Vanderbilt provided some proof that it may be able to be a real player in the transfer portal by adding former four-star recruit and TCU safety Randon Fontenette.
Fontenette is expected to be a mid-year enrollee at Vanderbilt and will almost certainly be a factor in the Commodores' safety rotation.
The Texas native was a rotational safety for TCU last season as a true freshman and finished the season with 16 tackles after appearing in all 12 of the Horned Frogs' games.
Fontenette was expected by many to be in the mix for a starting role at TCU in 2024 and to be a potential fixure of its defense moving forward.
Fontenette's game:
Vanderbilt landed another athletic, long, physical safety to pair with 2024 commit Dontae Carter. The former TCU safety showed at times in 2023 that he isn't scared of contact or coming down to make a play in the run.
Fontenette looked to be a better run defender than pass defender in 2023 but has flashed having solid range in coverage, as well.
The physical tools seem to be there for Fontenette. What may set him apart is his IQ, though. The former TCU safety was also a high-school quarterback. That will continue to help him see the game through a different lense as he adjusts to a new defense.
Clark Lea's defense is young on the backend and will inevitably take some lumps, but has some real building blocks in Fontenette and Carter.
What PFF says about Fontenette:
The former TCU safety played a total of 81 snaps in 2023 including 30 in the Horned Frogs' 69-45 loss to Oklahoma. The 6-foot-3 safety seemed to see the field more and more throughout the season, but did only chart six snaps in week 11 against Baylor.
Fontenette had four games with double-digit snaps this season.
45 of the freshman's snaps came in coverage while 36 of them came in run defense.
Fontenette had an overall grade of 69.3, an 82.6 in run defense, an 88 in tackling and a 60.3 in coverage.
Those grades would indicate that Fontenette is a more capable run stopper than coverage guy at this stage of his development.
