Trinh passes on numerous offers for Stanford walk-on spot

Stanford added another quality walk-on to its 2016 recruiting class on Saturday when Pace Academy (Georgia) outside linebacker Anthony Trinh announced his commitment to the Cardinal.

Trinh was previously committed to Princeton; he turned down upwards of 20 offers, including the Tigers, to attend Stanford.

Trinh will follow his older sister, Elizabeth, who is currently a sophomore at Stanford, out to Palo Alto.

"That's always been her dream school," Trinh said. "She applied there as well. When she heard she got admitted, it was a done deal, really."

Anthony Trinh's road to Stanford was slightly different.

Stanford extended him a preferred walk-on spot after he impressed at their camp last summer - he worked out at outside linebacker, which is where he projects in Stanford's 3-4 defense - but he was initially uncertain about going the walk-on route.

"I wasn't really sure that was the path I wanted to take at that point in my recruitment," Trinh said.

As the 2015 season progressed, Trinh's thinking changed.

"We won a state championship and Coach Anderson was at the game," Trinh said. "He said I played really, really well and he contacted me again when the season ended. That's when we got the ball rolling, really."

"As the season went on and I saw how successful the program is and how much allure they have as a program is really what compelled me to commit there."

Trinh said that he was officially admitted to Stanford "a while back."

"I was very, very excited," he said. "It's such an honor to be accepted into such a prestigious school, and it's something I really have worked hard for obviously in the classroom and on the field. So it was a really big honor."

Trinh, who started hearing from Stanford last spring, committed to the Cardinal on Friday. The appeal of continuing his football and academic career at his "dream school" trumped the possibility of entering college as an offered or scholarship player elsewhere.

"Stanford has always been my dream school," Trinh said. "It's the top academic school and obviously really has a standout football program as well. I really want to chase my dream and Stanford is my dream, so I felt like regardless of whether I'm on scholarship or not, I think I can still have a big impact in the program and I'm working hard to do that."

"I've followed Stanford football for a long time, since, like, Toby Gerhart has been there. That used to be my favorite player. I've really watched some of the linebackers, like Peter Kalambayi and Shayne Skov and all those guys. Those are guys I really want to aspire to be and I think I could be a good fit. I think my best skill as a football player is rushing the passer. So I think they'll be able to use me well in that sense."

He informed his recruiter and future position coach, Lance Anderson, of his choice.

"(Coach Anderson) said he was really excited to have me on board and he really thinks I can be an impact player," Trinh said. "He really thinks I have the tools to really become a piece of the program, is what his terminology was."

Perhaps one of the few people more thrilled to hear the news than Anderson was Trinh's sister.

"She was really excited," Trinh said. "Me and her are really, really close. She was screaming on the phone - she was just really, really excited. It was awesome to hear. I think she's been feeling kind of homesick, so me coming out there will be kind of big for her."

Elizabeth Trinh isn't Anthony's only connection to The Farm. His former Pace Academy teammate Denzel Franklin is currently a redshirt sophomore safety on The Farm.

"He went to my high school and we were pretty close as well," Trinh said. "He really served as a mentor to me when I was coming up through high school."