The Vanderbilt Commodores surprised a lot of people with their level of performance during the 2024 season.
Not much was expected from a program that had won 10 games in the previous five campaigns combined, including a winless 2020. However, Clark Lea showed that progress is being made in Year 4 on the job.
The team became bowl-eligible on November 2 when they defeated the Auburn Tigers on the road for their sixth victory. Unfortunately, they haven’t won a game since, losing to the South Carolina Gamecocks, LSU Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers.
But, the end-of-season losing streak should not deter from what was an overall successful campaign. The Commodores pulled off arguably the biggest upset of the college football season, beating then-No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on October 5.
Victories like that are what will help put Vanderbilt back on the map when it comes to recruiting efforts. As long as Lea can show high school recruits and players hitting the portal that things are heading in the right direction, they can begin moving up the ranks in a loaded SEC.
That process is taking a little longer than the school had hoped. As shared by Craig Haubert of ESPN, the Commodores currently have the No. 73 ranked recruiting class for 2025.
“The Commodores showed improvement on the field in 2024, which included several key conference wins after going 0-8 within the SEC in 2023. To continue to build on the positive momentum, they are working to add more talent, though their recruiting success has come along a bit slower and they could end up being active in the transfer portal.”
Headlining this class on the offensive side of the ball is wide receiver Cameran Dickson out of Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. He received offers from other power conference schools such as the Michigan State Spartans, Houston Cougars, and TCU Horned Frogs.
He shows good burst off the line of scrimmage, is a crisp route runner and shows excellent hands. Once the coaching staff gets him into the gym, he could be an immediate contributor adding some size to his frame,
Dickson will be catching passes for the foreseeable future, should everything work out, from Jack Elliott. A bit undersized, he is a gamer who led his high school to a state title in Illinois.
On defense, the best recruit Vanderbilt landed was safety Carson Lawrence.
“A strong prep in-state pick-up was safety Carson Lawrence, who has good range and the physicality to make tackles in space. Another quality addition to their secondary is CB Vanzale Hinton, who has good quickness and ball skills with good height and length,” wrote Haubert.
Bolstering the secondary is a good plan given how many prolific offenses the Commodores are going to have to slow down in the conference.
