Some significant recruiting news regarding top targets came out this week regarding official visits to Vanderbilt, so I figured it's time to give an update on the overall recruiting outlook. With 12 commitments in the fold, Vanderbilt could end up with as many as 17 or possibly 18 signees in the 2016 class when it's all said and done.
Key official visits upcoming:
November 14th - JoeJuan Williams, Toleafoa Sean Auwae
November 21st - Trevor Speights
Top defensive targets:
JoeJuan Williams, S, Hendersonville - gave a huge breakdown on his official visits with Woody Wommack last week. Has his official visit with Vanderbilt scheduled for the weekend of November 14th and said out of all the head coaches recruiting him, has the best relationship with Derek Mason. Will OV North Carolina this weekend and then Penn State on November 21st as well. LSU is scheduled to get his last official visit, which for now is schedule the weekend before his decision date on December 5th, that visit and decision could be moved back a week depending on if LSU is in the SEC championship game or not. Other teams vying for Williams' fifth official visit are Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Arizona State.
Kelvin Lucky, OLB, Edgewood Academy (Ala.) - Since his recent visit to Vanderbilt during the weekend of the Missouri game, the 6-foot-6, 230-pound defensive phenom has since picked up offers from Texas, Cal, and UCLA. In talking with him after his trip to West End, he currently has Vanderbilt very high on his list of schools. He will plan figure out his official visit plans after his current high school season is over. But, academics and his friendship with current Vanderbilt running back Josh Crawford could play in the Commodores favor, but he is quickly blowing up on the recruiting scene.
Nick McCloud, DB, South Pointe (S.C.) - Like Lucky, McCloud is another recent target that enjoyed his visit to Vanderbilt for the Missouri game. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound prospect ranks Vanderbilt near the top of his list when I chatted with him after his visit. N.C. State, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Northwestern are other schools he is considering. McCloud doesn't have a college decision date set as of yet.
Coy Cronk, DE/OT, Central Catholic (Ind.) - Vanderbilt is still in the mix for the 3-star prospect, who just recently visited Illinois. For now, it looks like a three-team race between the Commodores, Illini, and Indiana. Cronk is still feeling out his recruiting process and appears to be in no hurry to make a decision.
Offensive targets:
Trevor Speights, RB, McAllen (Tex.) - The three-star prospect has set his official visit to Vanderbilt for the weekend of November 21st when the Commodores host Texas A&M, which is another SEC school that is recruiting Speights pretty hard. However you look at it, big news for Vanderbilt to get their top running back target in for an official visit. He's already taken an official visit to Oklahoma back in October and plans to OV Stanford on November 28th. Also, Speights is taking his SAT this weekend, which makes you believe he's not exactly a take for Stanford as of now but that could all change after this weekend with his test scores.
Tre Bryant, RB, Christian Brothers (Mo.) - Someone that is now on the list due to his decommitment from Kansas State this week. There is still interest there from Vanderbilt and even Deuce Wallace said he has reached out to the 3-star prospect, so it will be interesting to see if things progress with him. He visited Vanderbilt back in June after the Commodores offered earlier that month. For now, it looks like a battle between Nebraska (who just recently offered him in late October) and Minnesota, where Bryant took an official visit to on Halloween weekend.
Rontavius Groves, WR, Pearl Cohn (Tenn.) - Groves listed his final four schools as being West Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, and Vanderbilt in a recent interview with Woody Wommack. While he didn't give out set dates, he does have official visits planned to West Virginia in November and North Carolina in December. Those two schools appear to be the favorites, while Illinois and Vanderbilt appear to be on the outside looking in, he did say there was a "pretty good chance" Vanderbilt get an official visit from him. As it seems to be with Groves, he's keeping things close to the vest.
Toleafoa Sean Auwae, OL, Kapolei (Hawai'i) - The UCLA commit made it clear that he intended to take some official visits during the summer after he committed to the Bruins. Vanderbilt will get one of those officials from the 3-star prospect the weekend of November 14th. Auwae will start his official visit process this weekend with a trip to Louisville.
Grayson Stover, OT, Hudson (Fla.) - Right now, Stover seems focused on the following programs - Vanderbilt, Indiana, Illinois, and Maryland. He's already taken official visits to Vanderbilt and just recently Indiana. He has an official scheduled for Maryland this weekend and could possibly visit Illinois sometime in November as well. UConn is also another team to keep an eye on for Stover. For now, it looks like it could be a battle between Indiana and Maryland for Stover due to their criminal justice programs and early enrollment factor. Remember, Vanderbilt told Stover that he could not enroll early during his official visit and that will likely play a key factor in his decision.
Patrick Kasl, OT, Forest Lake (Minn.) - Vanderbilt recently offered the Wisconsin commit back in October, the three-star prospect has been committed to the Badgers since the summer. For now, it appears Kasl is sticking to that commitment despite the recent offer. So, it will be interesting to see if Vanderbilt can land a visit from him sometime in the near future.
Another note:
Vanderbilt appears to be very interested in an intriguing JUCO defensive end named Austin Vaimili. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound prospect said he has talked with Coach Maile and has sent his transcripts into Vanderbilt. He is ranked the #97 Junior College prospect according to Rivals.com and also has offers from Oregon State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State.
Austin Vaimili Highlights
Key official visits upcoming:
November 14th - JoeJuan Williams, Toleafoa Sean Auwae
November 21st - Trevor Speights
Top defensive targets:
JoeJuan Williams, S, Hendersonville - gave a huge breakdown on his official visits with Woody Wommack last week. Has his official visit with Vanderbilt scheduled for the weekend of November 14th and said out of all the head coaches recruiting him, has the best relationship with Derek Mason. Will OV North Carolina this weekend and then Penn State on November 21st as well. LSU is scheduled to get his last official visit, which for now is schedule the weekend before his decision date on December 5th, that visit and decision could be moved back a week depending on if LSU is in the SEC championship game or not. Other teams vying for Williams' fifth official visit are Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Arizona State.
Kelvin Lucky, OLB, Edgewood Academy (Ala.) - Since his recent visit to Vanderbilt during the weekend of the Missouri game, the 6-foot-6, 230-pound defensive phenom has since picked up offers from Texas, Cal, and UCLA. In talking with him after his trip to West End, he currently has Vanderbilt very high on his list of schools. He will plan figure out his official visit plans after his current high school season is over. But, academics and his friendship with current Vanderbilt running back Josh Crawford could play in the Commodores favor, but he is quickly blowing up on the recruiting scene.
Nick McCloud, DB, South Pointe (S.C.) - Like Lucky, McCloud is another recent target that enjoyed his visit to Vanderbilt for the Missouri game. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound prospect ranks Vanderbilt near the top of his list when I chatted with him after his visit. N.C. State, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Northwestern are other schools he is considering. McCloud doesn't have a college decision date set as of yet.
Coy Cronk, DE/OT, Central Catholic (Ind.) - Vanderbilt is still in the mix for the 3-star prospect, who just recently visited Illinois. For now, it looks like a three-team race between the Commodores, Illini, and Indiana. Cronk is still feeling out his recruiting process and appears to be in no hurry to make a decision.
Offensive targets:
Trevor Speights, RB, McAllen (Tex.) - The three-star prospect has set his official visit to Vanderbilt for the weekend of November 21st when the Commodores host Texas A&M, which is another SEC school that is recruiting Speights pretty hard. However you look at it, big news for Vanderbilt to get their top running back target in for an official visit. He's already taken an official visit to Oklahoma back in October and plans to OV Stanford on November 28th. Also, Speights is taking his SAT this weekend, which makes you believe he's not exactly a take for Stanford as of now but that could all change after this weekend with his test scores.
Tre Bryant, RB, Christian Brothers (Mo.) - Someone that is now on the list due to his decommitment from Kansas State this week. There is still interest there from Vanderbilt and even Deuce Wallace said he has reached out to the 3-star prospect, so it will be interesting to see if things progress with him. He visited Vanderbilt back in June after the Commodores offered earlier that month. For now, it looks like a battle between Nebraska (who just recently offered him in late October) and Minnesota, where Bryant took an official visit to on Halloween weekend.
Rontavius Groves, WR, Pearl Cohn (Tenn.) - Groves listed his final four schools as being West Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, and Vanderbilt in a recent interview with Woody Wommack. While he didn't give out set dates, he does have official visits planned to West Virginia in November and North Carolina in December. Those two schools appear to be the favorites, while Illinois and Vanderbilt appear to be on the outside looking in, he did say there was a "pretty good chance" Vanderbilt get an official visit from him. As it seems to be with Groves, he's keeping things close to the vest.
Toleafoa Sean Auwae, OL, Kapolei (Hawai'i) - The UCLA commit made it clear that he intended to take some official visits during the summer after he committed to the Bruins. Vanderbilt will get one of those officials from the 3-star prospect the weekend of November 14th. Auwae will start his official visit process this weekend with a trip to Louisville.
Grayson Stover, OT, Hudson (Fla.) - Right now, Stover seems focused on the following programs - Vanderbilt, Indiana, Illinois, and Maryland. He's already taken official visits to Vanderbilt and just recently Indiana. He has an official scheduled for Maryland this weekend and could possibly visit Illinois sometime in November as well. UConn is also another team to keep an eye on for Stover. For now, it looks like it could be a battle between Indiana and Maryland for Stover due to their criminal justice programs and early enrollment factor. Remember, Vanderbilt told Stover that he could not enroll early during his official visit and that will likely play a key factor in his decision.
Patrick Kasl, OT, Forest Lake (Minn.) - Vanderbilt recently offered the Wisconsin commit back in October, the three-star prospect has been committed to the Badgers since the summer. For now, it appears Kasl is sticking to that commitment despite the recent offer. So, it will be interesting to see if Vanderbilt can land a visit from him sometime in the near future.
Another note:
Vanderbilt appears to be very interested in an intriguing JUCO defensive end named Austin Vaimili. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound prospect said he has talked with Coach Maile and has sent his transcripts into Vanderbilt. He is ranked the #97 Junior College prospect according to Rivals.com and also has offers from Oregon State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State.
Austin Vaimili Highlights
