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Vanderbilt fell short of expectations in non-conference play, which puts coach Jerry Stackhouse--who has a career mark of 13-39 in SEC games--in a position where he needs to get close to .500 to make the season salvageable. But is that realistic? Chris Lee and Joey Dwyer go over worst-, best- and expected-case scenarios and what those could mean. Plus, the case why the Commodores have to play Liam Robbins more than they are.

Next week marks the 20-year anniversary of the site, and I've been thinking of doing a series of three podcasts to commemorate our anniversary and look back over those 20 years, and maybe look ahead a bit.

With that, there are three guests who come to mind.

First is Mike Rapp, who became my partner at the site within a year of my founding it in January 2023. Mike had a real passion for photography and basketball and I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time rewinding the Kevin Stallings years and also the first years of the Tim Corbin era, which were fascinating.

The second one has to be Seabass, who was basically the first routine podcast guest (as far as I can remember) and has probably been the most frequent show guest. I'm sure we'll talk about our how we met, and our old Vandy Gold Line podcast days a bit, and relive the James Franklin era and whatever else comes to mind.

The other one will be Luke Wyatt, who I really didn't know until 2-3 years ago but has perspective on what happened during things I covered that I may or may not have had insight into then.

I may think of adding another guest or two if it's obvious there's a guest or angle I forgot, but I think between the three we can cover most things.

I'm guessing these will be longer episodes because there's so much ground to cover, but that'll depend on how much time folks have.

Anyway, I've been pondering doing this for a few months and I'll be unleashing question threads for each episode in a moment. I hope you enjoy these as much as I'll enjoy doing them.

Women getting hammered at home in the SEC opener.

haven't seen much on him, positive or negative. Love adding Texas players to the roster. noticeably smaller frame than the other OL signees. Center prospect? Is he scholarship? He's listed on the official website as a signee whereas Storer is not.

Looks good. He is probably in the running for Orji’s replacement.

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They pretty much have to go after rising sophomores or grad students. Kirkland doesn’t like the idea of awarding a VU degree to someone with only thirty to sixty hours of actual Vanderbilt credit. They think this waters down the meaning of a Vanderbilt degree. She said this of course in the context of women’s basketball, but I assume it applies across the board to all Vanderbilt athletes, including football players.

Astounding season for Duke--9 wins. Went from 138 in Sagarin last year and will be inside the Top 50 after today's win. Amazing.

That's the exception rather than the rule, but it can be done. Also of note, their previous 5 recruiting class average is 56.6 compared to 46.4 for Vanderbilt, so on paper they are doing this with less talent.

Someone forgot to tell Mike Elko that it's impossible--that you have to say absurd things like we have to process out every single recruit from the previous staff before we can even begin to assess this new one. No winner I know thinks that way. Excuses are for the weak-minded and lazy. Losers find excuses, winners find solutions.

Awesome job by Elko and Duke and I hope that we can duplicate that kind of success soon. Duke currently at 51 in 2023 team recruiting rankings and VU at 52. Very similar situations academically in Power 5 conferences with their own unique challenges.

Native of Kansas. Played LB at Indiana State. Nice coaching resume.

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Starts in 30 minutes or so . . . .

Still hard to get my bearings when the season starts prior to New Year's Day . . . .

Carrollton (Ga.) 2024 three-star wide receiver Caleb Odom, who has collected an offer from Vanderbilt as well as several other SEC programs, sat down with VandySportsDotCom to discuss his recruitment process with the Commodores, detailing his overall interest in the program.

In addition to being ranked a three-star wide receiver with 5.7 rating on Rivals.com, Odom has also been ranked 49th in the state and 54th in his position.

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The 6-foot-6, 215-pound prospect out of the Peach State said Vanderbilt has been deeply involved in his recruitment process since the very beginning. Odom said what has really caught his attention about the Commodores' program is how the coaching staff wants to build a relationship with him and his family. He added that what stands out about the program is they're looking to create a bond beyond football.

"Vanderbilt has been involved in my recruitment since the very beginning," Odom said. "The one thing that stood out to me about the program was the relationship part of football that they value. They really want to build relationships with my family and a bond beyond football."

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In addition to being offered by the Commodores, Odom stopped by West End on this past season to catch Vanderbilt in action against Ole Miss. Odom also visited with the Commodores this past April.

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Over the course of his recruitment process with the Commodores, Odom said he has built really strong relationships with several members of the coaching staff. He said he has really gotten to know Vanderbilt associate head coach, special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Justin Lustig, adding that he's both a great guy and an excellent coach. Odom said he's also built great relationships with both head coach Clark Lea and associate director and college scouting coach Brandon Jones.

"Coach Lustig is definitely the coach I've bonded with the most," Odom said. "He's a great guy and a great coach. Also, Coach Jones is a great guy. He's always asking about my family and more things like that. Coach Lea is always checking up on me, and he's a great coach. His knowledge on the offensive side of the ball stands out."

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In addition to collecting an opportunity from Vanderbilt, Odom has also hauled in a few other notable P5 offers from Auburn, Boston College, Florida, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia.

Odom said he will not be visiting Vanderbilt this January as he's focusing on basketball for the month of January.

"Unfortunately, I won't be back at Vanderbilt this January," Odom said. "I'm a highly recruited basketball player too and have decided to focus on basketball for the month of January."

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I'll post it this weekend.

All he had to do was take a knee and Arkansas would have won, and instead he ran a lateral reversal, the WR for Arkansas fumbled, Kansas scored, got the onside kick and scored again and now it’s going to overtime. A 6 year old would have just run the clock out. Reminds me of the Falcons v Patriots in the Super Bowl.

I predicted we would lose 34 to 20 and someone on this blog laughed at me and said no way Carolina scores 34 points. Our defense is a ****ing joke and gave up 31 points, easy points in the first half. we may lose by 30 points tonight I bet Carolina scores over 40 points. **** Lee.

The guest line is presented by Michael Kendrick of The Kendrick Group. Michael is a local carpenter and a lifelong Vandy fan. He builds bookshelves, cabinets, picture frames, furniture and made-to-order items, including a display case for my prized Dale Murphy jersey. I have seen Michael’s work and he’s a true craftsman. If you’re in the market for custom woodwork, give Michael a call at 615.830.9458.

Today’s mailbag is sponsored by Sutherland & Belk, a family owned injury law firm. If you or a loved one has been hurt in an accident, give Taylor or Russell a call at 615-846-6200 to see what your rights are and if they can help.

The show, of course, is presented by Dr. Jody Jones, DDS.

We'll record at 1 Central on Thursday.

The recent thread about decommits got me wondering how guys have fared after they decommitted from VU during the recruiting process.

2012 class:
WR Andre McDonald - flipped to Minnesota after Coach Beatty left. Had 10 catches for 121 yards as a freshman, then got suspended for drug incidents and left for Wisconsin-River Falls where he never played.
DL Josh Dawson - flipped to Georgia on signing day. Played almost every game at UGA as a reserve. Made 4 starts in his career. 38 career tackles.
DL Tre Griffin - First commitment of the class, not really a decommit as much as he was cut loose due to academics. Signed with Georgia Southern, where he was a career reserve player until the last half of his senior season. Finshed that year with 27 tackles, 8 TFL and 2 sacks.
S Chris Moody - flipped to South Carolina just before signing day after Coach McGriff left the staff. Played in 48 games, made 15 starts. 94 career tackles with 2 INTs.

2013 class:
QB Chad Kanoff - Signed with VU, but then left for Princeton before enrolling. 3 year starter at Princeton. Completed 655 of 1015 passes (65%) for 7,510 yards with 43 TDs and 22 INTs. Named 1st Team All-Ivy and broke school record for passing yards. Was 6th most prolific Ivy League passer of all-time at time of graduation. Played on NFL practice squads for 3 teams and a couple of seasons in the XFL.
RB Matt Dayes - Committed to VU for one day before flipping to NC St. Ran for 2,856 career yards with 34 TDs. Had 1,166 yards and 10 TDs as a senior. Drafted in 7th round. Played one season active and two more on practice squads. Earned $844k in the NFL.
RB Rudy Ford - Committed to VU for 9 months before flipping to Auburn a week before signing day. Played DB for Auburn where he was a 3 year starter. 93 tackles with 3 INTs as a soph, 118 tackles with 2 INTs as a junior and 59 tackles as a senior. Drafted in the 6th round by the Cardinals and is currently with the GB Packers. Has earned $5.9 million over his NFL career.
DL Sean Spencer - Committed to VU for 4 months before flipping to Navy. Came from a career military family and jumped at the chance. On the Navy team for 3 season, but never appeared in a game.
S Malik Greaves - Flipped to West Virginia. Played in 1 career game before having to retire due to multiple hip surgeries.
ATH Malik Foreman - Flipped to UT after they offered his best friend Dewaun Swafford a grayshirt chance. 2 years as a special teams player before cracking the rotation his final two years as a corner/nickel. 71 career tackles and 3 INTs.

2014 class: "The Coach Poach class"
QB KJ Carta-Samuels - Flipped to Washington where he redshirted and spent 3 seasons as the backup QB. Grad Transferred to Colorado St where he started 10 games and completed 183 of 298 passes (61%) for 2,261 yards with 19 TDs and 9 INTs. Passed for 389 yards in upset win over Arkansas and passed for school record 537 yards in first career start (against Hawaii).
QB Trace McSorley - Flipped to Penn St. 3 year starter where he holds Penn State's records for wins (31), completions (720), passing yards (9,899), passing TDs (77), total offense (11,596) QB rush yards (1,697), Rushing TDs by a QB (30), Total TDs (107), 300 yards passing games (10) and 200 yards passing games (28). 6th Round Draft pick by the Ravens. Now plays for the AZ Cardinals. $2.7 mil career earnings.
QB Elijah Staley - Flipped to Miss St when they told him he could also play basketball, an option VU didnt offer. Redshirted then played in 2 games as Dak Prescott's backup. Transferred to JUCO, then to Morgan St. Passed for 1800 yards and 9 TDs with 12 INTs between JUCO and Morgan St. Gave up football and transferred to Dalton St to play basketball.
RB Mikale Wilbon - Flipped to Nebraska after CJF left. Possible academic issue also. Played in 29 career games, earning 7 starts. Best season was his junior year with 379 yards and 6 TDs. Relegated to special teams as a senior.
WR Kameron Uter - Flipped to Wake Forest, who was allowing him to also play baseball. Never enrolled as he was drafted by MLB. Played 3 years of Rookie Ball before disappearing.
TE/DE Montez Sweat - Was cut loose by Franklin after he lied to the staff about visiting Florida. Signed with Michigan St where he played 2 games as a DE before getting kicked off the team. Went JUCO and signed with Miss St where he was a 2x 1st Team All-SEC rush end. Posted 10.5 sacks as a junior and 11.5 sacks as a senior. 1st Round pick by Washington where he will be at $23 million in earnings at the end of his current deal.
OL Brendan Brosnan - Flipped to Penn St. Played 2 years as a reserve OL before retiring due to chronic hip issues.
OL Jesse Burkett - Flipped to Stanford. 3 year starter at Center.
OL Andrew Mike - Committed to Mason for one day before flipping to Florida. Played in 27 games on kick units at Florida. Grad transferred to Rice and played 6 games on special teams.
OL Jashon Robertson - Flipped to Tennessee after Franklin left. 4 year starter. Named Freshman All-American and 2nd Team All-SEC (soph year).
OL Chance Sorrell - Flipped to Penn St. Played in 3 career games before retiring.
DL Michael Sawyers - Flipped to Tennessee. Kicked off team as a freshman for stealing from people's dorm rooms. Went JUCO where he posted 13 career tackles and gave up football.
DL Lloyd Tubman - Flipped to Penn St, but didnt get admission clearance and ended up at Kentucky. Redshirted at Kentucky before being banned from campus for 5 years due to rape accusation. Went to JUCO, then Austin Peay where he played in 16 games over 3 seasons. Posted 37 career tackles with 2.5 sacks.
CB Grant Haley - Flipped to Penn St. 3 year starter. 139 career tackles, 5 INTs and 28 PBUs. Has been on practice squads with 3 teams (Giants, Saints, Rams). Was promoted to active roster and got a super bowl ring in the 2022 Super Bowl. Best known for his blocked FG return TD to beat undefeated Ohio St in 2016. $2.2 million NFL earnings.
CB Amani Oruwariye - Flipped to Penn St. Played in 48 career games. Posted 107 tackles, 30 PBU and 8 INTs. 1st Team All-Big10 as a senior. Drafted in 5th round by Lions where he is active. $5.45 million NFL earnings.
S Kyle Gibson - Flipped to UCF one week before signing day. Played in 44 games. Posted 203 tackles with 5 INTs. Named 1st Team All-AAC as a junior.
Snapper Ike Powell - Flipped to Auburn as a walk-on after Franklin left. 3 year Long Snapper and 1st Team All-SEC as a senior. Mason chose to offer Davis Winkie a full scholarship instead of Powell.

2015 Class:
DL Jackson Perry - Mutual parting of ways and ended up at Dartmouth. Battled injuries for 3 years before becoming a 2 year starter. Named 1st Team All-Ivy as a junior. Started all 20 games his last two seasons and posted 77 tackles, 13 TFL and 5.5 sacks in those years.
DL T.J. Smith - Flipped to Arkansas 2 weeks before signing day after 3 months committed. 3 year starter. Posted 76 tackles, 13 TFL, 6 sacks. Currently on the MIN Vikings practice squad.
LB Eli Brown - Flipped to Kentucky (was an early Franklin commit). Played in 22 games as a reserve and posted 62 tackles. Transferred to WKU where he played in 21 games and posted 78 tackles, 13.5 TFL and 4 sacks.

2016 class:
RB Sam Brodner - Flipped to Wisconsin. Never played.
DL Brandon Adams - Flipped to Georgia Tech a week before signing day after a 6 month commitment. Mason used the spot to sign Josiah Sa'o. Started 3 games at GT, played in 33 games overall. Posted 24 tackles, 5 TFL as a junior. Passed away just before spring practice of his senior year.

Saw this tweet...curious if anyone knows if it's valid. Hope he doesn't make it through the season.

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Starts at about 12:25. Talks a lot about his career as a ref. Sounds like having playing experience helps a lot.


Sorry if duplicated

Has Vanderbilt football ever landed any five-star recruits? If so, who and how did they do?

Wake game got a little more winnable

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Some interesting numbers in regards to Vandy's 2023 class

Asked Stute about his consistency a few games ago, at that point he had eight double-figure scoring outings. Have delved a little deeper into the stats since that night and found an interesting trend.

Stute in "buy games" (Alabama A&M, Southern Miss, Grambling State, Wofford, and Morehead State): 6 points per game, 29.7% from the field, and 25% from 3-point range. Stute has scored in double figures just once in these five games.

Stute in non-buy games (Memphis, Temple, Saint Mary's, Fresno State, VCU, Pitt, and NCST): 15.8 points per game, 51.4% from the field, 51.9% from 3-point range, and has scored in double figures each game.

Seems that consistency has only showed up in Vanderbilt's bigger games. Wonder how much that gap in production has rubbed off on the rest of the roster, Stute is the guy that leads them out of the tunnel. Also wonder if there's less of an emphasis on getting him set looks in those "buy games" in an effort to get more of a natural offensive flow that they can eventually build on. Certainly not a coincidence that Vanderbilt's offense has risen to the occasion when Stute is on and has fallen to the level of opponents when he isn't.

Highlighting six 2023 signees that could make an instant impact as true freshmen. Do you all agree? What other candidates would you include?

Martel Hight (from Louisville)
AJ Newberry (from Colorado)
Jalen Gilbert (from Washington State)
Dante Kelly (from Mississippi State)

Loss to Texans. 5th in a row. on their way to 7 (maybe 8) iar. I hope this leads to wholesale housecleaning after the season. And I'm a Titans fan.

We caught up with Deago Benson's head coach. He talks about his skill set, personality, and whether he thinks he can play early as a freshman. It was a really good interview. I think some of the football posters on here will appreciate his answer on whether Deago can play early. As we know, pass protection will be critical for these freshmen backs coming in if they want early playing time.