Is Derek Mason Missing Out? Comparing Vanderbilt Football’s Summer Recruiting Since 2008

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

It’s the middle of June, and Vanderbilt doesn’t have a single verbal commitment in his recruiting class of 2017. Should head coach Derek Mason be concerned?

The Commodore cupboard for ’17 and beyond is bare as Mason preps his fourth class of high school standouts. Nashville hasn’t been a hot summer destination for top recruits, but history shows valuable players can he added in May and June. James Franklin had the most success on that front, but Mason hasn’t been a failure in his own right. However, as that recruit tracker remains stuck behind programs like Harvard, Idaho, Villanova, Gardner-Webb, and Indiana State, worries about this team’s future grow.

The counterbalance to the concern is simple. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. With a handful of major camps coming up, more recruits will be in contact with the Vanderbilt coaching staff than ever before. July and August will provide this program with several opportunities to bend the ears of some of the nation’s top players.

But hauling in early recruits can play a major role in reeling in players as National Signing Day approaches. Commits like Brian Kimbrow and Josh Grady did as much work as assistant coaches when it came to touting Vanderbilt’s praises and talking to other high school standouts back in 2012 and 2011.

So where does Mason’s empty class of ’17 stack up against the program’s recent recruiting efforts? Here’s who the Commodores have been able to bring to campus before the dog days of summer could drain the sweat out of the south since 2008.

Recruits Committed Before 6/15
Year	Player	Position	247 Composite Rank	Contributor?	Starter?	All-SEC?
2008	Jay Fullam	DB	0.8155	No.	No.	No.
Bobby Johnson	Justin Cabbagestalk	OL	0.7882	No.	No.	No.
	Eric Samuels	ATH	0.8324	Yes.	No.	No.
2009	Thomas Ryan	DE	0.8463	No.	No.	No.
Bobby Johnson	Grant Ramsay	OL	0.8451	No.	No.	No.
	Chase White	OL	0.7935	Yes.	Yes.	No.
2010	James Lewis	OL	0.8328	No.	No.	No.
Bobby Johnson
2011	Jacob Sealand	LB	0.8739	Yes.	Yes.	No.
James Franklin	Barrett Gouger	OL	0.8586	Yes.	Yes.	No.
	Darreon Herring	LB	0.858	Yes.	Yes.	No.
	Stephen Weatherly	LB	0.8506	Yes.	Yes.	Yes.
	Ladarius Banks	DL	0.8089	Yes.	Yes.	No.
2012	Johnny McCrary	QB	0.8839	Yes.	Yes.	No.
James Franklin	Jonathan Wynn	DE	0.8609	Yes.	Yes.	No.
	Taurean Ferguson	DB	0.8497	Yes.	Yes.	No.
	Nathan Marcus	TE	0.8464	Yes.	No.	No.
	Latevius Rayford	WR	0.8418	Yes.	Yes.	No.
	Gerald Perry	WR	0.8262	No.	No.	No.
	Carlos Burse	WR	0.8799	No.	No.	No.
2013	Dallas Rivers	RB	0.8672	Yes.	No.	No.
James Franklin	Emmanuel Smith	DB	0.8922	Yes.	No.	No.
	Bryce Lewis	DB	0.8535	No.	No.	No.
2014	Donovan Sheffield*	DB	0.8982	Yes.	Yes.	No.
Derek Mason	Josh Crawford	RB	0.8407	Yes.	No.	No.
	Kyle Shurmur	QB	0.8974	Yes.	Yes.	No.
2015	Deuce Wallace	QB	0.864	n/a	n/a	n/a
Derek Mason	Donaven Tennyson	WR	0.8403	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Devin Cochran	OL	0.859	n/a	n/a	n/a
2016
Derek Mason
	Averages:		0.8501821429	68.00%	48.00%	4.00%

Mason still has work to do to match his own standard. He’s responsible for a 2014 class that brought in the two highest-rated summer recruits in program history — though Donovan Sheffield was a holdover from the Franklin days. The argument against his Class of 2017 will grow louder the longer he waits; Vandy standouts like Nigel Bowden, Darrius Sims and Caleb Azubike pledged allegiance to the ‘Dores in the June before their respective senior seasons. That’s no indicator of future success, but it certainly wouldn’t look good in comparison.That list includes two starting quarterbacks (and a possible third in Deuce Wallace), a Minnesota Viking (Stephen Weatherly), and a 2011 class that set the ‘Dores up at linebacker for the next four seasons. It also included its fair share of washouts, including one offensive lineman best known for getting stabbed by a former teammate. On average, the team’s summer recruits rate out as mid-three star prospects with a slightly less than 50/50 shot of developing into a starter for Vanderbilt.

So yes, there’s some reason to be concerned about next year’s recruiting class. Mason has secured commitments from some strong prospects the last two summers, but doesn’t have anyone locked in for Signing Day 2017 just yet. Still, it’s early, and the summer/fall will allow this team plenty of chances to correct this drought. It’s not time to worry just yet, but that will change if Vanderbilt can’t lock down any new players by August.