Stanford football might be in the midst of an up-and-down season in 2026, but the future is looking bright. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, On3 Sports National Reporter Greg Biggins reported that the Cardinal are in the mix to land four-star quarterback Hunter Fujikawa.

Fujikawa, a prospect out of Mililani High School in Hawaii, has nearly 30 offers from top programs but took a visit to The Farm this past weekend that reportedly went better than expected. The Cardinal have young quarterbacks like freshman Michael Mitchell Jr. already on the roster, but landing a player like Fujikawa would bolster the depth of the room even more.

"Stanford trending for four-star QB Mililani (Hawaii) junior quarterback Hunter Fujikawa spent the weekend at Stanford, and the talented signal caller told us the visit exceeded his expectations," Biggins wrote. "Fujikawa was able to spend quality time with not just the coaching staff but GM Andrew Luck and got on a FaceTime call with Hawaii legend Marcus Mariota."

Biggins also noted that the original pick had been UCLA, but with the Bruins taking Josiah Boyd over the weekend, Stanford has moved to the top of the list.

Fujikawa has offers from schools such as Arizona, Ole Miss, Oregon, UCLA and Alabama but could favor Stanford over the other offers. Since coach Tavita Pritchard was hired, the culture has changed within the program. While the results still need to fully translate, the Cardinal are seeing several players play their best football this season.

A junior, Fujikawa spent his sophomore season at Punahou High School in Honolulu but transferred to Mililani ahead of his junior campaign. So far, he has shown a lot of traits that suggest he will succeed in college, with Mililani's offense being more similar to a college program. In his debut game, he threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns.

Most notably, quarterback Davis Warren is reviving his career this season, currently having 1,933 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and two interceptions and being within range of the first 3,000-passing-yard season by a Stanford quarterback in nearly a decade. His performance this season comes after four seasons at Michigan, where he struggled to truly break out.

The Cardinal also have freshman quarterback Mitchell Jr., a former three-star recruit from Archbishop Riordan. Mitchell originally committed to Vanderbilt out of high school, but the Pritchard hire and a subsequent visit to The Farm flipped his decision.

With Warren expected to be out of eligibility after this season, Mitchell Jr. will compete for the starting role next season. But if the Cardinal land Fujikawa, it could make the quarterback competition more intriguing.

Stanford has struggled as a program in recent seasons, but if high-level recruits keep showing interest and choose to sign with the program, it will give the team a solid foundation to build off.

Once a top program in college football, Stanford is now being led by Pritchard and his staff, who are working tirelessly to ensure that Stanford football returns to its glory days.