2018 Introduction: Dawson Jaramillo
Stanford is still working through its 2017 offensive line recruiting, but the Cardinal has also reached out to a handful of the nation's top 2018 offensive linemen. Among them is Oregon standout Dawson Jaramillo, who hosted Cardinal quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard at his high school earlier in the spring evaluation period.
Stanford is still in the initial stages of its pursuit of Jaramillo, but they have communicated their interest and desire to have Jaramillo participate in a camp at the school
"(Pritchard) pretty much said, 'We're interested in you. We'd like you to come down to our camp.' That's pretty much it so far," Jaramillo said.
Jaramillo has not been to Stanford - though he has seen other parts of the Bay Area like San Francisco and Berkeley - but he does intend to camp with the program this summer.
Making a strong impression on the Cardinal coaches through his performance will obviously be a primary goal of the camp visit, but it won't be Jaramillo's only objective.
"I'm hoping to meet the coaches, like the head coach and obviously the offensive line coach," Jaramillo said. "And to talk to some of their academic administrators - talk to them about what they do for their players in an academic sense because I know Stanford is one of the best academic schools in the world. So see how they work with their players involving football and school and all that stuff. Yeah, (I want to participate in the) camp, yeah, meet the coaches, but also learn about their academic (situation), too."
Jaramillo already has a grasp on some aspects of the Stanford football program and university.
"Like I said, they're one of the best schools academic-wise," Jaramillo said... "It's hard to get into. Best of the best when it comes to smart kids and also football players, because a guy like Richard Sherman or Toby Gerhart - they're smart guys, but they're also great football players. Great tight ends come out of there, and great linemen, too. Andrew Luck (is another player who) comes to mind."
The Lake Oswego native is still waiting on his first offer, but numerous programs have expressed interest.
Offers could be close from programs like Cal (whose offensive line coach will visit this week), Washington, Oregon State and Oregon; Jaramillo will camp with the Huskies and Ducks in addition to the Cardinal this summer. He also visited Notre Dame a few weeks ago.
Jaramillo has interest in the Pac-12 and some national programs.
"The schools that I'm interested in are most likely going to be Pac-12 - I'd like to stay on the West Coast as much as I can," Jaramillo said. "But my non-Pac-12 schools that I'd be interested in are probably like Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan - Big Ten schools. Oklahoma State. Getting an offer from Oregon would be a dream come true for me. Getting an offer from Cal would be big. University of Washington would be big, too."
Jaramillo will consider a number of factors as he continues to navigate the recruiting process.
"Academics (will play a role)," Jaramillo said. "How the schools care for their athletes from an academic standpoint - do they have tutors? Do they have study sessions? How do they help their freshmen get acquainted to college life and school? I'm assuming it's a lot different than high school is. And also, how the coach interacts with his players - how are those relationships - players and the head coach. One thing I noticed when I was at the University of Washington for their Junior Day is that their head coach, he's smiling, he's talking to people. He had a great attitude in all the things that he talked about, which made me want to go there. What the players say about the school - is it just for football, is it more than that? How is campus life? Is it a school I can see myself going to is the bottom line."