Both running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn and tight end Jared Pinkney are enrolled at Vanderbilt for the spring semester, a source within the VU football program has confirmed.
Vaughn and Pinkney are both redshirt juniors. Both would likely be selected in the NFL Draft if they were to leave Vanderbilt early.
However, the deadline to declare as an early entrant is January 14. Neither Vaughn nor Pinkney have entered their name into the draft as of January 7. Each would have an enormous impact should they return to Vanderbilt this fall.
Vaughn, playing his first season at VU after transferring from Illinois, rushed for 1,240 yards and averaged an astounding 7.9 yards per carry in 2018. He caught 13 passes for 170 yards and scored 14 total touchdowns, and capped off his season with a monster performance--13 carries, 243 yards, two touchdowns and three runs of 65-69 yards--in VU's Texas Bowl loss to Baylor.
However, durability is a concern. Vaughn missed the Kentucky game, and most of the Tennessee and Florida games, due to injury.
Pinkney broke out for career-best numbers of 50 catches, 774 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder was a headache for opposing secondaries and had catches of 39, 50 and 53 yards this season.
Both were second-team All-Southeastern Conference picks by the Associated Press. Vaughn was selected as the SEC's Newcomer of the Year by the AP.
Over 100 players have declared early for the NFL Draft, according to this list from NFL.com as of January 7.