017 recruiting class considered us top drawer, since it included the #1 QB and TE in the nation, and two of the top OL.