Troy Taylor makes noise in recruiting world during first year at Stanford
I think it may be a year or two before we start talking about the Stanford Cardinal in any way that resembles the way that we used to in the Pac-12 as a power on the field, but new head coach Troy Taylor is quickly starting to make some noise on the recruiting front.
After getting hired by Stanford back in December of 2022, leaving Sacramento State, Taylor has found his way into the top 25 of the national recruiting rankings after landing an elite 4-star edge rusher on Tuesday that currently leads the class.
Dylan Stephenson chose to commit to Stanford over schools like Florida State, Auburn, and Arizona State. He is rated by 247Sports as the No. 158 overall player in the 2024 class, and No. 13 EDGE in the nation.
BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE Dylan Stephenson has Committed to Stanford!
The 6’5 240 EDGE from Miami, FL chose the Cardinal over Florida State, Auburn, & others
“This is the place that the best come to work on and off the field. Let’s get back to smelling the roses.”… pic.twitter.com/n8Hdz2YFqn
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 13, 2023
The Cardinal also have a commitment from 4-star EDGE Naki Tuakoi in 2024, the No. 291 overall player and No. 22 player at his position in the class.
With the latest commitment, Stanford is now 16th in the national recruiting rankings, and they moved in front of USC for the No. 2 class in the Pac-12 so far this cycle.
While it’s been a while since we talked about the Cardinal as a team that you need to worry about contending in the Pac-12, the early days for Taylor are showing some life. There’s a chance that they could continue to close on several blue-chip players and put a solid 2024 class together. Of course, that won’t end up playing out on the field for at least a year or two, but if Taylor can stack talent in the offseason, both via recruiting and the transfer portal, then we may see Stanford get back to the great team they were for so many years under David Shaw and Jim Harbaugh over the past decade-plus.
