2016 Stanford recruiting storylines: Part two

Stanford's 2016 recruiting class has been signed and sealed for a week now, but the events of the recruiting cycle remain fresh on the minds of many.

With that backdrop, Cardinal Sports Report will count down the six biggest storylines of the Cardinal's 2016 class and recruiting cycle.

Previous: Nos. 6 -4

Stanford signed six recruits from the state of Texas in the 2016 recruiting class, a total believed to be the highest in the history of Cardinal football recruiting.

Three of the six Lone Star State prospects - Obi Eboh, who flipped his commitment from the Longhorns to the Cardinal, Michael Williams and Kaden Smith - had offers from the University of Texas. Stanford memorably went through a period of many years where they did not sign a single prospect from the state of Texas who held an offer from the Longhorns. Solomon Thomas broke that streak in 2014.

Interestingly, Stanford didn't sign a single player from Texas in the 2013 or 2015 classes. They signed two in 2014. Such variance supports David Shaw's assertion that Stanford's primary recruiting ground is wherever the most academically inclined top football players happen to reside in a given year.

Several Cardinal coaches were involved in Stanford's Texas recruiting in 2016. Tavita Pritchard, who recruits the Dallas area, helped get things rolling with Mike Williams and Kaden Smith. Duane Akina formed strong relationships with Obi Eboh and Paxton Segina. Pete Alamar led the charge on long snapper Richard McNitzky. Lance Taylor helped convince record-setting running back Trevor Speights that The Farm was an ideal fit.

In short, it was very much a group effort.

In addition to the sheer numbers, which are impressive, the Texas recruits possess plenty of ability.

Kaden Smith was arguably the nation's top tight end and could have essentially named his college destination. Smith was probably the best tight end at Stanford's camp when he attended... following his freshman year of high school. He was the first recruit in the 2017 class to receive a Cardinal offer.

Like Smith, Mike Williams also had a national offer list. He chose Stanford over the Longhorns, Oklahoma, Ohio State and many others in July. The Cardinal withstood a late push from Texas to ink the talented defensive linemen.

Trevor Speights is the No. 4 all-time leading rusher in the history - yes, history - of Texas high school football. The Lone Star State has produced a few decent runners over the years, of course. Speights picked the Cardinal over offers from Texas A&M, Tennessee and many others.

Oklahoma and Texas were among the programs that pushed for Eboh, who flipped to the Cardinal in late January.

Richard McNitzky should be a multi-year contributor at long snapper, and Paxton Segina will arrive at The Farm filling a position of need following an immensely productive high school career.

Stanford will generally hold five or so Junior Days over the course of the recruiting year. For those not familiar, Junior Days are essentially organized unofficial visits that give junior prospects (and occasionally underclassmen) an extended look at life on The Farm.

It's common for significant percentage of Stanford's signing class to attend at at least one.

What's unusual is for a single Junior Day to be as talent-laden and productive as Stanford's second Junior Day of the 2016 recruiting cycle, in April, 2015 was.

Of the 20 or so recruits who spent the weekend of April 4-5 on The Farm, a staggering eight, including four four-stars and one five-star, ended up signing with Stanford: Devery Hamilton, Obi Eboh, Donald Stewart, Bo Peek, Clark Yarbrough, Simi Fehoko, Treyjohn Butler and Curtis Robinson.

The weekend was, on the one hand, productive because it exposed so many top recruits to all that Stanford has to offer as a university and football program.

But the impact extended far beyond that.

It also served as a key bonding experience for a number of future teammates and Cardinal signees. Stanford's group text message chat started following that weekend. Friendships were formed and a comfort level was established - this would come in handy late in the cycle with several recruits who were undecided, including Donald Stewart and Obi Eboh.

The Cardinal will host its first Junior Day weekend of the 2017 recruiting cycle later this month. If it achieves even a percentage of the success as last April's, there will be plenty of smiles around the program's football offices.

While Stanford has featured a number of dynamic skill position players over the last decade, the program's success has in large part been keyed by strength along the line of scrimmage.

This applies to both the Cardinal offensive line, which has produced three of the last four Morris Trophy (awarded to the Pac-12's premier offensive and defensive linemen) winners, two Outland Trophy finalists (awarded to the nation's premier offensive linemen), an Outland Trophy winner and five (soon to be seven) NFL picks, as well as the Stanford defensive line, which has been among the nation's best for much of the past half decade.

Both units received significant reinforcements in the 2016 class.

The offensive line might not have the star power of the Cardinal's historic 2012 class (and it wouldn't be fair to compare the units quite yet), but there is significant excitement about the incoming prospects at the position.

Four-star tackles Devery Hamilton and Clark Yarbrough have plenty of upside and could be franchise left tackles. Three-star New Mexico standout Henry Hattis is among the class' most underrated recruits. Three-star Hawaii guard Nate Herbig had one of the most dominant performances at Stanford camp anyone has produced in the last few years. And while three-star Missouri interior lineman Dylan Powell doesn't have the a comparable recruiting profile to some of his classmates, he was nonetheless a coveted prospect following a strong senior campaign. Add Matthew Gutwald, who turned down 20 D1 offers, including six from the Pac-12, to walk-on at Stanford, and the Cardinal's optimism is easy to understand.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal's 2016 defensive line class could go a long way toward solving some of the depth issues that have been present at the position for several years. Florida's Bo Peek, the first 2016 player to commit to Stanford, projects as a nose tackle. He'll enter Stanford at right around 300 pounds.

Mike Williams, who was probably the most heavily recruited of the Cardinal's defensive line signees, will also arrive on The Farm at around 300. He, like Indiana defensive lineman Jovan Swann, has the versatility to play several positions along the defensive front.

Thomas Schaffer, the first Austrian native to play FBS football, rounds out the group. The athletic 6-foot-7, 270-pounder has drawn comparisons to Henry Anderson.

That Stanford added nine scholarship offensive and defensive linemen (and a Power 5 caliber prospect in Matt Gutwald) is a significant reason why the 2016 recruiting class is, at least on paper, a smashing success.