Five years ago, Stanford landed the top-rated recruiting class in school history — one regarded so highly that Andrus Peat, a future All-American and first-round pick in the NFL Draft, was not even the most decorated offensive lineman.

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Stanford’s projected 2017 recruiting class

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San Jose State football: National Signing Day preview Because of limited numbers, the group expected to sign letters of intent on Wednesday won’t match the ranking or collect the accolades of its predecessor.

But in one regard, the 2017 class is better. Never before in school history has Stanford corralled such a high percentage of elite players.

Here’s a preview of what to expect on National Signing Day.

Ranking: The major recruiting services disagree over the placement of Stanford’s class in the Pac-12 hierarchy. Rivals rates it No. 2 in the conference, while Scout slots it fifth. But they agree on one thing: Judged solely by the quality of the recruits — with quantity removed from the calculation — Stanford has the top class in the conference and one of the best in the nation: 4- and 5-star prospects account for more than half the group.

Class theme: Quality. That was covered in the previous section but is worth repeating: The Cardinal has three players rated No. 1 at their position in the country (per Scout) in quarterback Davis Mills, tight end Colby Parkinson and offensive tackle Foster Sarell. The Cardinal also has the No. 2 tackle, Walker Little, and two of the top-10 athletes (i.e., no established position) in Connor Wedington and Paulson Adebo

Class focus: The Cardinal targeted the offensive line, especially tackle, as a position of need in the class of 2017. That was addressed with Little and Sarell forming bookends for the future. Running back was also a point of emphasis with Christian McCaffrey off to the NFL and Bryce Love entering his junior season.

The QB situation: Mills is the top-rated Pro Style passer in the class. A product of Norcross, Ga., he’s 6-foot-4 and had scholarship offers from top programs across the country (including Michigan). Mills committed last spring and was instrumental in Stanford landing the touted offensive tackles.

Top non-QB: The class is loaded with potential difference-makers. One just joined: Wedington, the 4-star athlete from Sumner, Wash. Viewed as either a tailback or receiver, he committed to Stanford on Monday after switching his allegiance from Washington. He also had scholarship offers from Oregon and Notre Dame, among others.

They said it: “People look at the 10-win season as a transition season — Christian McCaffrey is gone. But Stanford recruiting has never been better than it has been over these last couple years,” said Brandon Huffman, national scouting director for Scout. “They’re poised to have strong class top to bottom even though it might not have the numbers that everybody else does.”