Sunday, January 15, 2012

Vandy hosts bunch of commitments and prospects on Jan. 20

Some Vandy fans are freaking out over news that big-shot schools are trying to steal our verbal commitments. This is a good thing, people. It means that we’ve recruited really good players who could play anywhere.

One fan on a Vandy chat board actually wondered why things have turned so bad over the past few weeks. Hello! Things are great!

This time last year, we had zero commitments from four-star players, and then we stole two of them on signing day.

This year, we have commitments from six players with a four-star rating from either Rivals, Scout or ESPN. Not sure who we’re going to steal from other schools this year, but we know Franklin’s capable of it.

It’ll still be a nerve-wracking two weeks. Three of our most prized recruits – OT Andrew Jelks, DE Josh Dawson and WR Andre McDonald – were reportedly visiting campuses in their home states this past weekend, with Jelks to Tennessee, Dawson to Georgia and McDonald to Minnesota. Jelks is scheduled to visit Ole Miss on Jan. 27.

But all three are scheduled to visit Vandy next weekend, according to Scout and Rivals. Here’s at least a partial guest list:

Current Verbal Commitments:
• 4-star ATH Brian Kimbrow (Memphis, Tenn.)
• 4-star DE Caleb Azubike (Nashville, Tenn.)
• 4-star DE Stephen Weatherly (Atlanta, Ga.)
• 4-star LB Jacob Sealand (Tucker, Ga.)
• 4-star DE Josh Dawson (Tucker, Ga.)
• 4-star WR Andre McDonald (Minnetonka, Minn.)
• 3-star OT Andrew Jelks (Paris, Tenn.)
• 3-star CB Torren McGaster (Daphne, Ala.)
• 3-star OT Will Holden (Green Cove Springs, Fla.)
• 3-star OG Adam Butler (Duncanville, Texas)
• 3-star DE Torey Agee (Opelika, Ala.)
• 3-star ATH Brandon Banks (Brandywine, Md.)
• 3-star ATH Jaborian McKenzie (Natchez, Miss.)
• 3-star WR Cory Batey (Nashville, Tenn.)
• 3-star DT Ladarius Banks (Dallas, Ga.)
• 3-star OT Barrett Gouger (Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Players who’ve already enrolled in school and are locked in:
• 4-star LB Darreon Herring (Stone Mountain, Ga.)
• 3-star QB Patton Robinette (Maryville, Tenn.)

Prospects:
• 4-star ATH Will Redmond (Memphis, Tenn.); teammate of Brian Kimbrow, verbal commitment to Mississippi State
• 3-star OT Kevin McCoy (Seffner, Fla.)
• 3-star ATH Chris Moody (McDonough, Ga.)
• 3-star ATH Herbert Waters (Homestead, Fla.); soft commitment to Miami
• 3-star LB Harding Harper (Montgomery, Ala.)

Note: The following VU commitments have already visited campus and may not be present this upcoming weekend:
• 3-star OT Blake Fromang (Orlando, Fla.)
• 3-star K Colby Cooke (Goochland, Va.)
• 3-star DB Paris Head (Buford, Ga.)

The following prospects are scheduled to visit campus on Jan. 27:
• 4-star WR Gabriel Marks (Los Angeles, Calif.); recently committed to Washington State and may not visit
• 3-star WR Jeremy Glinton (Oakland Park, Fla.); visits Jan. 27

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great info. I'm real excited about the General. Gotta be a good thing to get a 6'5" dual threat qb.

Oddly, I'm also glad Gunner didn't come to VU (even after dropping LSU). I like to idea of Franklin winning with really good (and not really great) players. To me, winning with slightly lesser talent and resources is more rewarding than simply out-recruiting your peers. Don't get me wrong, I'd be super excited about any 5 star recruit...just like the idea of winning without the Gunner's of the world.

Dimon K-H said...

The General. I get it.

Yeah, I'm with you on winning without the Gunners of the world. It's more fun winning when you're the underdog, though I guess the more you win the less you're an underdog.

Anonymous said...

Great post Dimon. It's hard to not get excited about next season with the guys we have coming back and this staff's ability to get the most out of our players. I think that most of our returning players will look at the Liberty Bowl game experience as seeing what is possible with this coaching staff and for the program. I know it's early, but in looking at our upcoming schedule, I feel that we should be very competitive in the upper half of the east. WE have Sc, Tenn, Flor, at home.....I am confident that Jordan Rogers will recover from the late season slump. If nothing else, there will be healthy competition at the qb spot during spring drills. With our O-lineman who are projected to compete and the new O-linemen coming in, this may be the best group as a whole that Coach Hand has had to work with since coming to Vandy. Would not be surprised if we landed 1 or 2 major recruits in the final days of reccruiting. Go Dores !

Dimon K-H said...

Good comments. Thanks.