Stanford Adds Three-Star OL to Help Rebuild in Trenches

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New seasons mean new beginnings and that rings true with the Stanford Cardinal. As they turn the page from the Pac-12 Conference era to the Atlantic Coast Conference era, new recruiting horizons have presented themselves.

Coach Troy Taylor and his staff added their 12th recruit of the 2025 class this week after welcoming Emeka Ugorji out of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas as the school's third offensive lineman into the fold. With the addition, Stanford adds a third quality lineman to their recruiting class.

Stanford Rebuilding in the Trenches

For the Cardinal, they continue rebuilding efforts beginning in the trenches adding a third lineman to their 2025 recruiting class in the 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive tackle Ugorji. Officially a three-star recruit, Ugorji shows solid lateral agility to pull and punish would-be defenders. He plays with a great base and looks to establish his presence early.

He shows a great combination of heavy and violent hands to engage defenders, and the instincts to keep his feet moving and drive defenders away. He's got the football intelligence and instincts to know when to contribute on combo blocks and the athletic ability to shed the initial blocker and move to the second level.

For the Cardinal and Taylor, Ugorji provides a valuable asset to improve the team, especially along the offensive line. The three-star recruit provides an athletic bulldozer capable of both creating running lanes and protecting the quarterback on passing plays. With the Cardinal, a move to guard could be in the future for the commitment while in Palo Alto, Calif. Ugorji chose Stanford over Arizona State, Baylor, Cal, SMU and Texas A&M, among others. His addition moves the Stanford recruiting class to 22nd in the country.

As Stanford prepares to begin play in the ACC, the rebuild efforts are taking shape as Taylor and his staff look to build up the offensive line with dynamic pieces that can move laterally as well as drive defenders away with ease.

Looking at his high school film, Ugorji has the tools to succeed at the college level. For the Cardinal, the commitment helps solidify an area of need for the team.