Hey guys. One of the most fun, irrational, speculative, insane days in college football. As a Jets and Vanderbilt fan I have an irrational love of National Signing Day and the NFL draft because at least on that day there is eternal hope. Anyway I'll be posting through out the day. I'll list the player, position, ESPN grade, ESPN rank, Rivals Grade, Rivals Rank, some info on the player and my own personal useless opinion. I'm making some breakfast right now but I'll be back in just a bit with some info. Until then check out http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/2009-signing-day.html
UPDATE 10:43
1) Mason Johnston, TE - 77(#42), 3 star (#27) - Mason is a real solid TE prospect. His numbers aren't crazy but everyone seems to believe he has the skills to play top flight division 1 football
2) Brady Brown, WR - 75 (#122), 3 star (#58) - Brady is 6'5!!!!! Vandy has some real fast guys like Jamie Graham and John Cole, we have good TE's and now we have a big possession guy.
3) Eric Samuels, Athlete - 78 (#42 rated RB), 3 star (#83 athlete) - ESPN lists him as a RB, Vandysports.com thinks he is going to be a DB for Vandy. Basically after losing Darius this guy looks like the stud of the recruiting class. He might be able to play several positions ala DJ
4) Wesley Johnson, OL -78(#31 rated OG), 3 star (#28 OT) - If Wesley weighted about 20-25 lbs more he prob would have been an top 150 recruit. He knows what he is doing on the field and the people at Vandysports.com think he is a future Captain. Hopefully he follows Chris Williams lead in putting on the weight without losing his athleticism.
5) Warren Norman, RB - 74 (#119), 3 star (#36) - The RB out of Georgia looks like he is good at everything but maybe not great at anything. He isn't the fastest RB but he is strong and supposedly has excellent receiving skills
6) Walker May, DE/LB - 75 (#93 OLB), 2 star (NR) - Walker was an absolute beast in the state of Alabama this year. He might be a bit of a tweener as he has the height but maybe not the weight yet. Once he gets in the college weight room I think he will develop into a solid guy getting at the QB
7) Zac Stacy, RB - 76 (#97), 3 star (#48) - Zac like Walker had an insane senior year. He ran for over 2,400 yards and 36 TD's. Vandy continues to recruit real well in the state of Alabama
8) Charlie Goro, QB - 64 (#175), 3 star (NR) - Ok Goro is a Parade All-American, player of the year in the Land of Lincoln, won the state title this year. He has thrown for 5,900 yards, 64 TD's with only 8 INT's, ran for 20 TD's and has completed almost 75% of his throws in the past two years. All this and he is the #175th rated QB in the country? Really ESPN???? I mean either they haven't seen his senior year tape or they just don't have the time to go over Vanderbilt recruits. Whatever, watching his tape he can make all the throws necessary for college football and has plenty of time to grow into his 6'2 frame. Everyone here at the Sports Line think this guy is going to make some of these so called experts eat their words.
9) Blake Southerland, ILB - 76 (#40), 3 star (#80). Another real solid LB prospect for Vandy what a surprise! He has 146 tackles his senior year, so the kid knows how to tackle the ball carrier. With the depth we have at LB right now I think this kid is going to be a special teams stud for the next year or two before breaking into the starting lineup.
10) Trey Wilson, CB - 75 (#57), 3 star (50) - With DJ leaving for the NFL and Reshard graduating we needed an infusion of new blood into the defensive backfield. Trey is 5'11 so he has excellent height and runs a 4.4. Trey also is some good return skills which we need as well.
11) Jay Fullam, Safety - 77 (#87), 2 star (NR) - Jay was a 3 star player for a while and then was downgraded to a 2 star basically because 1 scout at Rivals wasn't impressed. Whatever he was an excellent safety, RB and return man this year. Jay also was big in recruiting future teammates. I think this kid will be another coach on the field, an eventual captain and maybe (your hearing it here first!!!!) a college football coach down the line. I have absolutely no reason for saying this. But the whole reason for having a blog is to make completely ridiculous statements like these.
12) Mylon Brown, OL - 77 (#46 OT), 2 star (NR) - Obviously ESPN is way more impressed with Brown than Rivals is. This is at least partially because Brown missed most of his senior season with a leg injury. His uncle is former NFL All-Pro Jerome Brown so you know he has got the DNA to play. I guess the question comes down to whether this injury has slowed his progress or whether the skills he displayed as a junior are the real deal. He might be the hidden gem of the class.
13) Javon Marshall, DB - 74 (#155 S), 2 star (NR) - Marshall is another tall DB prospect at 5'11. ESPN and Rivals have him as a safety but could play CB as well. Adding some versatility to the class.
14) Eddie Foster, CB - 74 (#64), 3 star (#66). Isn't it crazy that Foster has the same ESPN grade as Marshal yet is the 64th rated CB where Marshall is 155th ranked safety? Must be a ton of great safeties in this years class. Foster is a burner with rumors of a 40 under 4.4. That being said he needs to fill out (listed at 165 lbs) if he is going to be able to handle the man children that play in the SEC every week.
15) Justin Cabbagestalk, OL - 71 (#142 OT), 2 star (NR). ESPN has Justin as a tackle while Rivals lists him as a OG. Justin (no way will I be writing that last name again) played at one of the best high schools in the country (Armwood H.S) and helped their offense completely dominate the opposition. I'm a big fan of building football teams from the inside out so adding Justin to the mix with Johnson and Brown will give Vandy some real solid OL's to compete with.
16) Thad McHenry, TE/DE - 74(#73 TE), 3 star (#43 TE). The one time Ole Miss recruit supposedly was just waiting to hear whether he got admitted to Vandy to switch his commitment. Although both ESPN and Rivals list him as a TE, supposedly CBJ believes Thad is going to be a dominant defensive end.
17) Wesley Tate, RB - 72 (#165), 3 star (#70). YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the one I was waiting on. Wesley tops off a real solid class. He is listed at 6'2, 210 so he will be the big back to go along with Zac and Warren the smaller/shifty backs.
That should be it. That is everyone Vandy expected to sign with the added bonus of getting Tate. Vandy filled most of their needs in getting 3 Rb's, 5 Db's and 3 OL. The thing about signing 3 Rb's that I like is that we can let Larry Smith do his thing and throw the ball and not depend on him to run the ball like we did with Nickson the past few years. Lets get some chatter going!!!!!
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7 comments:
Might be a good idea to watch some film, scour the depth chart, and take some educated guesses on which of these recruits should/might see playing time next year, which might be impact players, and which ones might need to redshirt. I mean, football's done till the draft, and boredom is a hell of a motivating force.
Watching Mylon Brown's highlight clip, I like his feet, particularly in the highlight where he recovers to pick up the outside blitz. Plus at 300 lbs. he only has to add 10-20 lbs.
Agreed that he could be a hidden gem.
I've been talking all day about my man crush on Charlie Goro. The guy runs a 10.9 100-meter dash and looks very slippery. Plus he makes good decisions, as evidenced by the TD/INT ratio, his coaches say his football IQ is excellent, and he's a great team leader. Have we had a great leader at QB in recent years? You can bulk him up and make him stronger but you can't coach speed and those other intangibles. Even if Larry Smith and Jared Funk turn out to be a great 1-2 punch for the next couple years, we could not ask for much more in terms of depth at the QB position with this pickup.
And, speaking of 100-meter dashes: How 'bout Wes Tate's 10.8? This guy runs up high like Eric Dickerson, which frankly might be a negative against hard-hitting SEC LBs, but he absolutely explodes through the holes. I predict Tate gets significant playing time right away. At 6'2, 210, I'm not sure how much more he needs to do physically unless Bobby envisions him as more of a fullback, in which case he needs to get bigger.
RB Zac Stacy looks pretty good but if you look at his highlight tapes you'll notice that his offensive line in high school was a bunch of man-children who just abused opposing defenses, so he may be a question mark.
I agree with DJ though -- the real story of this class has to be the offensive linemen. This is where we're notoriously thin, but with three very solid guys coming in to play backup to a young but experienced O-line, and with time to develop, I'm excited about the possibility of generating some legitimate offense and not folding like a lawn chair in the 4th quarter.
Looking at who is going to contribute as a freshman it has to be the DB's and the RB's. I think Trey Wilson and Eric Samuels will get playing time right away on special teams because of their skill sets. In terms of running backs we graduated our best runner, QB Chris Nickson. I think Wesley Tate could get some carries right away because as Seamus stated he doesn't need to get any bigger. I don't think both Stacy and Norman get on the field in 2009, but who it is I just don't know. Lastly I think Brady Brown will get a chance to get on the field right away just cause he adds such a unique option to our offense.
Good stuff, guys. We take a shot over at Moral Victory! at predicting who'll play next season. Check it out at www.moral-victory.blogspot.com
The best part about our RB signings has to be the kind of 1-2 punch that it may offer. I've always been a big fan of a thunder and lightning backfield, and it would appear that Stacy and Norman can provide some lightning, while Tate can provide some Thunder. With most of our offensive line returning and the addition of quality depth, a real strong running game would certainly help Larry come along nicely.
Plus I love Brady Brown's potential as a possession machine. If he can use his frame and get big catches on third down this offense could have instant improvement, assuming Ted Cain doesn't give away our full playbook on the first 2 drives.
I agree with Stanimal, Brown is going to be HUGE for a young QB. Good class overall and some solid help for Larry.
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