Stanford Welcomes 21 In #CardClass21

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STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford Football and Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football David Shaw announced the addition of 21 student-athletes during the NCAA's Early National Signing Period. Stanford will have the opportunity to sign additional student-athletes during the traditional signing period, set to begin Feb. 3.
 
Stanford, whose class currently ranks No. 29 according to PrepStar, added three student-athletes rated as four-star recruits during the early signing period. The class is composed of nine offensive players, nine defensive players and two specialists, and represents 11 states plus Ontario.

"This was a very targeted search for us to put this class together," said Shaw. "We were looking for guys who were going to fit us, and I'm feeling really good about where we are at.

"We've always been a national recruiter, and we will continue to be a national recruiter."
 
Stanford bolstered its depth along the defensive line, headlined by four-star recruit, Aaron Armitage. The Ajax, Ont. native, who attends Blair Academy in New Jersey, is rated unanimously as a top-five prospect in the Garden State, and is ranked the No. 8 strong-side defensive end nationally by Rivals.
 
Joining Armitage along the defensive line are top 100 defensive ends Zach Buckey and Anthony Franklin. 
 
Buckey continues a long-running sports bloodline as his father, Jeff, played football at Stanford before embarking on a career with the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. His great-grandfather, Sheldon Harden, played at Santa Clara before becoming the head coach at Cal Poly. Buckey is the 10th member of his family to play a Division I sport.
 
Joining the Cardinal under center is quarterback Ari Patu, one of the nation's highest-rated dual-threat quarterback prospects. Patu, hailing from Folsom, Calif., is a consensus top-25 dual-threat quarterback and ranks as high as No. 6 — per ESPN. Patu's father, Saul, and mother, Alana, played football and softball at Oregon, respectively. Saul went on to have a professional career in the NFL and the Arena Football League. His cousin, Naomi Mulitauaopele, played basketball at Stanford before being selected in the first round of the 2000 WNBA draft by the Utah Starzz.
 
Stanford added four defensive backs in this class — headlined by four-star recruit, Mitch Leigber. A Laguna Hills, Calif., native, Leigber is a unanimous top-40 safety and is ranked No. 28 by PrepStar and No. 37 by Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN. An all-CIF Southern Section honoree, Leigber is rated among California's top 50 prospects.
 
Joining Leigber in the defensive backfield are Caleb Ellis, the No. 51 ranked safety per ESPN, and consensus top-70 positional players in Jaden Slocum out of Georgia, and Jimmy Wyrick out of Texas. 
 
Coming to The Farm along the offensive line are Jack Leyrer, ranked the No. 37 tackle nationally by ESPN, and Jason Amsler — a Blue-Gray All-American Bowl invitee from Franklin, Tenn.
 
Also joining the class is offensive lineman Matthew Moore — who returns from an LDS mission this year after originally signing with Stanford in 2019 out of Alpine, Utah. 
 
Coming to The Farm at the skill positions are running back Brendon Barrow, wide receiver David Kasemervisz, wide receiver/running back Danny McFadden, and wide receiver Jayson Raines. 
 
Barrow is the No. 8 ranked all-purpose running back according to 247Sports and rushed for over 2,000 yards as a sophomore in 2018. McFadden is the fourth amongst his siblings to play Power 5 football, and the third to commit to the Cardinal, joining Connor (2010-13) and Pat (2013-16) who previously played at Stanford.
 
Raines is the nephew of current Los Angeles Chargers assistant coach, Alfredo Roberts. A two-time team captain, Raines is the No. 78 ranked wide receiver according to PrepStar and is a unanimous top-30 recruit from New Jersey.
 
The Cardinal also added Shield Taylor, the No. 18 ranked Y-tight end by ESPN, and Coco Lukrich — Utah's No. 8 recruit and a top-100 offensive guard by PrepStar, ESPN and 247Sports to play fullback on The Farm.
 
Stanford signed linebackers Ese Dubre, Duke Reeder, and William Stockwell to this year's class. Dubre is ranked as the No. 21 linebacker by Rivals and No. 31 by 247Sports, and arrives from Powder Springs, Ga.
 
At specialists, Stanford signed kicker Emmet Kenney and punter Connor Weselman. Kenney is the two-time North Dakota Special Teams Player of the Year and a five-star kicker according to Kohl's Kicking Camps. Weselman is ranked as a top-5 punter by PrepStar and 247Sports, and the No. 8 kicker by ESPN.
 
By position:
Offense (9)
RB: 1 (Brendon Barrow)
WR: 3 (David Kasemervisz, Danny McFadden, Jayson Raines)
QB: 1 (Ari Patu)
OL: 2 (Jason Amsler, Jack Leyrer)
FB: 2 (Coco Lukrich, Shield Taylor)
 
Defense (10)
DL: 3 (Aaron Armitage, Zach Buckey, Anthony Franklin)
LB: 3 (Ese Dubre, Duke Reeder, Will Stockwell)
DB: 4 (Caleb Ellis, Mitch Leigber, Jaden Slocum, Jimmy Wyrick)
 
Specialists (2)
K: 1 (Emmet Kenney)
P: 1 (Connor Weselman)
 
By state:
California (4)
Texas (4)
Georgia (3)
Ontario (2)
Arizona (1)
Louisiana (1)
Massachusetts (1)
Minnesota (1)
New Jersey (1)
North Dakota (1)
Tennessee (1)
Utah (1)