Madhu pledges to Stanford

Tampa (Fla.) Plant safety Drew Madhu began a tour of schools around the country with a stop at Stanford University. While stops at numerous other schools will occur during the tour, Madhu landed an offer from the Cardinal and immediately took it.

"I committed about an hour ago," Madhu said.

The Central Florida prospect explained why he chose the Pac-12 school for his future home.

"It's a great school and I know Coach (David) Shaw will continue to do great things there," Madhu said. "I just didn't see the point in waiting around. I liked all the schools that were recruiting me, how when the Stanford offer came I talked with (Plant Head) Coach (Robert) Weiner and my parents which made the decision to commit final."

Coach Shaw wasn't the only member of the staff that influenced his decision. His primary recruiter was run-game coordinator and offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren.

With a 5.2 weighted GPA, Madhu said that Stanford's academics also played a major role in his decision.

"Their academic prestige played a big role in my decision," Madhu said. "The fact that Stanford has the No. 1 business school in the nation just made things that much easier."

Madhu continued his tour of schools, but says that he is firm in his decision.

"I am actually in Connecticut at the moment and just finished a Purdue tour," Madhu said. "However, my commitment to Stanford is a solid one."

The 6-foot-1, 196-pound prospect also held offers from Elon, Florida International, Harvard, and UAB.

As a junior, Madhu recorded 110 tackles, a sack, an interception, 14 pass deflections, forced two fumbles, and recovered two fumbles.