Before building the 2010 team at football camp in August, Stanford’s coaches have another challenge to take care of — building the 2011 team. A good part of the offseason is devoted to recruiting those who will not step into Stanford Stadium in cardinal and white for more than a year’s time — the rising high school seniors who exemplify what the program is all about.

“We’re looking for a young man who does a great job in the classroom, a person that’s an exceptional football player and an elite athlete,” said assistant coach Tim Drevno.

The demanding task may begin years in advance, as the Stanford staff develops a close relationship with high school coaches, requests the transcripts of potential recruits early on and counsels them on what they have to do academically to get into Stanford.

Assuming all the scholastic requirements are met, attracting a recruit to Stanford becomes easier.

“This is the only school in America where you can get an Ivy League education and win the BCS National Championship,” Drevno said. “Stanford really sells itself.”

And in recent years, that sales pitch has been enough to give Stanford some of the top recruiting classes in the nation. As of July 6, Stanford has more commitments from the class of 2011 than any other Pac-10 school; while Stanford has 20 players committed, the University of Washington (with 14) is the only other school in the conference to have more than 11 commitments, according to Scouts, Inc.

Not all of the focus is on numbers, however.

“We’ve really made a big emphasis on trying, from top to bottom, to have a real quality class where every recruit we bring in is a legitimate BCS-level football player,” said assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Lance Anderson.

Drevno attributes Stanford’s high number of recruits to the program’s growing reputation as a football power, which he traces to a number of factors, including the fame of star players such as Toby Gerhart and Andrew Luck and wins on national television against strong opponents such as Notre Dame. Another critical difference has been Head Coach Jim Harbaugh’s successful turnaround of the program: after winning just one game in 2006, Stanford has improved its record for three consecutive years, playing in its first bowl game since 2001 last season.

Some of the program’s most striking recruiting successes have come from the East Coast. Recently-committed Devon Cajuste is one of only a handful of Stanford recruits from New York City in the last few decades. Anderson claims that the strong contingent of East Coast recruits is partly a result of chance.

“It just seems like every year it’s a little bit different in terms of where we find those guys who are a good fit both academically and athletically,” he said.

According to Drevno, nationwide recruiting at Stanford has always been necessary.

“You have to scout all 50 states at Stanford because there’s such an academic standard for student athletes here,” he said.

The coaches have a standard of their own to meet — a moral one.  A host of NCAA regulations dictate what coaches can and cannot do during the recruiting process, often to ensure that student-athletes don’t receive special rewards or payments.

The consequences of wrongdoing can be dramatic. Recently, an NCAA investigation revealed that USC had committed recruiting violations and given improper benefits to Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and basketball star O.J. Mayo. USC was penalized with the forfeiture of monetary winnings, postseason bans of one and two years for basketball and football, respectively, and scholarship reductions, among other sanctions.

Though Stanford hasn’t had serious problems of its own with recruiting violations, the punishment handed down to USC serves as a stern reminder of the impact that recruiting violations can have.

“It’s so detrimental to your football team. It can really hurt your program for years to come,” Drevno said.

“We’ve all got to lay our head down on the pillow every night knowing we’ve done the right thing for this institution, for this football program, and for our team,” he added.

And according to Anderson, doing so comes as second-nature.

“What [the university] stands for — academic integrity and the honor code — carries over into the athletic program,” he said. “And the football program as well.”