Recruiting Analyst Raves About Stanford's 2024 Recruiting Class In Final Pac-12 Season

The Stanford Cardinal put together a strong recruiting class in what was Troy Taylor's first year on the job

When Troy Taylor initially was hired as the Stanford head coach, it was so late into the recruiting cycle in 2023 that he didn't get a chance to build the class up all the way like it needed to be.

In fact, Stanford was well below the scholarship threshold this past season, and being ravaged by the transfer portal didn't do anyone any favors. Once Taylor put together his staff and got down to coaching this past season, a couple of things were evident. The former Sacramento State head coach will likely get this team headed in the right direction fueled by his offensive prowess, and he is a much better recruiter than most people anticipated.

While there weren't questions about his willingness to recruit, there were questions about how he would approach recruiting at the Power 5 level. Something we got the answer to in a major way.

Stanford head coach Troy Taylor  / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY SportDarren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sport

The Cardinal ended up landing 24 commitments in total in the month of June, and saw their class rise all the way up to the top-10. Depending on what recruiting site you prefer, the Cardinal ended up with a class in or around the top 25, and there has also been a newly found respect for Taylor's ability to recruit despite the program's recent struggles.

In a recent article by Rivals' national recruiting director Adam Gorney, grades were given out for the entire Pac-12 for what was their last season together. Only Oregon, who notched a solid "A" had a better grade than Stanford. The Cardinal were given a grade of an "A-", which was also the same grade given to USC. Gorney highlighted the pass rushers that Taylor brought in, while also praising the gem of the class in four-star quarterback Elijah Brown.

Even after a 3-9 season under first-year coach Troy Taylor, Stanford finished with the third-best recruiting class in the Pac-12 as the program sells itself in many ways. Four-star defensive ends Benedict Umeh and Dylan Stephenson are two to watch and four-star quarterback Elijah Brown was a total winner at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. He should thrive in Taylor’s pass-first attack.

Taylor has already confirmed that he expects Brown to compete for the starting role with returning starter Ashton Daniels, and showed this past season that freshmen can get playing time right away if they earn in. Despite their stellar recruiting class and a couple of key transfers on defense, the Cardinal are still being doubted by the oddsmakers who gave them the lowest win total projection in the ACC recently.

Taylor will be relying on this class to serve as the foundation of the program, and it's certainly a good start.