Sting Factor: Four-star TE Walker Lyons' decommitment from Stanford
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
When Walker Lyons committed to Stanford in July there were many reasons why the Cardinal won out, including the development of tight ends inside the program and the academic prowess there.
The recent development that coach David Shaw would resign, however, led the four-star tight end from Folsom, Calif., to reopen his recruitment.
Expected at USC this past weekend, Lyons had a change of plans late and wound up back at Stanford to see its loss to BYU. After the game, Shaw announced he would step down leaving many commits in attendance surprised by the decision.
In his recruitment, Lyons narrowed it down to Stanford, USC, Utah and BYU. There were rumors of a big SEC visit coming up and since the time of Lyons’ announcement, roughly two dozen programs have reached out to gauge interest.
It’s going to be really busy – once again – for one of the nation’s top tight ends.
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LOCAL REACTION
Lyons is really talented and would be a fantastic piece for the next Stanford coach to help build around. The main reason I don’t put it higher is because he won’t play until the 2025 season due to his LDS mission, so even if he does come to Stanford and recommits, it won’t be for a couple years. There’s plenty of time for the new staff to restock and reload by that time. – Ben Parker, CardinalSportsReport.com
Sting factor: 7
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NATIONAL REACTION
Lyons missed basically his senior season because of injury but if he was out there for Folsom he probably would have backed up his lofty ranking and more. He has size, speed, athletic ability and awesome hands. Stanford’s offense this year was putrid and over time he could have been a massive addition.
Yes, an LDS mission is being planned but coming back down the line, the four-star could have been one of the better tight ends in college football. This will particularly sting Stanford if it doesn’t get him back in the mix under a new coaching staff if he ends up somewhere in the Pac-12. That is very much a realistic option and with Stanford needing all the help it can get, this one stings. The attrition might not be done, either. – Adam Gorney, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 8