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Tubman recaps Vanderbilt commitment

Lloyd Tubman enjoyed his first trip to Vanderbilt during Super Saturday in March, so much so that by the time he made the return trip to Nashville for the Commodores spring game, he knew it was were he wanted to be.
"I took a trip down to Vanderbilt with my head coach for junior day, and I got to see how the guys practiced and got to meet the coaches. They were excited to see me and everything," Tubman told VandySports.com recently. "I watched more of the practice and took in the atmosphere, and see how everything was, how they treated everybody as like family.
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"Then, we got to talk to the coaches and Coach Franklin and talked about the key points of Vanderbilt. At first, we weren't even talking about football, we were talking about academics and we need to do to get in and how it can help us in the future. Real things, not just football, football, NFL type stuff. It just really stood out, with the school's history, that it's more than just football.
"So coming back home, I was real excited, because they also offered on the spot too. I thought about it, went over it with mom as well and talked to all of my coaches. So I wanted to go back down to see the spring game, and I took my mom down there with me so that she could see it too. I just knew that's where I wanted to be at, even though I was sitting on four offers, I knew that's where I wanted to be."
Tubman pulled the trigger shortly before the Black and Gold game began, while the recruits and their families were meeting with coaches prior to the football team's pre-game walk amongst the fans.
"When I got there, it was about 10 or 10:30, before Star Walk. We had breakfast and everything, and talked to the coaches. Coach was talking to all the recruits and then wanted to talk to me after he got done speaking. So my mom and I went over to him and sat down and talked about everything, and I just told him that he would have my word and I wanted to come [to Vanderbilt].
"Everyone was excited, and it was good for me as well," Tubman continued. "My mom was happy, all the coaches were happy, and I was very happy. My family was very excited about it because I'm going to be getting a world class education there. On the way back home, I talked about how I can just focus on finishing the school year and focus on my senior season and go in there and dominate.
"Everything felt great, and the Vandy fan base gave me love too. A quarterback from Atlanta committed when I was down there too, and we were also talking to all of these other guys. The D-tackle, [Jay] Robertson from Nashville, we call one and other and keep tabs to just get everything rolling for the next couple of years."
At 6-foot-5, 235-pounds, Tubman stands out on the football field for various reasons. On film, he's quick in pursuit and has the length for an increased tackle radius. As a junior, he registered a staggering 79 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 23 sacks and seven forced fumbles.
"The thing that they said stood out was my speed and my size and frame," Tubman said. "I run a 4.5 flat in my forty, which is good for a defensive end. Overall, they liked my pursuit and speed, and the ability to be flexible and just making plays. And how I make plays. Basically, they liked my speed and endurance and my body frame."
Though Tubman is currently unranked by Rivals, his talent was starting to stand out to many college programs across the south. He ultimately chose the Commodores over offers from Kentucky, Louisville and Western Kentucky and had other programs such as Michigan and Ohio State also involved.
As far as his rating goes, that's sure to be established in the coming months as he plans to get out to a few prospect camps including the Rivals Cincinnati Camp this weekend.
"I have a couple of camps I'll be going to like the Rivals Under Armour invite only camp this weekend," Tubman said. "Hopefully I'll do well and be able to be one of those guys to play in the January game. I have a few other camps coming up, with the next one being on the 4th of May, the NIKE camp.
"It'll be good to go to some of these camps because I didn't really get any attention until recently, so I can go to these camps get rated, but also get better for my senior season over at Seneca. Me and my head coach, we're trying to get everyone on board and just try to win and win big. Most of the team is going to be seniors and we've been playing together for a long time. We're close, we're like brothers and have a close bond, so we want to leave that with a boom."
The Seneca Red Hawks went just 3-8 last season while playing against a strong schedule under first year head coach LaVell Boyd. The Red Hawks played against the likes of Scott County, Ballard, DuPont Manuel and district rival Pleasure Ridge Park. Seneca lost in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs to Central Hardin.
Tubman initially committed to Western Kentucky when the Hilltoppers were his only offer, but he opened things back up before committing to the Commodores. He considers himself a strong VU commitment.
As for what he plans to do while at Vanderbilt, Tubman says he has an interest in EECS program.
"I'm really good with technology and stuff, so I'd like to get into web designing and computer engineering because its something I enjoy doing. I do a lot of it in my spare time, so that's what I plan to pursue."
Tubman is one of seven current Vanderbilt commitments and the second projected defensive lineman of the group.
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