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Cardinal Class '16: Kaden Smith

Key Stats
Marcus High School -- Flower Mound, Texas
Tight end. 6'5" 250 pounds.
Rivals Rank: Four stars; #3 tight end.
ESPN Rank: Four stars; #2 tight end.
Scout Rank: Four stars; #2 tight end.
247 Rank: Four stars; #2 tight end.
Key Offers: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M

Profile:
In the past five years Stanford has been a tight end factory, developing Coby Fleener, Zach Ertz, Levine Toilolo, and Austin Hooper and sending them on to the NFL. If you were an elite high school tight end, why would you consider anywhere else? Kaden Smith fits that description, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that he chose to follow in those footsteps.

All you really need to know about Smith is revealed at the top of this post -- he was rated as one of the top two or three prep tight ends in America, and he was coveted by college football royalty. He turned down eight SEC offers, and in the end his decision came down to Alabama and Stanford, with the Cardinal obviously getting the nod.

Watching his senior year highlight video, it takes only about thirty seconds to start feeling sorry for his high school foes; after a minute or two you begin to worry about his future Pac-12 opponents. Yes, he's that good. What jumps out immediately is Smith's incredible versatility. He's clearly the top athlete on his team, so he's used in a variety of ways -- as a traditional tight end lined up along the line of scrimmage, as an extra blocker in the running game, and as a wide receiver split out wide. He excels in all three roles, but it's his pass catching ability that truly sets him apart. Whether he's coming across the field on a short crossing route or galloping free down the middle or outleaping smaller defenders on a fade route, he always catches the ball with his hands. (How good are his hands? Check out this video from last spring in which Smith breaks Odell Beckham, Jr's Guiness world record for most one-handed catches in a minute.) This isn't a big kid learning the game, this is an elite athlete who will be a matchup nightmare in the Pac-12 and beyond.

With the current tight end depth on the Stanford roster it's unlikely that Smith will see the field in 2016, but the thought of playing him along with Dalton Schultz and Greg Taboada to form another tight end triplet group could prove too much for David Shaw to resist. Either way, the future could not be brighter for Kaden Smith and Stanford football.

Cardinal Class '16: Trevor Speights

Key Stats
McAllen Memorial High School -- McAllen, Texas
Running back. 5'11" 207 pounds.
Rivals Rank: Three stars; #22 running back.
ESPN Rank: Three stars; #56 running back.
Scout Rank: Four stars; #22 running back.
247 Rank: Three stars; #18 running back.
Key Offers: Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

Profile:
With Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love already known commodities and Cameron Scarlett on the way, there is no immediate need for running back help, but Trevor Speights is a great addition for the future. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do with high school statistics, but Speights's numbers are mind boggling. He rushed for 9,868 yards in his career, good for fourth in state history, and in his senior year alone he ran for 3,180 yards with fifty touchdowns. Yes, this is high school, but FIFTY touchdowns!

The film on Speights is impressive. Sure, you'll see plenty of highlight runs with ridiculous juke moves and breakaway speed (he's been clocked at a blazing 4.38 for the forty), but what really jumps out is that Speights is a complete player, more than willing to block for others and capable of getting out into the pass pattern as well. He's also versatile. He seems equally comfortable running between the tackles and outside the hashmarks, and there are similarities between his high school offense and the one he'll be running at Stanford, which will help his transition to Pac-12 play.

By all accounts, Speights is also a great kid. (Check out this short clip on his signing, which includes a few quick interviews with Speights and his head coach.) There's no question that he'll do well at Stanford -- in the classroom, in the locker room, and on the field.

Cardinal Class '16: Donald Stewart

Key Stats
Paramus Catholic High School -- Paramus, New Jersey
Wide receiver. 6'4" 200 pounds.
Rivals Rank: Three stars; #74 wide receiver.
ESPN Rank: Three stars; #77 wide receiver.
Scout Rank: Three stars; #103 wide receiver.
247 Rank: Three stars; #104 wide receiver.
Key Offers: Boston College, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Washington State

Profile:
There is no natural rivalry between Stanford and Michigan, but since the Wolverines hired former Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, something has been developing. Harbaugh has attempted to hire way several key Cardinal assistants, and fans of the two schools always notice when their recruiting interests overlap. Wide receiver Donald Stewart was one of those recruits, and his choice to come to the Farm represented a big win for the Cardinal. (It wasn't the only win for Shaw over Harbaugh on National Signing Day, but more on that in the days to come.)

Stewart gives the Cardinal a big receiver. At 6'4" he's the same height as the graduated Devon Cajuste, and he'll be the tallest receiver on the Stanford roster this fall. The highlight tape from his senior season shows him taking advantage of his stature by outleaping defensive backs, but he also shows ability as a route runner, dropping double moves to leave overmatched corners at the line of scrimmage. Just like running backs must be able to pass protect in the Stanford system, wide receivers are required to block downfield. Thanks to his size and athleticism, this won't be a problem for Stewart.

As he prepares to get on the field for the Cardinal -- probably in 2017 -- Stewart will likely work on becoming more versatile. His reported 4.65 forty time might not allow him to blow by Pac-12 defensive backs as easily as he did in high school, so he'll have to continue to work on his route running and possibly adapt to a role as a slot receiver. Assuming that he checks those boxes, Donald Stewart will no doubt develop into an important part of the Stanford offense in the not too distant future.

Cardinal Class '16: Jován Swann

Key Stats
Center Grove High School -- Greenwood, Indiana
Defensive tackle. 6'3" 265 pounds.
Rivals Rank: Three stars; #44 defensive tackle.
ESPN Rank: Three stars; #51 defensive tackle.
Scout Rank: Three stars; #34 defensive tackle.
247 Rank: Three stars; #46 defensive tackle.
Key Offers: Boston College, Iowa, Michigan State, Mississippi State, North Carolina

Why he chose Stanford:
"I chose Stanford University for a multitude of reasons, but the main three reasons are the outstanding degree I will obtain from the University, the football program that has amazing support for their student-athletes on and off the field, and the network of Stanford University that I will be apart of for the rest of my life. "

One non-football thing Stanford fans should know about him:
"One non-football thing that Stanford fans should know about me is that not only do I like to eat, but also cooking has been somewhat of a talent of mine for the past couple years."

Profile:
There are needs which must be addressed by every recruiting class, but if the past two seasons have taught us anything, it's that there will always be a need for defensive line depth. Jován Swann is one of the three recruits coming to Palo Alto to improve that depth and eventually provide production.

A few quick notes about Swann. First and foremost, he was born in Detroit, which quickly makes him my favorite member of this class. Second, he was named the 2015 Indiana State Defensive Player of the Year and led his team to the state championship last fall.

Those accolades won't help him in the Pac-12, but Swann's tape shows a relentless defender who's been coached well. He uses his brute strength to overpower offensive linemen, but when he can't get to the quarterback, he's still able to get his hand up into the passing lane for deflections. He's also more than just a space eater. He's athletic enough to corral quarterbacks and chase down running backs, and that athleticism will serve him well at Stanford. He's probably still a bit light to play in the interior at the collegiate level, but there's time for that. Look for Swann to spread his wings in the fall of 2017.

Cardinal Class '16: Jet Toner

Key Stats
Punahou School -- Honolulu, Hawaii
Kicker. 6'3" 180 pounds.
Rivals Rank: Two stars.
ESPN Rank: Three stars; #26 kicker.
Scout Rank: Three stars; #8 punter.
247 Rank: Three stars; #7 punter.
Key Offers: Army

Let's get one thing out of the way right now -- if there's a kid out there named Jet Toner, I want him on my team, plain and simple. Any on-field production is gravy, and I think we can expect plenty of gravy from Toner. I never thought I'd sit through a kicker's four-minute highlight video, but Toner's tape is impressive. Playing for Hawaii's Punahou School, the same island powerhouse that produced big hitters Luke Kaumatule and Barack Obama, Toner excelled on big stages. His film shows him pounding forty- and fifty-yard field goals with regularity and with yardage to spare. Stanford has historically encouraged punters and place-kickers to walk on to the team and has only rewarded them with scholarships once they've earned a starting position, but the coaching staff strayed from that model here, no doubt enthralled by what Toner can do. Fifth-year senior Conrad Ukropina is firmly entrenched as the place kicker, and senior Alex Robinson will handle the punting duties, but Toner's versatility could allow him to back up both those players immediately and possibly save the team a scholarship by holding down both jobs in the very near future. 

Cardinal Class '16: Mike Williams

Key Stats
All Saints' Episcopal School -- Fort Worth, Texas
Defensive tackle. 6'2" 300 pounds.
Rivals Rank: Three stars; #36 defensive tackle.
ESPN Rank: Four stars; #28 defensive tackle.
Scout Rank: Four stars; #25 defensive tackle.
247 Rank: Four stars; #35 defensive tackle.
Key Offers: Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Texas, UCLA

Why he chose Stanford:
"The education at Stanford was easily the most important thing for me."

One non-football thing Stanford fans should know about him:
"Stanford fans should know I am a good chess player, and I am willing to play anyone and beat them."

If football were a game of chess, Mike Williams would be a rook -- strong and solid, but capable of devastating attacks to disrupt his opponent. Watching his game film, fans will immediately be reminded of David Parry and Aziz Shittu, recent Stanford tackles who used strength, leverage, and quickness to disrupt running plays and collapse pockets. Like Parry and Shittu, Williams lines up almost exclusively over the center or opposing guard, and he wins those battles easily. There's also another comparison to Shittu. Like Aziz, Williams will also make an impact with his personality. It won't be a surprise if he develops into one of the emotional leaders of the defense before he graduates. 

Although Williams committed to the Cardinal almost a year ago, the University of Texas continued courting him up until Signing Day, when Big Mike finally signed his letter of intent (spurning 28 other offers) and became the next in a long line of Texans to head west to Palo Alto. Stanford's defensive line depth is still thinner that it should be, so it's possible that Williams, who's already physically ready for Pac-12 play, could challenge for playing time as early as this fall.

Cardinal Class '16: Clark Yarbrough

Key Stats
Woodberry Forest School, Woodberry Forest, West Virginia
Offensive tackle. 6'6" 268 pounds.
Rivals Rank: Four stars; #22 offensive tackle.
ESPN Rank: Four stars; #12 offensive tackle.
Scout Rank: Four stars; #24 offensive tackle.
247 Rank: Four stars; #18 offensive tackle.
Key Offers: Clemson, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma

If you've been paying attention to Stanford football over the past decade, you know all about Toby Gerhart and Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan and Christian McCaffrey, but if you've really been paying attention, you know that all of the success those gentlemen have had has been courtesy of the most consistently dominant group of offensive linemen in the nation. The Cardinal will seek to build on this tradition with the recruiting class of 2016, and one of the key pieces is tackle Clark Yarbrough.

There are two ways you can measure a recruit. The first is the list of scholarship offers, and Yarbrough's is impressive, a list that includes the major players in each of the Power 5 conferences. The second method is to dig in and watch the film, and Yarbrough passes this test as well. (Click here for his senior year highlights.) At 6'6" he has a decided advantage over his high school peers, but what jumps off the screen is his willingness to use his athleticism. When he's on an island in a man blocking scheme, Yarbrough has no trouble driving his defender ten or fifteen yards out of the play, but he also does well in zone blocking situations as he obliterates one defender and then goes hunting for another, showing a bit of a mean streak that will serve him well on Stanford Saturdays. Oh, and did I mention the athleticism? Take a look at these basketball highlights. You might expect someone of Yarbrough's size to be space-eating center in the middle of a 2-3 zone, but he's much more than that. His clean footwork in the post will translate nicely when he's asked to slide down the line of scrimmage in run blocking, and his passing skills show a vision that will serve him well both before and after the snap.

The bottom line is that Clark Yarbrough is an athlete. The key to his future success will be whether or not he can maintain his athleticism and flexibility as he adds another twenty or thirty pounds of mass over the next two years. Expect him to jump into the rotation in 2017 and battle for a starting spot as early as 2018.