Stanford Football: Latest Summer News and Recruiting Updates

While many believe that Stanford is going to fall off the face of the earth, it does return 13 starters from a year ago. The Cardinal also have a 2012 recruiting class coming in that includes 22 talented players, such as several 5-star linemen and a speedster running back whose father is Barry Sanders.

In 2013, Stanford has only landed six recruits so far, but do have one of the top linebackers in 5-star Isaac Savaiinaea. There are also many top players that are considering heading out west to play for this prestigious school as well.

With fall camp right around the corner, here is some of the latest team news and recruiting updates for your 2012 Stanford Cardinal.

Stanford Once Again Best Sports Program

For the 18th straight year, Stanford has the No. 1 sports program in the country, winning the Learfield Sports Directors Cup, which is awarded to the school with the most success in collegiate athletics (from the Mercury News). The voting is determined by a point system and when you factor in how well Stanford did as a program, there was only one clear-cut winner.

Stanford won national championships in women's soccer, women's water polo and women's lightweight rowing, while 17 programs finished in the top 10 nationally. Several players were also named athlete of the year in their respective sports, including Andrew Luck in football and Mark Appel in baseball.

Stanford Also Has Highest APR in Pac-12

Not only is Stanford considered the most successful in sports, it also has the best graduation rate in the conference (from ESPN). Only a few other schools such as Yale, Penn, Brown and a few others, had a higher APR rating than Stanford's 977 multi-year rating. The academic progress rating is not based on the school's academics, but is an early indicator of eventual graduation rates.

Head coach David Shaw is not that impressed, however.

"We strive to be No. 1," he said. "That's where we are. We want to be the best of both worlds on and off the field."

Peter Kalambayi Commits

Stanford already has one of the better linebacker corps in college football, so it was only right that it picked up one of the top linebackers in the 2013 class in Peter Kalambayi. He has solid size at 6'2", 235 pounds, high football IQ and very good instincts. He really liked that Stanford is more than just a football school, which is why he picked the Cardinal over Florida, Michigan and Ohio State, among others.

“It’s a great conference,” he said. “What I really like about Stanford is you get to play in a big-time conference and also get one of the best educations in the world.” (Via Scout.com.)

Kalambayi had over 30 scholarship offers and is listed as a 4-star middle linebacker on most top recruiting sites.

Francis Owusu Commits

Francis Owusu is one of the better receivers in the country at 6'2", 200 pounds. He is a physical player, who has great hands and makes difficult catches in traffic look routine. He had offers from schools like Florida, Notre Dame and Tennessee, but says it came down to Stanford and Harvard. Yes, you read that right. 

“Just knowing that I have the opportunity to succeed both in academics and athletics, I'm very happy,” Owusu said. “The dream is to go to the NFL so (Stanford) is where I want to go.” (Via Scout.com.)

If this was just a football decision, it could have been a heated battle. But since academics played a huge part in the 4-star wide receiver's choice as well, the Cardinal was the obvious choice.

Hunter Henry Has Stanford in Top 6

Hunter Henry is considered one of the top tight ends in this year's class. He has ridiculous size at 6'6", 240 pounds, catches everything thrown his way and has above-average route running skills. The 4-star recruit is from Little Rock, AR, but does not seem to mind leaving home to play football.

“I have now had a chance to see all six schools because my dad and I flew out to see Stanford last month,” Henry said. “I enjoyed the trip and it’s a very good school.” (Via Scout.com.)

Stanford is currently in his top six schools that also includes Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt. There is no timetable set for when he will make his decision.