Stanford offers two 2024 quarterback recruits in Elijah Brown and Austin Mack
There are a lot of questions surrounding the Stanford football program, whether it be about David Shaw's job security, the trenches, or arguably the most vital which is what to make of the quarterback situation.
After having an overcrowded quarterback room with six quarterbacks in 2021, the Cardinal are now without Isaiah Sanders, Jack West and Dylan Plautz. While there is no question as to who will be the starter this season as Tanner McKee is the guy, there is some room for concern as to who will replace him when he inevitably departs for the NFL. Something that can happen as soon as at the end of this season, as he has been projected by a handful of sites as a first round pick.
Stanford's depth chart consist of McKee, Ari Patu who has two games of experience, former three-star Ashton Daniels, and a couple of walk-ons. Theoretically with such a green quarterback room, David Shaw and company would have loved to add someone from the 2023 class which is loaded with arm talent. However, after Dylan Lonergan's recent commitment to Alabama, every quarterback that Stanford has offered in the 2023 class is committed elsewhere.
Not to mention, almost all of the top-50 quarterback recruits are committed in the 2023 class. This has left Stanford with no choice, but to turn their focus to the 2024 class, which they did, offering two quarterbacks on Tuesday.
Starting with the 6-foot-5 three-star out of Folsom, Austin Mack. He currently holds 10 offers from schools such as Oregon, Washington, Cal, and of course Stanford among others. Stanford may have an in with him considering Folsom is where current quarterback Ari Patu hails from as well. Mack ranks as the No. 456 player in the country and the No. 41 quarterback according to 247Sports' composite rankings.
The other quarterback they offered was four-star Elijah Brown, out of California power house, Mater Dei. A program that has produced Matt Leniart, Todd Marinovich, Matt Barkley, J.T Daniels, and Bryce Young. Brown is a top 50 player in the country holding offers from programs such as Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Stanford among a handful of others. His performance this past season garnered All-Trinity League First-Team, and also helped lead Mater Dei to a national championship. He holds a 17-0 record as the starter in two years.
When comparing the two, Mack has the prototypical size something we commonly see in Stanford quarterbacks, but Brown is a threat both in the air and on the ground. Considering Stanford likely won't be bringing in a quarterback from the 2023 class, it would not be shocking if they really pushed to bring in two quarterbacks from the 2024 class and both recruits would provide a major boost.