Vanderbilt stocks up on defensive linemen

We've mentioned it before, but with the verbal commitment of James Kittredge it bears mentioning again:

The Commodores are stocking up on defensive linemen.

In February, they signed two lanky defensive ends, Walker May and Thad McHaney. May is a tweener and may be a linebacker in the John Stokes mold, and McHaney could just as easily play tight end.

But it's a new recruiting class, and now the legitimate D-Line prospects are rolling in: Kyle Woestmann, Thomas Ryan, Jared Morse and now Kittredge. Woestmann and Morse are listed as tackles, Ryan as an end, and Kittredge is listed as an end by Rivals and Scout and as a tackle by ESPN.

It's enough to make you forget Garrison Smith, the five-star tackle who included Vandy in his Top 10 schools but recently chose the Georgia Bulldogs. OK, maybe not. But Vandy's never even signed three-star D-Line prospects before, and now it's got verbal commitments from four of them. Not bad at all.

ESPN calls Kittredge "a physical kid in the trenches" and says he has " a blue collar style" and "a good motor and pursues to the ball." Its evaluation concludes: "Could likely start off at end, but we feel his best long term fit may be at defensive tackle."

This season, Bobby Johnson should have his best D-Line ever, with senior Greg Billinger, junior Adam Smotherman and sophomore T.J. Greenstone, as well as a promising group of redshirt freshmen, including Rob Lohr, Taylor Loftley and Colt Nichter.

And apparently things are only getting better.