

PALO ALTO, Calif. – When David Shaw and his assistant coaches go out in search of football recruits capable of playing for Stanford, the list of necessary attributes is long.

Superior academics are mandatory for admission and success at the elite university. Great athletic ability, strength and speed are a necessity to play for the reigning Pac-12 champions. Character, leadership and motivation are highly valued intangibles.

And then there is something unique Stanford coaches evaluate when meeting with a prospect, something that few would think predicts football success.

"Vocabulary," Shaw said.

Vocabulary?

"Yes, you look for vocabulary," he said. "Can this kid express himself in a way that befits a Stanford man?

"Does that correlate to football? I say, yes, absolutely. [We seek] a young man that has the confidence to stand up in front of you and express himself as opposed to what a lot of young kids do today – they don't give you eye contact, they kind of mumble when they talk to adults.

"You walk around and talk to our kids, they look you in the eye," Shaw continued. "And we play that way. We are going to play right at you, in your face, 'Here is who we are, here is how we play.' There is a one-to-one correlation. There is no doubt about it to me. The inability to be intimidated by a person or a situation is something that is significant."



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David Shaw is not some old codger who can't relate to the younger generation. He's a 40-year-old former Stanford player with nearly a decade of experience coaching in the NFL.

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It's not like he's sacrificing success on the field simply for the sake of strong communication skills either. He's led the Cardinal to a 23-4 record in his first two seasons, including its first Rose Bowl victory in over four decades.

And he was laying out his recruiting philosophy early on a bright sunny spring morning last week as a slew of NFL scouts, coaches and general managers mill about downstairs awaiting the start of Stanford's pro day.

"All 32 teams represented," Shaw notes. "It's validation that what we are doing is right. We are preparing guys for the NFL."

No, Shaw isn't some out-of-touch idealist. He's one of the brightest young coaches in the game, so competitive that he figured out how to take Stanford's inherent disadvantage – academic and cultural requirements that limit recruiting – and turn it into a positive. It's a magnet that will draw in high-quality kids seeking to be surrounded by their own.

"If we can fill a locker room with a whole bunch of guys like that, [players] that are tough and smart and have that kind of confidence and can work together, we are going to be good for a long time," he said.

Vocabulary? Yes, vocabulary.





Shaw grew up in the game. His father, Willie, was a long-time college and NFL assistant coach, including two stints at Stanford. David joined the program in 1990 and played wide receiver from 1991-1994. He also did a season on the basketball team. He returned in 2007 as Jim Harbaugh's offensive coordinator and became head coach in 2011.

He knows the program like almost no one else, from all angles and all perspectives, when it was both good and bad. After his second year under Harbaugh, Shaw tried to theorize what the key to success was.

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