Don't worry: Vandy's current recruiting class will survive disappointing season

A common fear shared among Vandy fans: All these star recruits who've verbally committed to the Commodores are going to jump ship come signing day.

I doubt it. This time last year, Vandy had 10 verbal commitments, including 3-star guys Zac Stacy, Warren Norman, Charlie Goro and Eric Samuels. They had all committed before the season started, when the Dores were picked to win maybe two games.

They kept their commitments.

Maybe we will lose a commitment or two. Jared Morse's commitment hasn't been terribly solid to begin with, and it was no surprise he's been downgraded to a "soft verbal." He's still hoping Bama will offer (good luck), he's got offers from Auburn, Arkansas and Kentucky in his back pocket, as well as Florida State, which could be his favorite.

Big deal. We've already got commitments from two three-star defensive tackles, Kyle Woestmann and Vince Taylor, as well as commitments from two three-star swing guys, Thomas Ryan and James Kittredge, who could easily grow into DTs.

One thing's for sure: We're not going to get eight commitments at the end of the season like we did last year. We don't have many offers left to give. And that's the beauty part: Sure, we're having a down year, but we were able to get a whopping 21 commitments (more than last year's entire class) before our season even started. So even if we lose Morse and don't get anybody else, we've still got our best recruiting class ever.

Everybody's worried about what our commitments and guys still considering offers are going to think about our disappointing performance so far. I'll tell you what they're probably thinking:

Hey, I've got a chance to play right away!

Our receivers look awful. You don't think Jonathan Krause, Chris Boyd and Bradley Roby aren't licking their chops? Our offensive line looks awful. You don't think Grant Ramsay and Logan Stewart aren't excited? Brandon Barden can't catch. You don't think Davis Dudchock is thinking he can do a better job? We don't have playmakers. You don't think Jerrell Priester isn't thinking he can make some plays for us? We need some more meat on the defensive line. You don't think Kyle Woestmann and Vince Taylor aren't going back for seconds right now?

So verbal commitment and safety Kenneth Ladler is visiting Kentucky and South Carolina and Vanderbilt after his high school season ends.

You know how many of our recruits made their visits after they committed to us? Of the 10 guys who committed before last season started, every single one of them took his official visit after the season was over.

But here's one concern in regards to Ladler. ESPN.com is reporting that he plans to enroll early. Um, Vandy doesn't allow early enrollment, something it needs to change and fast. But won't.

But Ladler also says he wants to make sure he plays next year. Kenneth, you're a safety! Joel Caldwell's graduating and you know Bobby Johnson plays his DBs right away. Samuels and Trey Wilson are playing a ton as true freshmen in the secondary, and Eddie Foster's starting at nickel back. But all those guys are true corners.