A scholarship from David Shaw and his coaching staff has become the hardest one to land in college football.

If you get one, consider yourself special.

According to the 247Sports database, Stanford has offered just 65 prospects in the 2017 recruiting cycle. Looking at a few of its peers, Pac-12 rival USC has 191 offers out and Michigan has extended 306. Given the rigid admissions processes in Palo Alto, Shaw has a much smaller pool to recruit from. But he still needs players who can compete for rings — the Cardinal has made eight consecutive bowl games, five of them in the then-BCS, now-New Year’s Six tier.

Mike Eubanks, Stanford’s Associate AD and Director of Recruiting, told 247Sports that Shaw & Co. scour America looking for “rare individuals.” Five-star tight end commit Colby Parkinson says anyone who wants to play at Stanford needs to possess “intellectual brutality.”

And these days, it seems like everyone wants to play at Stanford.

Stanford has 11 players committed in 2017, but it’s easily Shaw’s best class, pound-for-pound. Today’s release of 247Sports’ 32 five-star recruits backs that up. The Cardinal land four players there, including No. 1 overall player Walker Little. Stanford’s also nabbing the No. 1 quarterback, Davis Mills, and Parkinson, the No. 1 tight end. The other guy? That’d be No. 8 Foster Sarell, who spent from July to now as our No. 1 player.

Before any database updates reflecting the new rankings, Stanford’s ranks No. 19 in the 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings, despite having the least amount of verbals in the top-50. Its average commit rating — again, before updated player rankings — of 92.64 is fourth behind Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia.

In the midst of five out of six seasons with double-digit wins, three Rose Bowls, a Fiesta Bowl and three Pac-12 Championships, Shaw’s staff has sent out less than 100 offers the last four recruiting cycles combined, including 2017.

That’s a staggering number in today’s world of saturated scholarship offers. Even more impressive, the Cardinal land the majority of their targets: They work so hard to find guys who can both study and play at Stanford, they make damn sure they close on them.

In 2014, Shaw offered 80 prospects and committed 20 to finish No. 13 in the 247Sports Rankings. They offered 79 and signed 22 in 2015 to finish No. 24. Last year they offered 83 and brought in 25 to close with the No. 16 class in the land.

“Our coaches are looking for gym rats with as much passion in the film room as in the classroom,” Eubanks said. “That's where our evaluation process is unique. When we see one without the other, it's a clear red flag. We talk about that frequently in recruiting meetings. That young man will be more successful somewhere else.”

Stanford’s skills in evaluation, recruitment and then the all-important player-development make it one of the few well-oiled machines in college football.

“Coach Shaw is probably the most level-headed guy I ever met,” Parkinson said. “If you talk to him he knows what he’s about..”

Shaw returned to his alma mater in 2006 and helped Jim Harbaugh build Stanford into a 12-game winner in 2010 before taking the baton himself and leading the school to the most successful six-year stretch in program history. An NFL gig would easily be his if he wanted it.

“I’m at home,” is what Shaw tells recruits, according to Parkinson. “I don’t need to go anywhere. Stanford is a special place.”

If anything, the yearly NFL buzz helps Shaw’s case in living rooms.

“I think that is the big thing that helps him recruit top guys,” Parkinson said. “He’s the best coach in college football in my opinion who has the opportunity to go to the NFL every year and doesn’t because of the fact he’s at Stanford.”

“Stanford men” is another term often used to describe the type of person Shaw is looking for in his program, but he’s laid-back with his approach on the trail.

“What Stanford really sells is committing to the school and not the coaching staff,” Mills, the five-star quarterback, said.

Mills added Shaw is also brutally honest, telling him the playbook is tough to digest and the offense is a bear to learn. But if you can master it …

“He said Stanford is a school that builds great quarterbacks,” Mills said “It’s the best place in the nation to prepare yourself for the NFL.”

Welcome to the new normal in college football, where Stanford is beating Alabama and Georgia for recruits (Mills). And USC (Parkinson). And Texas (Little). And Notre Dame (Sarell).

A Stanford offer has become a huge game-changer in college football recruiting. How can you beat it?

“The biggest thing with them is the locker room” Parkinson said. “You want to be surrounded by guys that are like-minded and not just athletes. If you go to another school a lot of times it’s about football, get in and get out and get to the league. At Stanford, we’re setting ourselves up for the rest of our lives.”