Are three-star quarterbacks that big of a deal?

No doubt that Vanderbilt's getting better and better athletes every year. But let's not get too excited that we just got a verbal commitment from a three-star quarterback (Nash Nance) to go with the three-star quarterback (Charlie Goro) we signed in February.

Yes, we should be excited that Nash Nance has a cool name and we can marvel in the wonderful coincidence that Nash will be playing in Nash-ville. And he may really turn out to be the next Jay Cutler.

But right now, he's just a three-star quarterback.

When the Commodores take the field this fall, they'll have FIVE three-star prep quarterbacks on the roster:
• Mackenzi Adams, signed in 2005
• Jared Funk, signed in 2006
• Turner Wimberly, signed in 2006
• Larry Smith, signed in 2007
• Charlie Goro, signed in 2009

In fact, in the past nine years Vandy's only signed two quarterbacks who WEREN'T three star guys. Yes, that would include Chris Nickson, and also Lance Parker, who ended up playing for Ouachita College.

Yesterday Douglas James over at VSL was warning against signing more than one quarterback in a class. Vandy's done that only once in Johnson's tenure, when he signed Funk and Wimberly in 2006. And how's that turning out? Funk's a four-year junior who's never played a snap and Wimberly, also a four-year junior, is now a wide receiver who's never caught a pass.

Right now, after making a play for four-star Andrew Hendrix who's holding out for Ohio State, Vanderbilt has made offers to four three-star quarterbacks. Nance, the lowest rated of all of them, was the first to bite. The other three — Devin Burns, Sam Gibson and Robinson — are all faster and more athletic. Burns and Gibson are even listed as athletes by some sites. Those guys could probably play other positions, and I don't mean like Wimberly is playing wide receiver right now.

In the future, a big sign for the Vandy program would be if it can get a marquee quarterback. Those guys are few and far between, and they usually go to the big-name programs. Of course, a marquee quarterback can bomb out like the rest of them (See: Jonathan Crompton).

Nash Nance becomes third Vanderbilt football verbal commitment, and first quarterback, for 2010

Nash Nance, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback from Calhoun, Ga., is Vanderbilt football's third verbal commitment. A pro-style passer, Nance played for the run-oriented offense at Darlington, an elite private school, last season. Now he's transferred to Calhoun High School, which runs the spread offense, which is what the Commodores plan to run next season.

He should rack up big numbers this fall throwing to receiver Da'Rick Rogers, who committed to Georgia today. Nance gets three stars from rivals.com and scout.com, and has yet to be evaluated by espn.com.

Ted Cain recruited him, for whatever that's worth.

In addition to Vandy, his final three schools included Miss State and Hah-vahd. So he's smart. He also had offers from West Virginia, Central Florida, Eastern Carolina and Chattanooga.

According to scouts.com, Nance is an extremely accurate quarterback with nice touch on the ball, and lots of poise and leadership. But he needs to work on his field vision and arm strength.

Assuming that Bobby Johnson continues to slap a redshirt on every freshman quarterback he's ever had, expect this to be Vanderbilt's quarterback situation for the next three seasons:

2009
• Mackenzi Adams, R-Sr.
• Jared Funk, R-Jr.
• Larry Smith, R-So.

2010
• Jared Funk, R-Sr.
• Larry Smith, R-Jr.
• Charlie Goro, R-Fr.

2011
• Larry Smith, R-Sr.
• Charlie Goro, R-So.
• Nash Nance, R-Fr.

Don't forget that Vandy has offers out to three other quarterbacks, all rated more highly than Nance, and all dual-purpose quarterbacks who are more mobile and stronger-armed than Nance but not as accurate.

They are:
• Devin Burns, 6-2, 183, Columbus, Ga.: Has an offer from Maryland and apparently really likes the Terrapins, but also hopes to get an offer from Georgia Tech. Also has offers from Arkansas and Georgia, both of which would probably move him to another position, and UAB.

• Sean Robinson, 6-4, 210, Illinois: Big, strong kid with the speed of Larry Smith. Has offers from Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin, and is hoping for an offer from Illinois as well.

• Sam Gibson, 6-1, 205, Prattville, Ala.: Quarterback from Larry Smith's old high school who is listed as an athlete by some services. Like Larry, Sam's got a cannon and is an elusive runner. But he's also got some problems with accuracy and throwing mechanics. Offers from Stanford, Virginia and UAB. Hoping to hear from Alabama, Auburn and LSU, where his chances of playing quarterback would likely be slim.

Vanderbilt battles rest of SEC for football talent

Yesterday we told you that Vanderbilt has made a bunch of offers to guys who are currently entertaining other offers, some would say better offers, from other SEC schools.

Here are some specific numbers:

According to scouts.com, Vanderbilt has now extended 79 offers to high school football players. Of these, two have verbally committed to the Commodores, six have committed to other SEC schools, six have committed to schools in other conferences, and 65 are still mulling their options and presumably being lured by the thought of wearing black and gold and hearing a foghorn after they make a big play (they do still play the foghorn at Dudley Field, don't they?)

Anyway, these 79 players have received a total of 74 offers from SEC schools. Which SEC schools have made offers to the same players Vanderbilt has? Glad you asked. Here's the breakdown:

Kentucky, 11 offers (1 verbal commitment)
Auburn, 10 (1 verbal)
Ole Miss, 10
Alabama, 8 (2 verbal)
Miss State, 7
South Carolina, 7
Tennessee, 6
Arkansas, 6
Georgia, 6 (1 verbal)
LSU, 3 (1 verbal)
Florida, 2

Vanderbilt football recruiting in familiar position in June

Maybe you've noticed that 15 kids have already committed to play for Alabama in 2010. The count is 12 at Florida and 11 at LSU.

It's two at Vanderbilt.

But not to worry — this happens every spring and summer. See, everybody offers scholarships to the top athletes, who get to pick from schools like USC and Texas and Alabama.

So the 17-year-old kids who look like players get snatched up by the big boys. But don't worry, there will be plenty of solid guys and late bloomers left in the fall.

It's best not to get too emotionally invested in following Vandy's recruiting right now. For example, QB Andrew Hendrix and OT Matt Rotheram have offers from the Commodores and have shown interest; but both are from Ohio and are also interested in Ohio State, who I hear will continue to field a football team.

Linebacker Justin Maclin of Memphis had an offer from Vandy but he had an offer from LSU, too, and guess where he just announced he's heading.

The Commodores also like ATH Julian Horton and OT Max Garcia, both of Georgia, but Alabama likes them too. Vandy might have a decent shot at landing Horton, but I wouldn't put any money on it.

Another possibility is DT Jeremiah Jackson (above) of Spain Park, Ala. He's a really nice looking tackle prospect, and those guys are gold on the defensive side of the ball. Last season, he was a teammate of Darrius McMullin, the DT who committed to Vandy's 2009 freshman class but didn't qualify academically. But he also likes Ole Miss.

Traditionally, the top six teams on the gridiron in the SEC are Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Auburn and Georgia, followed by South Carolina and Arkansas, then Miss State, Ole Miss, Kentucky and, alas, Vanderbilt.

Here's how SEC teams have fared with early commitments:

1. Alabama: 15
2. Florida: 12
3. LSU: 11
4. Tennessee: 8
5. Auburn: 5
6. Georgia: 4
6. South Carolina: 4
6. Arkansas: 4
6. Miss State: 4
10. Vanderbilt: 2
10. Ole Miss: 2
12. Kentucky: 1

Smile, Mackenzi, somebody just voted for you

For the last couple of months, we've been asking Vandy fans who they want as their starting quarterback next season.

Up ’til a few minutes ago, 46 of you had voted. And 41 of them wanted Larry Smith to be the starter. Oh, and three votes for Jared Funk, who's never played in a game for the Commodores, and a pair of votes for Charlie Goro, who's never even practiced with the Commodores.

Not a single vote for Mackenzi Adams, who has the most starting experience and the most big-game experience.

Now there's a 47th vote. And you can smile, Mac. It's for you.

Isn't this incredible? The national media is talking about how Bobby Johnson is undecided between Larry and Mac, but 90 percent of the fans are behind Larry and the rest are behind guys who've never played a down for us.

It's incredible how uninformed most SEC football "experts" are about the Commodores, but it's especially incredible how little faith the Commodore faithful have in Mackenzi.

You know where I stand. I've been wanting to name Larry Smith the starter since last spring. But I'm still amazed at the lack of people in Mac's camp.

Anybody have any thoughts? Hey, what about you, the person who actually voted for Mac? What do you think?

Vanderbilt's four top sports programs built on hope

Well, the Commodores just lost to Louisville 5-3. Got to say that I don't feel the same despair I do after we lose in football or, on a smaller scale, men's basketball.

Anyway, thought I'd recap how our four marquee teams performed this season. All our men's teams were very young, green and not expected to do anything. Football, of course, was the biggest surprise, men's baseball had the strongest finish, and men's basketball alternatively built and dashed everybody's hopes. And women's basketball tasted the most success, as expected.

FOOTBALL
Preseason outlook: SEC's worst talent and a very weak offense
Predicted finish: Dead last
Regular season: An unbelievable start and a middle-of-the-pack finish in the SEC
Postseason: A rousing victory in the Music City Bowl
Early forecast for next season: Hopeful, with so many returning starters

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Preseason outlook: One of the nation's youngest teams
Predicted finish: Toward bottom of SEC, possible NIT bid
Regular season: Won some we shouldn't have, but lost a lot we could have won; bottom third of SEC
Postseason: Typical miserable performance in the SEC tourney, no post-season invitations
Early forecast for next season: Hopeful, with so much young talent and one of the top recruits in the nation

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Preseason outlook: One of the nation's top teams, with two star seniors
Predicted finish: Top of SEC, Final Four
Regular season: Injuries contributed to some bumps in the road, but finished strong
Postseason: SEC tournament win, nice run deep into the NCAAs
Early forecast for next season: A contender, but won't reach last year's heights

MEN'S BASEBALL
Preseason outlook: Huge losses to pro baseball, a talented but young and green team
Predicted finish: Middle of the pack
Regular season: Barely made SEC tournament
Postseason: Surprising trip to SEC finals, NCAA tourney with a decent showing
Early forecast for next season: Even with possible loss of Mike Minor to draft, should be even better next season

Bobby Johnson meets Steve Martin (who is who?) and baseball Dores smack down Blue Raiders

Sorry to be off line so long. Wish I could say I've spent the last week at the beach or doing something interesting. Nope. No excuse. And I know you've been dying for some Commodore football news on the last week of May/first week of June. Again, sorry.

Here's what's been going down in Vandyland:

• After all those Steve Martin jokes and comparisons, Bobby Johnson finally met the silver-haired Wild N Crazy guy, backstage at the Ryman on Saturday night. Know who introduced them? Whisperin' Bill Anderson. Here's Joe Biddle's take on it.

• The baseball Dores are right now playing Louisville in the elimination game. If they win, they're bound for the Super Regionals. Talk about a strong finish to a season. After staggering a bit at the end of the regular season and backing into the SEC tournament, Tim Corbin's crew has won six of their last eight games, three wins and a loss in the SEC tourney and a loss and three wins in the NCAA regional in Louisville.

• That first loss in the NCAAs was to MTSU, which has a fine team and was actually a higher seed than the Commodores. Still, it's MTSU, which means any loss to those guys brings back memories of football losses to the Blue Raydahs in 2001, 2002 and particularly 2005 when we were 4-0 and had a quarterback named Jay Cutler. But after our baseball loss, the Dores beat Indiana, then got revenge against the Raiders, then beat Louisville. I think that's the right order. Now they're playing the Cardinals again.