Fan says Jeffers-Harris writes he's "no longer a Commodore" on his Facebook page

"Rvandyguitar" on the Scout.com Vanderbilt football forum (no special access needed) pasted something he says came straight from Terence Jeffers-Harris' Facebook profile:

"No Longer A Commodore... I apologize to all those I dissappoint & hurt w/ this info... Updates on what I do in the next week... Once again I apologize to my family, friends & Most Especially My Fellow Teammates.. Luv u All"

Guess that would explain why we just moved two more guys over to wide receiver and why he wasn't at practice on Saturday. Oh well.

TJ-H is a big-time talent and we'll definitely miss him if this is true.

Off the roster: Terence Jeffers-Harris would be a huge loss for Commodores

Click here and link to the latest Vanderbilt roster.

Look for wide receiver Terence Jeffers-Harris.

OK, stop. You won't find him. He's not on the roster.

That's right. Jeffers, or Jeffers-Harris as we're calling him lately, is not listed. And as everybody knows, he's been in summer school trying to amass enough credits to become eligible to play. And with a couple of weeks left in class, he's no longer on the roster.

I take this as a very bad sign. He's been listed all summer and as exams — and the start of the season! — approach, his name vanishes. Maybe it's a motivational tool. Maybe it's a ploy by the coaching staff to help opposing teams forget about him. Let's hope it's anything but what it appears to be.

We need Jeffers-Harris badly. Vandy fans know about his big play ability and have been counting on him to help move the offense away from that embarrassing 117th national ranking. He's a big, strong guy who goes over the middle and a fast guy who goes deep. In the spring, he and Larry Smith were developing into a lethal combination. Sure, we're putting together a nice collection of smart, quick little guys who run crisp routes and represent a fine supporting cast for... Mr. Jeffers-Harris.

More than ever, I think, this means true freshman Brady Brown needs to be ready to play right away. He's not physical like J-H or the deep threat J-H is, but he's a big target. Also, without J-H, the tight ends are going to be more important than ever. Barden and Monahan are huge targets, Justin Green has lots of untapped potential, and I'll be interested to see if the coaching staff will be tempted to take the redshirt off freshman Mason Johnston.

Vanderbilt's got 'David Boston without the steroids'

Chris Low, whose blog work you know we love, continues to say what we've been saying too: Vanderbilt badly needs Terence Jeffers in the lineup this fall.

And apparently the only thing that'll keep that from happening is if Terrence doesn't have enough credit hours transfer from Connecticut, where he played for two seasons, and if he can't pass enough credit hours this spring and summer to make up the difference.

Vanderbilt wrapped up its spring with a final practice on Thursday, and one of the keys to the Commodores' 2009 season will be receiver Terence Jeffers' progress in the classroom.

"He's doing what he needs to do," Coach Bobby Johnson told Low. "It's just a matter of meeting NCAA requirements, and you can never depend on what's going to transfer from another school. We're looking at hours right now as being the biggest obstacle. He's trying and working hard. I'm somewhat confident that he'll make it."

Somewhat confident. Thanks for the reassurance, coach.

Johnson and the other Vanderbilt folks haven't exactly been talking up Jeffers attributes to the media probably because (1) they don't want to get everybody's hopes up and (2) they want to maintain the element of surprise. Maybe we can get him down to Baton Rouge without much fanfare (we open with Western Carolina and then travel to LSU) and let the Bayou Bengals get all cocky and then Larry Smith can launch some rockets to Jeffers.

But Low quotes senior center Bradley Vierling saying that the 6-foot-2 Jeffers is a burner who bench-presses more than 400 pounds.

"Terence's weight room statistics are unbelievable," Vierling said. "He weighs 225 pounds, and it's all muscle. He looks like David Boston out there without the steroids. He's got a tremendous amount of speed, too."

Don't cry for Vanderbilt's passing game — as long as Terence Jeffers is eligible

Sure, I wish Justin Wheeler hadn't torn ligaments in his knee late last week. ESPN blogger Chris Low thinks it means that Vanderbilt is now "really hurting at receiver."

But even without our only returning starter at wide receiver, the Commodore passing game should be vastly improved over last season.

The real blow would be if UConn transfer Terence Jeffers can't get enough academic credits to be eligible in the fall. (Think he'd have enough academic credits if he went to, say, UT?)

Coach Bobby Johnson remains cautiously optimistic that Jeffers will be in the lineup come September. Assuming he is, and Wheeler misses the 2009 season, this is how our top 14 pass targets will compare to last season's.

TARGET NO. 1: WIDE RECEIVER
Last season: R-SR Sean Walker (36 catches, 520 yards, 3 TDs)
This season: R-JR Terence Jeffers. This will be a vast improvement. Jeffers is bigger, stronger and more aggressive (see photo). His numbers as a sophomore at Connecticut (44 catches, 582 yards, 5 TDs) were better than Walker's. And provided Larry Smith starts at quarterback as expected, Jeffers will get plenty of home run opportunities like the one Walker dropped in Smith's debut against Wake Forest.

TARGET NO. 2: TIGHT END
Last season: R-FR Brandon Barden (28-209, 4 TDs)
This season: R-SO Barden. Expect Barden to be even better than last season, when his touchdown receptions broke the back of South Carolina and Auburn. And with Smith a threat to go deep, Barden will get plenty of opportunities to catch the ball underneath and turn upfield and run.

TARGET NO. 3: WIDE RECEIVER
Last season: R-JR Justin Wheeler (16-145, 1 TDs)
This season: R-SO Tray Herndon. An improvement. Sure, Wheeler's only TD, against Auburn, will go down in Commodore lore. But his numbers are shockingly weak for a No. 2 receiver. Herndon had better numbers (22-235, 1 TD) as a true freshman at Minnesota.

TARGET NO. 4: CORNERBACK
Last season: JR D.J. Moore (7-143, 2 TDs)
This season: R-SO Jamie Graham. A draw. Sure, Moore was an unbelievable threat who had the good fortune in the Kentucky game of getting the two best passes Chris Nickson has thrown in his life. But Graham can catch a jump ball in the corner of the end zone like nobody's business. Plus he already knows the offense and as a new corner or nickelback he'll be more than ready for spot duty at receiver.

TARGET NO. 5: WIDE RECEIVER
Last season: R-SR George Smith (13-142)
This season: R-SO Udom Umoh. An improvement. Smith was a testimony to perseverance and we wouldn't have won the Music City Bowl without his clutch catch that put us in field goal range. But let's face it, he dropped a ton of passes last season and was a liability. Umoh came on strong at the end of the season, especially when Larry Smith started getting more reps at quarterback. That was no coincidence. While not as big as George, Umoh will be more of a deep threat.

TARGET NO. 6: WIDE RECEIVER
Last season: R-FR Jamie Graham (17-125, 3 TDs)
This season: R-FR John Cole. An improvement. Graham made the highlight reel, but his numbers were low for getting so many snaps at receiver. While Graham's an athlete, Cole is a true receiver who can get the tough short stuff or go deep or in between. He's capable of getting 125 yards in a single game, and Smith's capable of getting the ball to him.

TARGET NO. 7: RUNNING BACK
Last season: R-JR Jared Hawkins (16-121)
This season: R-SR Hawkins. Hawkins was used last season as a battering ram and was broken down at the end. With a big-armed quarterback stretching the defense and plenty of exciting young talent at running back, expect JHawk to get more opportunities to catch the ball and run with it.

TARGET NO. 8: RUNNING BACK
Last season: R-SR Jeff Jennings (10-57)
This season: R-JR Kennard Reeves. An improvement. Jennings clearly ran out of gas at the end of his career and just looked big and slow. Reeves is pretty big but pretty fast, averaging eight yards on a pair of catches last season.

TARGET NO. 9: TIGHT END
Last season: SO Austin Monahan (4-45)
This season: JR Monahan. He's huge (6-foot-7), an awesome bookend for Barden, and back after missing most of last season.

TARGET NO. 10: RUNNING BACK
Last season: R-SO Gaston Miller (3-31)
This season: FR Wesley Tate. A vast improvement. While Miller has earned playing time as a return man, Tate is a prototypical SEC back who can catch the ball out of the backfield.

TARGET No. 11: WIDE RECEIVER
Last season: R-FR Udom Umoh
This season: FR Brady Brown. A huge improvement. While Umoh will emerge as a deep threat this year, he struggled last season in Vandy's short passing game. The 6-foot-6 Brown should establish himself early as a possession receiver and short yardage end-zone threat for Smith.

TARGET NO. 12: RUNNING BACK
Last season: R-SO Kennard Reeves (2-16)
This season: FR Zac Stacy or Warren Norman. An improvement. While Norman is the better receiver, he's a bit slight right now and may redshirt and beef up. A bruising, low-to-the-ground runner, Stacy will get a chance to tote the rock this season and should get way more opportunities than Reeves did last year.

TARGET NO. 13: WIDE RECEIVER
Last season: R-SO Chris Reinert (1-13)
This season: R-FR Akeem Dunham. A vast improvement. The 6-foot-three Dunham was a high school basketball star and is the far superior athlete. Reinert may return next season, provided he can recover from a gruesome broken leg early last season.

TARGET No. 14: WIDE RECEIVER
Last season: R-JR Alex Washington (1-minus 2)
This season: R-SR Washington. He's this year's version of George Smith, without the experience as a starter. Though he should be improved over last season, Washington will likely take a backseat to all the new young talent.