Trent Irwin to Stanford: Cardinal Land 4-Star WR Prospect

Stanford's offense will likely be finding the end zone more often in the coming future thanks to the addition of wide receiver Trent Irwin.

After a lengthy recruiting process, Irwin announced his decision to commit to the Cardinal, according to Adam Gorney of Rivals.com:

"

Four-star WR Trent Irwin has committed to #Stanford instead of #ASU. Major pickup for Cardinal.

— Adam Gorney (@adamgorney) January 6, 2015"

Irwin, who checks in at 6'2" and 190 pounds, is a 4-star prospect out of William S. Hart High School in Santa Clarita, California, per 247Sports’ composite rankings. He's rated as the 10th-best wide receiver recruit in the country, the 76th-best prospect overall and the 13th-best player out of California in the 2015 class.

Bryan Fischer of NFL.com believes he is a sure-handed receiver: 

There were more than a dozen notable programs that recruited Irwin, many of which reside on the West Coast. Arizona State and Stanford were the favorites for quite some time, but UCLA, California, Washington State, Colorado, Vanderbilt and Minnesota, among others, were all in on Irwin at one point.

It’s no secret why so many schools were hoping to land his services.

He isn’t the fastest receiving prospect in his class (247Sports posted his 40 time as 4.60), but his game is very polished. With crisp route running and notable strength, Irwin is able to get open on the sidelines or across the middle of the field, and he never shies away from a hit.

Irwin would work well in a spread offense that features a number of wide receivers on the field at one time. In that scenario, the offense could line him up in the slot to run underneath routes, while speedsters draw the attention of the safeties on the outside. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Irwin put together a productive college career by catching five- to 15-yard passes and running after the catch, although he is capable of going deep.

Credit: 247Sports

What’s more, he is a solid blocker, so Irwin can develop into a three-down receiver in the majority of offenses, including David Shaw's.

The two things that jump out immediately with Irwin’s game, though, are his soft hands, which allow him to catch almost anything within his vicinity, and his nose for the end zone. Jeremy Crabtree of ESPN.com’s RecruitingNation and Brandon Huffman of Scout hinted at such:

Perhaps the best praise a scout or coach can give a young prospect is to point out his work ethic, and that is exactly what Scout.com director of scouting Scott Kennedy did when discussing Irwin, via Doug Haller of azcentral sports:

"

Reggie Miller wasn't an elite athlete, but he worked his ass off to get open on every single play and then he had an elite skill, which was to finish the 3-pointer. That's how I view Trent Irwin. He works harder than anybody on that field. He will never take a play off, and he's going to be a pain to cover every single snap. And if you get the ball anywhere near him, he's going to catch it. That's his elite skill.

"

If Irwin is drawing comparisons to Reggie Miller before he even steps on a college football field, regardless of sport, he is clearly doing something right.

As he continues to develop and fill out his frame, Irwin can become a valuable weapon for Stanford as a reliable target in the passing game.