Four-star considers commitment
Stanford has emerged as the leader for four-star cornerback Chris Hawkins and the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., standout said he's thinking about committing in the next week or so.
Making a pledge is not a certainty but Hawkins said after visiting Stanford and meeting with the coaches and players that the Cardinal is definitely the team to beat.
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"They offer one of the best educations in America and when I went up there on my trip I just felt at home," Hawkins said. "It felt like a place I wanted to be and I could see myself spending four years there.
"The campus was amazing and it was just the players that I met and the coaches. They made me feel really at home and I feel like I could adapt to the Stanford way of life."
Rated No. 159 in the early 2013 rankings by Rivals.com, Hawkins said he talks with his father on a daily basis about his recruitment and that they've discussed making a commitment.
Cal and UCLA were two other early favorites but Stanford has emerged as the clear leader.
All three of those Pac-12 schools along with Arizona, Arizona State, Boise State, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State and others have offered.
Of all those schools, Stanford is the team to beat.
"My dad and I talk about it every day and I'm considering committing," Hawkins said. "If I do commit it would be this week or next week. I feel pretty good. If I do commit I will be 100 percent with my choice.
"I know I want to go to Stanford now and I think that's the school I will attend. I have to focus on my SAT and things like that but they already told me I have a 98 percent chance of getting in so I feel really good."
Hawkins said if he makes the commitment then he can focus on track season, his academics and his senior year - Rancho Cucamonga is loaded with talent - and not have to worry about recruiting anymore.
"Now I could get to working harder, working on all my defensive back drills, keep running track without all that stuff on my mind and we can go out and get that state championship," Hawkins said.