Stanford beats out USC, Utah for elite blue-chip tight end
Over the weekend, Stanford landed a second blue-chip commitment this week.
Walker Lyons, a 4-star tight end from Folsom (Calif.) and a top-100 prospect in the Class of 2023, announced his commitment to the Cardinal. Lyons chose to begin his career on the Farm over finalists that included Utah and BYU, USC, Alabama, and Ohio State. Head coach David Shaw and tight ends coach Morgan Turner won out at the end of the day.
TEU continues 🌲 committed. pic.twitter.com/AidUFlgtUB
— Walker Lyons (@walkerly0ns) July 23, 2022
Lyons had a busy month of official visits during June, but Stanford got him for the final look. He was at BYU on June 3, then Utah a week later. He was at USC on June 16 as part of a massive weekend for the Trojans, but Stanford brought him in the final weekend of the month.
“The biggest reason I picked Stanford is because they have a proven track record of developing NFL tight ends,” Lyons told 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman. “They’ve had the most drafted in the last 10 years, and coach (Morgan) Turner, who is going to be my coach, has developed them all. The other main reason is because it is the No. 1 academic institution in the world. That combination of proven success at my position in the NFL and academic excellence- there is truly not another school like it. Another thing is you can only play football for so long and this decision sets me up for life.”
When he signs, he’ll be the second-highest-rated recruit Turner has ever recruited. Lyons rates as a 4-star in the industry-generated 247 Composite. He’s the 87th-ranked overall prospect in the class and the fifth-ranked tight end.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end had 42 receptions for 646 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior last fall. In six appearances as a sophomore the year prior, Lyons hauled in 17 receptions for 281 yards and five scores. He also plays some defensive end for Folsom, where he has totaled 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks over the last two seasons.
His verbal pledge gives Stanford its 12th known commitment for the 2023 cycle and boosts the class ranking up to 35th nationally.
You can view his highlight tape below, via Hudl. He gets bonus points for the first clip being a blocking snap wherein he takes his man completely out of the frame.