2 – Solid Contributors: Players that occasionally started and contributed consistently in reserve duty.

Otis Washington – LB, 5'11, 225, 4.6

Very aggressive, downhill player….very high motor. Plays really low! In one clip he's standing up but almost appears in a three point stance. Good at making plays and running side-to-side. Funny clip of him at fullback where he just absolutely destroys some poor safety.

Verdict? – Some early struggles in the classroom and scout team rumors of greatness created a lot of hype for Washington to inherit the "next great Vanderbilt linebacker" mantle. After a solid season in 2002, Washington would eventually lose his starting position to red shirt freshman Jonathan Goff mid-way through last season. Expected to contribute depth and veteran leadership in 2005.

Ralph McKenzie – DT, 6'4, 290

Good size and quickness of the ball….fairly aggressive up the middle, but not a dominant player on the high school level.

Verdict? – McKenzie has been a dependable, if not, unspectacular on-again, off-again starter for most of his career. Will be seriously challenged by younger players in the off-season but will remain in the defensive tackle rotation next season.

Ryan King – OL, 6'7, 281, 5.3

Good size…nice frame…decent footwork for a big man. Nice long arms…plays a little too high and tends to get over-extended and lose balance. Not particularly aggressive….but a solid looking prospect on film.

Verdict? – King was very raw and very young when he arrived on campus, but has developed into a solid contributor. Arrived as a "project" player but should provide good depth at OT next season.

Eric Byrum – OLB, 6'3, 230, 4.7

Rangy and physical….shows good, but not great, speed to the football. Made several nice plays in limited clips…looks a tad stiff changing directions.

Verdict? – The quiet younger brother of fiery offense lineman Jamie Byrum, Eric was a solid contributor even in this true freshman year under Herb Paterra. While he started at different times throughout his career he never made enough plays to hang on to his starting job.

Marty Morgan – 6'3, 225, 4.7

Looks like a play maker on his film….big hitter with good speed in chasing ball carriers down. Surprised at the speed and aggressiveness…looks like a solid SEC player.

Verdict? - An occasional starter in among a crowded linebacker crew, Morgan was a solid team contributor before a serious knee injury end his career prematurely.

1 – Non-starters/Special teams: Players that have never-started or only started on special teams

Ben Koger – Safety, 6'1, 190, 4.4

Tape show several strong hits on receivers coming across the middle. Looks like an aggressive hitter…with decent speed. No shots in pass coverage or making interceptions make you wonder?

Verdict? – Koger was initially supposed to be greyshirted but a spot opened up. A solid special teams contributor, Koger has never been able to crack the starting lineup at safety.

Paul Meadows – Long Snapper, 6'2, 225, 4.7

Tape shows two nice clips of him long snapping.

Verdict? – If Meadows was only brought in to be a long snapper then he did his job well. But you have to question why a team that struggles with depth would waste a full scholarship on a long snapper? Walk-on Jason Daniels fulfilled this duty for free for several years.

Jason Caldwell – WR, 6'0, 185, no 40 time

Shows good knack for getting the deep ball in traffic…seems physically superior to most of high school defensive backs. Demonstrates excellent speed blocking a punt off the edge.

Verdict? – Caldwell is expected to challenge for playing time in the wide receiver rotation next season after suffering a serious knee injury that sidelined him for all of 2004.

Nigel Seaman – OL, 6'4, 275

Good size….a bit cumbersome. Long arms but gets over-extended easily. For an offensive line with two D-1 prospects, the quarterback spends a lot of time running for his life?

Verdict? – After becoming a scout-team legend his true freshman year, Seaman struggled with weight problems and has never quite been able to crack the starting line-up.

Ronnie Swoopes – 6'2, 185, no 40 time listed

Good looking, athletic prospect from what you can make out…..very poor clips. Show one INT return for a TD and two long kickoff returns for TDs. Maybe he should get a shot at kick returner?

Verdict? Another safety prospect that was originally suppose to grey shirt. Swoopes has always looked the part but has never been consistent enough to get on the field regularly.

0 - Non-finishers: Players who did not finish out their careers at Vanderbilt (includes transfers, drop-outs, or player lost to career ending injury)

This is the critical category that often makes or breaks a class but is never mentioned on Signing Day. Also, known as the "What ever happen to…" category. How many of these guys received glowing accolades on Signing Day only to see their career short circuited for one reason or another.

David Koral – QB, 6'2, 205, no 40 time listed

He has by far the best quality film of any high school on the tape. Wonder if that has anything to do with it? Honestly, the kid really looks like he can gun the ball around. (Probably not what you wanted to hear?) He has really nice delivery and zip on his balls. It probably helped that he has at least two WRs that look like future NFL talents.

Verdict? – Probably no player came in with more hype to VU and did less. His senior year Koral set the national record for touchdown passes in a game and was on the cover of national recruiting magazines. I couldn't believe the first time I saw him in person. Spoiled soft and lazy, Koral presumed he would walk right into a starters job but he couldn't even finish stadiums with the team in summer workouts. Amazingly over-hyped recruit. Back in D-1 now, Koral was a back-up at UCLA last season.

Keith Williams 6'1, 175, 4.4

First thought is "slow"….looks like he is limping on the first touchdown catch he makes? Show good hands going up high to haul in a bad pass and hanging on after a big hit. Some nice moves in traffic but he never outruns anybody…..even on the high school level.

Verdict? – Keith was a good kid but probably not well-suited at Vanderbilt. A bit of a jokester, he never really could pick up the mental part of the game and struggled in school as well before an injury ended his career early. Brings to mind that "fit" term that recruits are always talking about. Williams and Vanderbilt were not a good "fit".

Jerrin Holt – WR, 6'3, 203, 4.6

Big but slow…more of a H-back hybrid player that fit in Crosby's offense….good hands as a receiver but not SEC type speed.

Verdict? – Holt had a lot of confidence and some awkwardly huge feet. Coming in he thought he should be in the NFL, but didn't have the skills to back it up. He left the team in the spring of his freshman year.

Jason Mathenia – WR, 6'1, 185, 4.45

Really nothing special on tape….nice hands, but sloppy route running. Quick, but not fast. Scrappy….maybe a good inside slot receiver. Waits for the ball in the air.

Verdict? – While many will remember Mathenia as an emerging threat in the passing game before his off-season transfer, he really didn't have SEC level talent. He was the product of some "blind" recruiting efforts by Steve Crosby who had strong ties to the small Texas town of Coppers Cove. More on that later….

Lance Garner – K, 6'0, 180, 4.7

Tape shows two deep field goals tries and one kickoff into the end zone on some very poor tape.

Verdict? – From the same high school team as Mathenia, Crosby had some special affection for hard-scrabble kids from this part of Texas. Garner's leg was average at best.

Frank Omiyale – OL, 6'4, 270, 5.2

Hard to make out much on this local prospect from Whites Creeks high school in TN. Looks like a quick interior lineman with decent size and ability.

Verdict? – Honestly, I have no idea who this kid is and was shocked to find his name on the Signing day tape. He must have signed with VU and then never made it to school as he was not there when I arrived later that summer. Anybody who knows more please post in the War Room?

Tommy Johnstone – LB, 6'1, 230, no 40 time

Rangy looking outside linebacker…similar to Marty Morgan but without the good speed. Good size….hitter.

Verdict? – Another southwest Texas unknown signed by Crosby that didn't make it through fall camp. He quit saying that he was just playing football for his Dad, not for himself.

Interesting side note: Amazingly there are three players with reported 4.4 speed in the bottom half of this class (Koger, Williams, Mathenia) Wish those numbers were correct.

Unsettling as it may be, the largest group was undoubtedly the Non-finishers, although this can reasonably be expected during the coach transition the occurred after their freshman year. Still 27% attrition right off the top of this class and you can see where Vanderbilt's lingering depth problems come from. (Unfortunately, this attrition rate of the class of 2002 is already at 33% with 7 of 21 prospects no longer playing at Vanderbilt.)

All in all, I think you will see that this class compares is about average compared to most with most Vanderbilt recruiting classes in recent memory. You have sleepers that succeed beyond anybody's expectations in Cutler, Haye, and Osemwegie, but you have many more (Williams, Swoopes, Koger, Meadows, Seaman, Johnstone, etc) that never actually develop into serviceable SEC players. Unfortunately the percentage of sleepers that turned into stars in the class of 2001 is less than 15%.

For every top-rated commit like Matthew Tant that becomes a star, you also have a spectacular failure like David Koral. Since Vanderbilt is unlikely to make a dramatic charge up the SEC East totem pole in the win column right away the key for future success would seem to be to better evaluate so-called "sleepers" from the beginning. Just the simple step of eliminating 3-4 non-finishers and replacing them with another 2 solid starters and 2 more all-stars would dramatically improve the team as a whole?

This by and large has been the approach that Coach Johnson and his staff have taken. Work harder in the recruiting game to discover talent, develop it over time, and reap the benefits down the road. Will it apply to the class of 2005?

Unfortunately, you'll have to check back in four years.

Talk about it now in the War Room