The Cardinal signed 17 prospective freshmen and one transfer student on yesterday’s National Letters of Intent Signing Day, the culmination of several months of football recruiting across the country.

The class, ranked 50th in the nation by Rivals.com — one of the Web’s premier recruiting services — was coach Jim Harbaugh’s first complete effort at Stanford. During a press conference yesterday, he seemed enthused over the Cardinal’s haul.

“We are building a winning culture at Stanford and this signing class has brought us a lot of players who know winning football,” he said.

The team’s biggest addition was four-star quarterback recruit Andrew Luck, ranked the country’s fourth best prep gunslinger by Rivals.com. His accuracy and arm strength are both listed as above average — one of his few problems, apparently, is his release, which is a time-consuming, almost over-exaggerated flick of the wrist in addition to his regular arm-motion. Luck is reputed to be a smart player who demonstrates remarkable pocket poise but also has the mobility to create plays on the run.

“He’s a very strong, very tough kid,” Harbaugh said.

The Cardinal coach now heading into his second year on the Farm said that he consulted with the late Cardinal coach and former Athletic Director Bill Walsh, who said that Luck’s “instincts,” which are largely un-teachable, were excellent.

Harbaugh felt that Luck has the ability to challenge for playing time during camp this summer.

“There will be strong competition at quarterback this year,” he said. Aside from Luck, the Cardinal quarterbacking corps boasts incumbent sophomore starter Tavita Pritchard, freshman L.D. Crow and sophomore Jason Forcier, who will be eligible to play in 2008 after transferring from Michigan before the ‘07 season.

Another big commitment for the Cardinal came from Delano Howell, a nationally ranked running back recruit that Harbaugh described as “one of our top guys in the class.”

Howell has also played defensive back, and Harbaugh described him as a potential “three way guy.” Howell would appear to be a shifty runner who excels in the open field. Although he runs hard, Howell may need to improve his overall strength as he is incorporated into the running back rotation — a position decimated by injuries last season.

“He has a lot of talent,” Harbaugh said. “He has big dreams, and he sees Stanford as the place to make those dreams a reality.”

“He can make all the cuts; he can run past people; and he can block people,” said running backs coach Willie Taggart.

The Cardinal’s best offensive line recruit was David DeCastro, ranked as the 11th best lineman in the country by Rivals.com. DeCastro can play either center or tackle, although he projects more as an inside player. His footwork is reputedly excellent, and although he may need to increase his upper-body strength, Harbaugh did not appear concerned, mentioning that DeCastro looks bigger every time he sees him.

“He’s going to play early,” Harbaugh said. “He’ll be very versatile and very valuable to us.”

Stanford also signed the Reuland brothers, Konrad and Warren. Konrad is a big tight end and transfer from Notre Dame — he was highly recruited out of high school and is both a good pass-catcher and blocker. He will have to sit out the first few games of the 2008 season for eligibility reasons, but should compete for playing time afterward.

Warren is a tall wide receiver with good hands who should factor into the wide receiver rotation quickly next season, as the Cardinal lost this year’s pair of seniors, Mark Bradford and Evan Moore.

“He can run numerous routes from the outside wide receiver position, or he can come inside and play from the slot. We expect Warren to be a red zone threat right off the bat for us,” said offensive coordinator David Shaw.

Joining him there will be Chris Owusu, another one of Harbaugh’s top recruits. A speedster who may also run track at Stanford, Owusu could be an immediate deep threat for the Cardinal.

“He has a combination of size and speed, ability to run after the catch as well as ability to help on special teams as either a cover man or a returner,” Shaw said.

Harbaugh also expressed delight over the signing of Chase Thomas, a defensive end from Georgia who was pursued by SEC schools. Although he’ll need to gain weight in order to be a down-lineman in college, he already possesses great pass-rushing skills, and is versatile enough to play linebacker.

“He is the perfect guy to play and end, or stand up and rush off the edge,” Harbaugh said.

Michael Thomas, an athlete from Texas, will also add depth to the defense. Thomas played quarterback in high school, but projects as either a wide receiver or cornerback in college — Harbaugh felt he’d fit best as a defensive back.

“He’s another guy who could be a three-way guy,” he said.

The Cardinal even upgraded its special teams by signing punter Daniel Zychlinski. With Jay Ottovegio graduating, Harbaugh said that Zychlinski “has a very good chance of being the starting punter next year.”

“We understand the game of field position and how big a part the punter plays in that. We feel like he is a guy who can help us in that area,” said special teams coach D.J. Durkin.

With such an impressive class coming in, Harbaugh was left with nothing more than to state the obvious.

“Stanford got better today,” he said. “It was a wonderful day.”