It was 33 days ago today that Stanford head coach David Shaw said it would be "safe to assume" that recruiting a quarterback for the 2013 class would be a priority.
Over the weekend, assumption turned to fact.
The Cardinal picked up a commitment Saturday from Ryan Burns of Ashburn, Va. -- a 6-foot-5, 220-pound pro-style prototype who looks the part with pads on, and without.
Commitments this early -- especially from top-flight players like Burns, who is on the ESPNU 150 watch list for 2013 -- come with a double-edged sword. On one hand, you feel pretty good about locking up a player who is projected to be one of the best in the country at his position. But that also means you have to work to keep him. No doubt, other programs will be swooping in over the next 11 months to try to lure him away.
At the same time, he could turn out to be one of Stanford's strongest cheerleaders, which was the case with outside linebacker Noor Davis, who committed to Stanford last May and worked tirelessly to bring in more talent to bolster the 2012 class.
"I think every program in the nation always has one or two guys who commit early and is determined to help build the class," Shaw said in a signing-day Q&A.
It sounds like Burns is pretty solid with his commitment though, telling Mike Farrell of Rivals.com that neither Andrew Luck's departure, nor the outstanding offensive line class the Cardinal picked up in 2012, had an impact on his decision.
I would have picked Stanford regardless of how the previous [quarterback] did, but I had a really good time meeting him last summer.
Burns on the offensive line class:
It is a big bonus, but I would have picked them regardless.
The news comes as the current Cardinal squad is in the thick of a quarterback competition to replace Luck. Stanford started the first of two spring sessions last week with an emphasis on base offense and defense. Shaw said he doesn't expect to have a quarterback named until close to the start of the season, but hopes he'll have at least a pecking order in mind by the time Stanford wraps up spring drills.
Brett Nottingham, Luck's understudy last season, and Josh Nunes took the majority of snaps in an 11-on-11 drill, according to Tom Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Nottingham said his game "wasn't that sharp. Lots of things to clean up, but it's still relatively early in spring ball."
Shaw described Nottingham and Nunes as "not great, but solid."
The two are competing with Robbie Picazo, Kevin Hogan and Evan Crower to replace Luck, who graduated with most of Stanford's passing records and is all but inked in as the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
Burns is the second Cardinal commit to the 2013 class -- and also the second from Virginia. Linebacker Doug Randolph (Woodberry Forest), also on the ESPNU 150 watch list, committed to Stanford in June of 2011. Last year's Stanford media guide lists offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton as the primary recruiter in Virginia. The Cardinal appear to have a pretty good grasp of the region, having just signed defensive back Alex Carter (Ashburn, Va.) in the 2012 class. Carter, who Shaw called a "lock-down corner" was 111th on the 2012 ESPNU 150 list.