We secured three excellent additions to this 2017 class, 2 Sunday, and one yesterday. These players are under the radar, excellent players. This class is shaping up well. 

On Sunday morning, inside linebacker Feleti Afemui announced he will play for Vanderbilt for the next four or five years. Feleti is a 6’3″, 224 pound solid 3 star out of Maui, Hawaii, who was a 2 time all-state performer for Maui High. He posted 61 solo tackles, 16 for loss, 3.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble he returned for a TD. Feleti chose VU over offers from Army, Fresno State, Hawaii, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah, and Washington State. Programs like Southern Cal, Ole Miss, Stanford, and Washington also showed interest. Loved Feleti’s film. He’s tough, aggressive, an excellent tackler, and a leader by example according to his high school coach. Nice pickup. Feleti joins high 3 star linebackers Dimitri Moore (6’2″, 195) and Colin Anderson (6’2″, 210) in this class. Like both of those guys’ film as well. Dimitri is enrolled and will be participating in spring practice. We have 4 star Josh Smith coming back, high 3 star Jordan Griffin, high 3 star Caleb Peart, solid 3 star Jay Hockaday, and, of course, the guy who will be our leader on defense next season, Oren Burks. 

Sunday afternoon we got a commitment from 3 star corner Allan George out of Andalusia, Alabama. Allan is a tall corner at 6’2″, 185, which Coach Mason likes. Allan posted 49 tackles, 7 interceptions and 9 pass breakups this past season. He has good ball skills, obviously, he’s tough, quick and he’s a super tackler. Like what we’re getting out of the Alabama prospect. His film is impressive. He blankets receivers and he is definitely a playmaker. Allan joins 86, 3-star Randall Haynie, a 6’0,” 178 corner, and  85, 3 star safety Tae Daley, as our secondary commits. Tae is already enrolled and will also compete in spring practice. With present corners, rising sophomore Jujuan Williams, a 4-star, Donovan Sheffield, a 4 star sophomore, and rising senior Tre Herndon, who was a high 3 star along with  3 star redshirt freshman Frank Coppet, and solid 3 star corner Elijah Hamilton,  we’re set at corner for next year and for the future beyond next year, though I know Coach Mason always wants to add corners and safeties. Safety looks like a strong position for us, too, with hard hitting LaDarius White, the talented high 3 star Emmanuel Smith, potential superstar Ryan White returning along with the solid Arnold Tarpley and high 3 star redshirt freshman Zaire Jones. We look very good in the secondary next year and for years to come. 

Last night, solid 3 star wide receiver Chris Pierce from Smithfield, Virginia committed. He was the 16th commit as we got another de-commit, Nico Bolden, but it’s fine. Nico will be going to New Mexico. Chris chose us over Old Dominion. Old Dominion won the Bahamas Bowl and is really trending upward into being a high quality program, so we beat out a very good competitor. Chris is 6’4″, 210, and has super hands, solid speed and really good strength. I watched him catch and get a ton of yards after the catch. He breaks a lot of tackles. In the past 2 years, Chris caught 90 passes for 1,485 yards and 24 TDs. He reminds me a lot of a former player for us who is now a standout for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League, one Jordan Matthews. Chris joins solid 3 star James Bostic, Jr, as our receiver commits. James is 6’3″, 200. Love the length on these guys to go along with the stellar guys we have in Trent Sherfield, Caleb Scott, Kalija Lipscomb, Donaven Tennyson and a guy who I believe will be stellar for us in the future as well, Jackson Winrow. Our receivers all have pretty good to excellent length, good speed and take it to the house ability. Excited about this group. Coach Mason and the staff may add one more as Mobile, AL standout Jalen Tolbert from McGill-Toolen High School is a guy we’ve got a shot with. Jalen is 6’3,” 190 pounds and his film is impressive. Makes the tough catches and has game-changing ability. Will keep you posted on Jalen.

Also, we’re still waiting on California defensive end Michael Owusu. Hopefully, Michael will pull the trigger today. And 4-star Hawaiian defensive tackle, Myron Tagovaioa-Amosa will be deciding between us and Notre Dame. We are slightly leading right now, but it’ll be close. Will keep you posted on those guys.

Will be in touch tonight if anyone else drops anchor and definitely tomorrow. Thanks.  

***Update: We just got our 17th commit this morning. Jonah Buchanan, a 6’3 1/2″, 265 pound defensive lineman out of Hawaii, has committed. Jonah looks talented and has the ability to fill out and become a 300 pounder. He’s very good against the run and the pass, he’s a good tackler, good sacker, good at batting the ball down, which is always helpful for the secondary. Looks like a solid player. 

The amount of clutch plays by the Vanderbilt basketball team was through the roof good on Saturday in our 68-66 victory over No.21 Florida before 10, 523 fans @ the O’Connell Center in Gainesville. 

Matt Fisher Davis sank clutch shot after clutch shot, finishing with 19. Luke played his typical hard-working, expert shooting game, along with super work on the defensive end. Luke finished with 11 points and 4 boards. Riley LaChance made three huge trifectas in the first half, and ended up with 11 points and 5 assists. Nolan Cressler was exceptional, finishing with 10 points, including some key drives and scores at the basket along with two critical free throws that put us ahead 66-63 with 1:30 remaining and another key drive and score at the rim with :36 left to put us up 68-64. Jeff Roberson played his best game this season. JRobe scored only 7, but was tremendous on the boards, pulling down, 8, four on the offensive end. Payton Willis gave us super minutes off the bench as did Joe Toye. If Djerry Baptiste can keep improving his game and Clevon Brown starts getting some confidence on the floor, we’ll have a solid 9 man group. Not sure what Coach Drew wants to do with the rotation going forward, but I like the makeup he has to work with.

The Gators wouldn’t go away, and after an uncharacteristic turnover by Luke with :11 left, Florida’s KeVaughn Allen attempted a deep 3 from the corner which MFD heavily contested without fouling. The shot was off preserving the victory. Allen was tough for us to stop. He finished with 29.

After the superb effort by our team in a very hostile and difficult place to win, we moved to 9-10 overall on the season and 3-4 in the SEC. Florida dropped to 14-5 and 5-2.

Now we matriculate further into the conference scheduling and have a shot to get back in the race with 3 of the next 4 @ home. It starts with Arkansas tomorrow night @ home, 7:30 CT/8:30 ET on the SEC Network. Then we face Iowa State @home on Saturday at 3 PM CT/4 PM ET on ESPN 2. This game is part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Then we’re @ A&M next Tuesday, 1-31, at 8 PM CT/9 PM ET on the U. And we end that 4 game stretch @ home versus Ole Miss, Saturday, Feb 4th, at 2 PM CT/3 PM ET on duh U.

So a big stretch coming up. First things first. The Razorbacks are 15-4 overall and 4-3 in the conference. Their conference victories are over UT, Missouri, A&M and LSU last Saturday, 99-86, at home. Their losses have come to Florida, 81-72 at home, Kentucky, 97-71, @ Rupp, and State, 84-78, @ home.

It’ll be tough with how athletic they are, but if we defend well, keep them out of the fast-paced, pressing style they like to employ, avoid major turnover numbers, rebound well and shoot it well, we can beat this team. In other words, we need another complete game like Saturday. That’s the game plan going forward. The Razorbacks have four players who are averaging double figures in scoring, led by Daryl Macon,  a 6’3″ guard, who averages 14 ppg. Moses Kingsley is their enforcer, it always seems like they have one or two every year, as Kingsley, 6’10” 230, is averaging 12 points and 8 boards. They’re averaging 38 boards per game, so we’ll have our work cut out for us on the glass. Should be a thriller, and hopefully a huge conference victory, which would move us to 4-4 and 10-10.  Hoping the students and locals will pack the house. This victory Saturday could be a huge momentum builder for this basketball team. Really proud of the heart and determination this team displayed on Saturday. It was an epic performance.

Football Recruiting

As I posted in a blast, we got our 15th commitment yesterday from 6’4″, 245 pound, 86, 3-star defensive end Stone Edwards out of Orange High School in Hillsborough, N.C. Loved Stone’s film. Aggressive player who posted 13 sacks and 21 tackles for loss his senior season in 2016. He’s an excellent addition to our defensive end class along with 86, 3-star Dayo Odeyingbo, 6’4″, 252, and 85, 3-star Jalen Pinkney, 6′ 3 1/2″, 235. Love all 3 guys’ size and film. It looks good at d end going forward with the guys we have coming back, including Dayo’s brother, Dare, and quite a few others, a couple of whom were freshmen this season and redshirted, who look like major sack guys and disrupters next season. We had 12 commits up this weekend and all of them were pumped about the weekend. Coach Mason had them riding go karts among other things. All the guys enjoyed that.

Looking at some remaining guys, who are likely to commit soon, Michael Owusu from California, a 6’6″, 210 pound outside linebacker, is very close to pulling the trigger. D’Angelo Gunter, a highly talented cornerback and wide receiver, is also very close. D’Angelo a California native like Michael and is 6′ 1 1/2 and 190 pounds. Longtime target Chris Pierce, a 6’4″, 212 pound really good looking receiver, is close as well. Chris is from Virginia. Myron Tagovailoa- Amosa, a 6’4″, 270 pound defensive end from Hawaii, is on the verge as is Hawaiian Feleti Afemuo, a 6 1 1/2, 217 pound inside linebacker. Also, Waydale Jones, a 6’4″, 190 pound wide receiver, is very interested in us. Kicker Noah Ruggies, one of the top kickers in the country, is high on us and would be a greyshirt, meaning he would be on the team the first year but not eligible to play and have to pay his own way. But he would be available after that. Players have done that quite a bit around the country.

There could be others. Jesse Johnson of Vandy 247 predicts this class will end up at 21 with a couple of greyshirt possibilities. If we could get most or all of this group, we are in really good shape for the future, with 2018 4 star quarterback Allan Walters already in the fold.

So some super stuff going on with our basketball and football programs.

PGA guys

Luke List and Jon Curran finished tied for 41st in the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, California, the old Bob Hope Desert Classic. Luke and Jon shot -8 for the tournament. Luke had it going for a while and had a shot at a top 7 or 8 finish, but had some bad holes on the back side and finished with a 73. JC shot 69 and finished strong on the Par 72 PGA West Stadium Course.

But Luke is still 12th in the Fed Ex rankings, which is awesome. Brandt is 111 and Jon is 125. All three are playing at the Farmers Insurance Open @ the historically good Torrey Pines golf Course in San Diego this week. Brandt is the defending champion after shooting a 69 last year on Sunday in amazingly windy and monsoon-like conditions. It was phenomenal what Brandt did. Brandt also won at Torrey in 2012. Hopefully all three will excel and one of them wins. Luke is really close, Brandt is a stud, and JC had a really good tournament over the weekend, so they all three have a shot.

***Note***

Also will be interviewing Corbs today, so expect a column in the next 2 days on VU baseball.  

It’s a battle of quarterbacks with some terrific skill players and some pretty good defense along with four awesome kickers in the Championship games of the NFC and the AFC. The winners head to Houston to play in Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium in Houston two weeks from Sunday, on February 5th. Of the starting quarterback, there are 7 Super Bowl rings between them. Tom Brady has 4, Ben Roethlisberger has 2, and Aaron Rodgers has 1.

Here’s a look at tomorrow’s games along with predicted outcomes…

Last week: 4-0

Green Bay Packers (12-6) @ Atlanta Falcons (12-5)

Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA. (71,228)

2:05 PM CT/3:05 PM ET

FOX

Joe, Troy, EA

Lead whistle, Bill Vinovich

Falcons by 5 1/2

ARodg has been unconscious in the Packers’ 8-game winning streak, throwing for 2,735 yards, 24 TDs against only 1 int. That’s beyond superb. He’s got super receivers and Jordy Nelson could very well be back for this game. In last week’s thrilling 34-31 victory over the Cowboys, Rodgers literally drew up a play in the huddle on third and 20 with 18 seconds left, then completed a beautiful throw to tight end Jared Cook for 36 yards, which allowed awesome kicker Mason Crosby to connect on a 51 yarder and win the game for the Packers, 34-31, over the outstanding Cowboys team. Now ARodg and the explosive Packers offense faces a defense that has been coming along lately under head coach Dan Quinn, a defensive-minded coach who was defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks when they won the Super Bowl in 2014. 

But the Falcons have quite a quarterback themselves in Matt Ryan. The MVP voting is done, and it’s neck and neck between Ryan, Rodgers and Tom Brady, but Ryan has certainly made a strong case. I said I liked Brady to win it, but Brady only played in 12 games, and Ryan has been superb all season. So I’m going with Ryan to win it. In the Falcons’ 5 game winning streak, Ryan has thrown for 1,469 yards, 14 TDs and zero ints. He’s all world. Julio Jones is the top target, but Ryan’s also got receivers Mohamed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel and running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to distribute the ball to or hand it off to. The Falcons defense has really improved this season and put up a pretty stellar performance in their 36-20 victory over the Seahawks a week ago.

Final call

ARodg is on fire and hard to go against, but I really like this Falcons team. They can win it all and I like them to be victorious at home tomorrow. Ryan and company light up a banged up Packers’ secondary and  the Falcons make their first Super Bowl appearance since 1999, their second in the franchise’s existence. 

Falcons 38, Packers 31

Pittsburgh Steelers (13-5) @New England Patriots (15-2) 

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. (66,829)

5:40 PM CT/6:40 PM ET

CBS

Jim, Phil, Trace

Lead launderer: Terry McCaulay

Weather: 45, some rain possible, wind 13 MPH

Line: Patriots by 6

Brady’s remarkable performance this season has been well documented. He threw for 28 TDs against 2 ints during the regular season, but struggled against a pretty good Houston Texans defense last week throwing two ints, and getting sacked a couple of times. The Patriots o line will have to be better this week against Bud Dupree, Ryan Shazier and a solid Steelers defense. The questionable weather favors the Steelers, as they are a blue collar, grind it out team. Big Ben hasn’t had his best season, but with Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and the Steelers’ amazing kicker, Chris Boswell, the Steelers can get it done, and Roethlisberger is still one of the best in the business and clutch city when he needs to be. Boswell kicked 6 field goals last week against Kansas City in an 18-16 Steelers victory. He was auto-matic. When asked after the game if there are four killer B’s along with Ben, Brown and Bell, Boswell said, “I don’t belong in that company.” Love the humility. Mason Crosby was the same way after his kicks against Dallas. I like the humbleness of the kickers. It’s pretty awesome.

Final decision

I love this Steelers team. I’ve always liked the way the Steelers play football. They are tough, physical and good in all phases in the game, and always defensively. With Big Ben and his weapons, Jesse James is another factor at tight end, I give the Steelers a good chance to pull off the upset. But it’s at New England and Brady is the man, and will solidify his place as the best quarterback in NFL history with another Super Bowl title, which would be his 5th. This is a good matchup. With possible tough conditions weather-wise, the Steelers can keep this close and win it in the fourth quarter, but I’m going with Tom Terrific and the Patriots to make their 7th Super Bowl appearance since 2000. They have won four of them.

Patriots 28, Steelers 24

Today’s matchups look riveting in Dallas and Kansas City respectively. Here’s a look at each game with decisions on who will win.

 Green Bay Packers (11-6) @ Dallas Cowboys (13-3)

AT&T Stadium, Jerry “Truckin” Jones Country, 100,000

3:40 PM CT/4:20 PM ET

FOX

Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Chris Myers

Weather: Retractable roof, no issue

Lead laundry: Tony Corrente

Cowboys by 5 1/2

Aaron Rodgers has thrown 19 TDs and no interceptions in this Packers’ 7 game winning streak. That’s amazing.. If it wasn’t for Tom Brady, ARodg would get the MVP, but it’s still up in the air. If ARodg goes off in the playoffs he may win it over Brady. 

But the Packers have an issue at wide receiver as superstar Jordy Nelson is out with a rib injury suffered last Sunday against the Giants. Davante Adams, Randall Cobb and company will have to produce in the passing game. They are very capable though. Adams caught 75 passes for 997 yards and 12 TDs this season, while Cobb, who was injured some this season, is a house call waiting to happen. He caught 60 passes for 610 yards and 4 TDs. Ty Montgomery has come on in place of Eddie Lacy at running back and done a nice job. Christine Michael could be an impact runner today as well.

Dallas had a tremendous regular season behind the play of rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Dak threw for 3,667 yards, 23 TDs and just 4 ints. He’s been spectacular taking over for the injured Tony Romo. Romo was hurt in the preseason, and Dak replaced him under center and hasn’t looked back. Romo will get a shot somewhere else next year most likely. There is a desperate need for some teams in the league for a good quarterback and Romo is certainly that.

Elliott has made a strong case to the the MVP this year. He has rushed for 1,631 yards and 15 TDs. His mix of power and speed is virtually unstoppable.

Final answer

This is in Big D and that gives Dallas a great shot of moving on and hosting the Falcons at home next Sunday in the NFC Championship. There’s a lot to like about the Cowboys, and with Nelson being hurt for Green Bay, that makes the job even more difficult for the Pack. But ARodg still has multiple weapons. He’s like Brady in that he can adjust and make every player around him better. Like ARodg and the Pack to roll into Atlanta next week and play for the Super Bowl.

Packers 34, Cowboys 31

Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5)  @ Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)

Arrowhead Stadium, 76,416, crank up the Richter Scale, this place gets loud

7:20 PM CT/8:20 PM ET

NBC

Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya, Heather Cox

Lead Yeller: Carl Cheffers

Weather: Now this could be a problem. Ice today, then rain at kickoff throughout much of the game according to AccuWeather. Wind 5 MPH E.

Chiefs by 2 1/2

Ben Roethlisberger is another quarterback that instills a ton of confidence into his team. He’s a 2 time Super Bowl Champion (2006, 2009), and he’s got one of the two best running backs in the league, in Le’Veon Bell, who ran for 1,268 yards and 7 TDs this season. Bell and Elliott are the best. He’s also got arguably the best wide receiver in the league, along with Julio Jones, in Antonio Brown, who posted 106 receptions for 1,264 yards and 12 TDs this season.

Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith is pretty good, but more a game manager than aplaymaker. Smith completed 67% of his passes for 3,502 yards, 15 TDs and 8 ints. Their key offensive player lately has been Tyreek Hill, who’s averaging 11 yards per carry and 3 TDs in the running game. He’s also caught 61 passes for 593 yards and 6 TDs, and he’s taken 2 punts back to the house. Tight end Travis Kelce is a big time weapon as well. Kelce caught 85 passes for 1,125 yards and 4 TDs.

The Chiefs have the edge on defense, and in the rain tonight, that should be a real advantage. Auburn’s Dee Ford, a defensive end, has 10 sacks on the season. Outside linebacker Justin Houston has been hurt some, but he’s a force, and has 4 sacks on the season.

So everything is pointing to KC winning. They’re at home with that raucous crowd, they have the better defense, and in the rain, it favors the better defensive team. 

Decision

Despite that, I like the three B’s to get the job done. Ben, Bell and Brown and a good defensive effort by the Steelers send the Steel City boys up to Foxborough next week to face the Patriots in the AFC Championship game for the right to play in Super Bowl 51.

Steelers 17, Chiefs 14

Terrific weekend of action in the National Football League  playoffs with two Divisional playoff games today and two tomorrow. I’ll preview and predict two today and will do the same tomorrow. 

Here are previews  and prognostications for  today’s games, the Seattle Seahawks @ the Atlanta Falcons, and the Houston Texans @ the New England Patriots.

Seahawks (11-5-1) @ Falcons (11-5)

Georgia Dome, Hotlanta, 74, 228

3:35 PM CT/4:35 PM ET

FOX

Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, Pam Oliver, Peter Schrager

Lead Whistle: Gene Steratore

Falcons by 4 1/2

The Seahawks beat the Falcons in their regular season meeting in week 6 @ Seattle,  26-24, but there was controversy when Richard Sherman clearly interfered with Julio Jones on a deep ball very late in the game that would have put the Falcons in field goal position that would have secured the victory for the Falcons. But Sherman wasn’t flagged and the Seahawks escaped. The interesting match-ups in this game are quarterback Matt Ryan vs the vaunted Seattle defense, that is very good, but is missing superstar safety Earl Thomas, who broke his leg late in the regular season. Ryan had an MVP year, and if it wasn’t for Tom Brady’s ridiculously good numbers, and ARodg’s season, he could very well have won it. I’ll go with Brady as the MVP for the year. More on “Tom Terrific” below. 

Ryan completed 373-of-534 passes, 70%, wow, for 4,944 yards and 38 TDs against only 7 ints. Tailback Devonte Freeman rushed for 1,079 yards and 11, sevens. And the awesome Julio Jones of the University of Alabama caught 83 passes for 1,409 yards and 6 TDs. The other match-up to look for is Julio versus the superb corner for the Seahawks, Sherman. That should be a riveting match-up. Can’t wait for that.

Russell Wilson toughed out a series of injuries this season, but put up pretty solid numbers, throwing for 4,219 yards, 21 TDs against 11 interceptions. The Seahawks have found an excellent running back late in the season in Thomas Rawls, who rushed for only 349 yards and 3 TDs this season, but came on late, and was huge in the wild card game last Saturday against the Lions rushing for 161 yards and a 7. Atlanta’s run and pass defense are OK, but they will be tested by Wilson, Rawls, wide receivers Doug Baldwin, who finished the season with 94 receptions for 1,128 yards and 7 TDs, super tight end Jimmy Grahamm, who posted 65 catches for 923 yards and 6 TDs, and a stud who has emerged in Paul Richardson, who made a couple of sensational catches against the Lions, one leaping over a Lions defensive back and catching the ball with one hand for a 7 yard TD. He could be a big factor in the passing game along with Baldwin and Graham.

The Falcons do have the NFL regular season sack leader in Vic Beasley, who had 15.5 this season. Wilson is hard to sack, but Beasley will try to chase him down. 

Decision

This should be a classic. The Seahawks know how to win big games as the 2014 Super Bowl champions and huge victories in the postseason the last three years attest to. The Falcons are at home and I love their offense. I like Ryan, Julio and Freeman to get the job done but  barely.

Falcons 31, Seahawks 30

Tonight

Houston Texans (10-7) @ New England Patriots (14-2)

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. (68,756)

7:15 CT/8:15 ET

CBS

JIm Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson, Jay Feely

Lead Whistle: Pete Morelli

Weather: 28 at kickoff, wind 6 MPH SSW

Patriots by 16

In their first meeting in week 3, the Patriots blasted the Texans, 27-0, at Foxborough, with backup rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett, starting as Brady was suspended for the first four games for Deflategate. Now Houston faces Brady, who says he feels better at 39 than he did at 29. Amazing. The Patriots look like the best team in the league, but Houston had the No.1 defense in the NFL, so that gives them somewhat of a chance. 

In 12 games this season, Brady completed 291-of-432 passes, 67.4%, for 3,554 yards, 28 TDs and just 2 interceptions. He’s all world and the best ever without a doubt. LaGarrette Blount rushed for 1,161 yards and 18 TDs. He’s awesome, but his status is questionable for this game. Dion Lewis and James White will carry the load if Blount is not available. Brady’s targets include the speedy Julian Edelman, who caught 98 passes for 1,108 yards and 3 TDs.  White, a valuable player both in the run and more so in the pass game, caught 60 passes for 551 yards and 5 TDs. Veteran tight end Martellus Bennett caught 55 passes for 701 yards and Chris Hogan caught caught 38 passes for 680 yards and 4 TDs.

Cornerback Logan Ryan led the defense with 92 tackles, while former University of Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower posted 65 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Cornerback Malcolm Butler, who played at West Alabama and burst on the scene two years ago as a rookie in Super Bowl 49 when he intercepted a Russell Wilson pass to  clinch the Patriots fourth Super Bowl in 17 years, 28-24 over the Seahawks, led the team with 4 ints.   

So Houston has their work cut out for them in Foxborough. Quarterback Brock Osweiler was up and down all year, completing 301-of-510 passes, 59%, for 2,967 yards, 15 TDs and 16 ints. But running back Lamar Miller can give Osweiler some help tonight on the ground game. Miller rushed for 1,073 yards and 5 TDs. Wide receiver DeAndre “Newk” Hopkins from Clemson caught 78 passes for 954 yards and 4 TDs. He’s exceptional. Tight end C. J. Fiedorowicz caught 54 passes for 559 yards and 4 TDs, and wide out Will Fuller, a speedster like Hopkins, caught 47 passes for 635 yards and 2 TDs. So Houston has some weapons on offense, but the question is whether Osweiler can get it done. That’s a huge question mark. Linebacker Benardrick McKinney led the team with 129 tackles and 5 sacks. Jadeveon Clowney came into his own this season, as he was finally healthy, finishing with 52 tackles and 6 sacks. Linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who finished with 53 tackles and 7 1/2 sacks, is an exceptional player. Quinton Demps is a superb safety who finished with 6 ints this season.

Verdict

This is a tough one for the Texans. The Patriots are a sensational team and Brady may be better than ever. Houston’s defense could keep them in it for a while. The Texans posted a solid victory over an injury riddled Raiders team last Saturday, 27-14, in the Wild Card round, but this is a daunting task. Brady vs Osweiler is a massive mismatch. Like the Patriots to steamroll the Texans in this one.

Patriots 31, Texans 14

Tomorrow’s games to preview and predict

Green  Bay Packers (11-6) @ Dallas Cowboys ( 13-3)

3:40 PM CT/4:40 PM ET, FOX

Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5) @ Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)

7:20 PM CT/8:20 PM ET, NBC

*** The time was changed for this game due to a potential ice storm in KC tomorrow during the day. ***

Recruiting is back in full throttle with the dead period over, and the coaches are out seeking some more players to add to this 14 player class we have so far. Coach Mason is hitting Alabama, coaches are in South Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Hawaii, and other states with in-home visits. We have a super group of official visitors coming up in the next 3 weekends. So with that in mind, I am listing and writing about our current commits and our major targets with each of the commits and targets’ rankings, a description of them and their visiting dates. Also, I’m including our NFL guys final numbers along with basketball happenings and a baseball note.

A lot of the recruiting information is from Vandy 247 and the guru of Vanderbilt recruiting, Jesse Johnson, though I feel pretty plugged in as well. Here’s the intel:

Early enrollees, in school, on the team.

1. Dimitri Moore-Dimitri is a 6’2, 195 pound outside linebacker out of Cedar Hill High School in Cedar Hill, Texas. Dimitri is rated as an 86, 3-star, a very solid number. He’s a super hitter with a lot of athletic ability and good ball skills. Love to add those linebackers. As a friend of mine told me one time via a man who played and VU and was a highly successful lawyer in Birmingham, “We don’t need any more lawyers, we need linebackers.” Dimitri is a good addition to the team.

2. Tae Daley- Tae is a 5’11”, 175 pound safety out of Northside High School in Warner Robbins, GA. Tae in an 85, three-star with good ball skills and he’s an excellent hitter. We needed some more defensive backs in this class and Tae will add a lot to the secondary in the upcoming years with his talents.

Hard commits

These are the guys who have committed and we feel very good about them signing and becoming Vanderbilt Commodores.

3. Jacob Free- Jacob is a 6’5″ 200 pound pro style quarterback out of Brantley High School in Brantley, Alabama. Jacob put up super numbers throughout his career. Jacob is rated as an 86 three-star. I’ve watched Jacob’s film and he can throw the short, medium and long throws very accurately. He’s got a cannon Don’t have the numbers in front of me, but I recall him throwing for over 100 TDs against 30 ints in three years as the starter. He threw more ints than the coaches would like, so he needs to improve his accuracy a little, but he’s also an outstanding runner. He ran for something like 10 TDs this past season. Really good career numbers for Jacob. Like what we’re getting to go along with Kyle Shurmur, Wade Freebeck and Deuce Wallace. We’ve also got a 4 star commit for 2018 in Allen Walters from New Jersey.

4. Bryce Bailey- Bryce is a 6’5″ 290 pound offensive tackle from Castle High in Newburgh, Indiana. Bryce is an 86 three star like Jacob. He had numerous pancake blocks for a team that ran for 3,000+ yards this year. Bryce is aggressive, physical, and has a great mean streak about him. Like that in o linemen. We’ve got three more of those kind of guys who are committed. About to talk about them as well.

5. Randall Haynie- Randall is a 6’0″ 178 pound cornerback out of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Randall is also an 86, three star. Good height, good tackler, very good ball skills. We’ve got Randall and another corner committed and we’re targeting most likely one more. Like what we’re getting out of Randall.

6. Dayo Odeyingbo- Dayo is a 6’4″ 235 pound defensive end out of Ranchview High School in Carrollton, TX. Dayo’s brother, Dare is a sophomore on the team and was a major contributor to our team this season at defensive end. Dare was a high three star himself. Dare will be a huge part of our defense in 2017. Dayo is an 85, three star. He is aggressive, an excellent tackler and very good pass rusher. He will be one of our bookends on defense in the future.

7. Jalen Pinkney- Jalen is a 6’3″ 225 pound defensive end out of Norcross High School in Norcross, GA. Like many of our commits, Jalen comes from a traditionally high level program in Norcross. Jalen is an 85, three star as well. Jalen’s older brother, Jared, is a sensational tight end for us, who’s ceiling is through the roof stellar in the coming years. Jared is a redshirt freshman. Wow, the future is bright for him and his younger brother. Jalen is another disruptive, excellent football player, who plays the run and rushes the passer extremely well. This is a really good defensive end class.

8. Colin Anderson-Colin is a 6’2″ 210 pound outside linebacker out of Brooks School in Killen, AL. Colin is an 85 three star. Colin is a super tackler for loss-sack player. Will be a dominant defensive player for us. Love Colin’s film. He will be a force for us at the second level and rushing off the edge. Colin is a super good player.

9. Cole Clemens- Cole is a 6’5″ 286 pound offensive tackle out of Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah. He’s an 84 three star. He’s another guy who buries opponents. Love Cole’s film like I love all four of our line commits’ film. Aggressive, physical and violent, and I mean that in good way. He’s tough and aggressive, and has that mean streak you’re always looking for up front. That’s what I mean by violent.

10. Nico Bolden-Nico is a 6’4″ 205 pound safety out of Woodbury Senior High in Saint Paul, MN. Nico is an 83 three star. Love Nico’s height and he goes to the ball hard and can get ints. Great ball skills. Like what we’re getting here at safety. Our secondary will be loaded in 2017 with talented returning players and a really good group of freshman.

11. McLane Mannix- McLane is a 5’10 175 pound athlete who excelled at wide receiver and is an excellent punt and kick returner. McLane, out of Midland High School in Midland, TX, is an 82 three star, but I see him as underrated. His film is fantastic. McLane has 4.45 looking speed. He’s house call city. He catches the ball extremely well, and his yards after catch are off the charts good. Love this playmaker out of the Lone Star state.

12. James Bostic- James is a 6’3″ 200 pound wide receiver out of Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale, the same school as fellow commit Randall Haynie. James is an 80 three star, but he’s much better than that ranking. He has the great length that Coach Mason and the coaches are looking for at wide receiver, and he catches pretty much everything thrown his way. He’s super at breaking tackles, He’s an awesome yards after catch guy. He’s got solid speed. Excellent addition with James.

13. Jonathan Stewart- Jonathan is a 6’8″ 292 pound offensive tackle. Super tackle class. Jonathan, out of Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, GA, is an 80 three star, but, to me, he’s another underrated physical, tough as a Sherman Tank, mean as a Georgia rattler type player. And I mean that on the field. He’s a solid guy off of it. Obviously, his size is superb, and Strength Coach James Dobson will get Jonathan in the weight room along with the other linemen and get them bigger and stronger. The thing I like about these linemen is there is plenty of room to grow and be 300+ pound guys by the time they’re ready to play. Our line is getting really stacked full of big time players who will knock defensive linemen’s heads off. Coach Cameron Norcross, to me, is already one of the best in the business. He will have our guys ready next year, and this young group homed in when they are ready to play for us.

14. Grant Miller- Grant is a 6’4″, 278 offensive tackle out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale. Grant is another guy who comes from a phenomenal program. Aquinas made it to the semis this year in Florida’s highest qualification league, 7A and are always a state championship and nationally ranked program. The good thing about our four commits on the line is they’re versatile and a couple could play guard. Grant is an 80 three star, but he is another burier of defensive players. Gaining a mean streak. That will be honed by Coach Norcross, and he has plenty of room to grow and get to 300+. 

This class is outstanding so far. We can win with’em and our upperclassmen. Excited about the ’17 season and beyond with the crop of players we’ve gotten under Coach Mason. 

Here are 13 of the targets we have left on the board and five or six others who could be part of this class. Jesse reported that we will have 20 signees in this class, which means we would sign 6 more, but I’m not sure there won’t be more than that with the quality talent we are looking at. Here are 13 players who we are really high on. I’ve watched film on each of these guys.

1. Michael Owusu- Michael is a 6’6″ 210 pound defensive end out of Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, CA. Michael is an 83 three-star. I see these rankings for our commits and our targets as underrated, and Michael is another one who fits that under the radar stud. He is disruptive, a stellar tackler in the run game, he’s aggressive, and has a major motor. Michael has offers from us, Illinois, Iowa State, Missouri, San Diego State, Washington State and Wyoming among others. Michael has an excellent relationship with Coach Mason from D Mase’s days as Stanford defensive coordinator. Would be an excellent addition to the class.

2. Ryan Thaxton- Ryan is a 6’5″, 245 pound defensive end out of St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia. I’m very familiar with the school as in high school, my boarding school, Episcopal High School in Alexandria, was 6-0 heading into a game with then, all boys school like us, St. Stephens. I was a running back on the team my junior and senior years, but my sophomore year in 1977, I was on the JV. But we had a super team with an amazing senior class. St. Stephens led by a field goal and we had it fourth and goal at their 2  with about a minute left. Our middle linebacker, Lee Shaffer, who became a second team All American at North Carolina, came in at running back and we had a power lineup in the backfield with our 210 pound fullback and Schaffer, a 215 pounder. We handed it off to Lee, but he was stonewalled at the goal line and we lost. it was heartbreaking. We went on to finish 8-1, and we beat our arch-rival, Woodbury Forest, on a 40 yard scamper by our fullback, Jeff Pierce, but that game was a downer. We wanted to be perfect. I played my junior year and my first carry I went for 14 and felt good about playing. My head coach, a tough guy who was built like a tank but was also a super motivator, yelled out, “David White wants to play some football!” I was pumped. But the fullback ahead of me was 205 and I was 175, so he got the nod. In the spring of that year, I broke my leg and tore a ligament in my right ankle sliding into third base and didn’t get to play my senior year, so that was a bummer. I was going to start and felt really good about the prospects. But in the winter I was an 880 runner for the varsity track team and had a good season, and a right fielder on the varsity baseball for the second year and had a good year, so finished up pretty well athletically. I missed football though. Loved the game.

But St. Stephens has always been good at football. We were better that year, but it didn’t work out. 

Ryan is an 86 three star and is a highly physical tackler in the run game, and a super sack guy. Love Ryan’s motor, too. Ryan originally committed to Virginia, but has since opened up his recruiting and we’re looking pretty good though Virginia, Tennessee, Rutgers and Ole Miss have offered.

 I’ll be listing the visit dates of each of our targets along with our commits after this listing.

3. Feleti Afemui- Feleti is a 6’3″, 200+ pound linebacker out of Maui High School in Kahului, Hawaii. Feleti is an 83 three star, but like the rest of our commits and targets, he’s a very good football player. Coach Mason and his staff have a keen eye for finding undervalued and excellent talent. High motor, excellent tackler, fast, would be an excellent addition.

4. Demetrius Douglas-Demetrius is a 6’2″ 190 pound cornerback and wide receiver out of Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon. Demetrius is an 86 three star. He was an all state player and is very good on both sides of the ball. He’s an excellent cornerback who intercepted five passes this past year. I saw him make a couple of ints and he has impressive hands and ball hawking ability. As a wide receiver, he caught 38 passes for 884 yards and 10 TDs. He was also an All Metro Academic selection. Demetrius would be a super addition. He is an Oregon commit, but will be visiting, and that will really help our chances.

5. Myron Tagavailoa-Amosa- Myron is a 6’4″ 270 pound defensive lineman out of Kapolei High School in Kapolei, Hawaii. Myron is an 82 three star, but he finished with 18 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, and was a total disrupter to opposing offenses. Another violent player who has super speed off the edge, and has great strength and is an outstanding tackler. Coach Dobson can bulk him up in the weight room and he could be a defensive tackle for us. He has plenty of room to get to 300 pounds. He has 14 overall offers. Southern Cal, Oregon, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Oregon are five of the schools who are on board, so this would be an awesome get for the program.

6. Chris Pierce- Chris is a 6’4″ 200 pound wide receiver out of Smithfield High School in Smithfield, VA. Chris has awesome hands, he has take it to the house ability, I saw him take one 75 yards on film, and I love his frame. Chris is another undervalued 83 three star. It’s between us, Old Dominion and Temple, which were also bowl teams this season. Chris will visit. Really like the height again on these receiver recruits Coach Mason is recruiting rangy guys like the Ole Miss wide outs and they’re excellent football players as well.

7. Jeremy Singleton- Jeremy is a 6’0 receiver out of Brother Martin High School in New Orleans who is a speed guy and outstanding receiver. We have not offered the 86 three star yet, but that could happen any day now. Jeremy looks like a 4.45 guy who can make house calls at any time. Love his speed, his pass catching ability and his length. He is committed to Houston, but that could change when he visits VU in a week. 

8. Waydale Jones- Waydale is a 6’4″ 190 pound wide receiver out of A.C. Jones High School in Beeville, TX. Waydale is an 84 three star. Waydale has not been offered yet, but that will change quickly. His film is superb. He’s 4.4 for sure. He’s a house call waiting to happen. Waydale caught 115 passes for 1,979 yards and 30 TDs this fall. Wow. He also has a 3.99 GPA. If and when we offer, Waydale could easily accept as VU provides the educational and competitive advantages he’s looking for. Wake Forest and San Diego State have offered and UNC is interested. Would like to get this young man on our team. Playmaker deluxe. 

9. Alex Palczewski- Alex is a 6’7″ 275 pound offensive tackle out of Prospect High in Mount Prospect, Illinois. He is an 83 three star. He has become a Power 5 prospect. He’s got great length, an excellent mean streak, and plenty of room to grow with Coach Dobson’s guidance. He will be visiting today and we could secure his commitment by the end of the weekend. He has an offer from Illinois, too, and some others. He’s tough, punishing, a pancake blocker who gets a defender down and won’t get up until that defender is thoroughly defeated. Alex would be an excellent fifth addition to our o linemen class. 

10. Oliver Martin- Oliver 6’1″, 195 wide receiver out of West High School in Iowa City, Iowa. He is a 95 four star and the top player in Iowa. I saw him catch multiple deep balls for scores. Oliver has excellent hands, awesome speed, looked 4.4, and big time YAC guy-yards after catch. This is one fine football player. He’s shown interest in our program along with our baseball program. He’s also an exceptional punt and kick returner. Saw him take a couple back to the house on punt returns. It would be a major get for Coach Mason to get Oliver. Could happen with a visit. He doesn’t have one scheduled yet, but that could change. 

11. Raheem Layne- Raheem is a 6’1″, 180 pound cornerback out of Sebastian River High School in Sebastian, FL. Raheem is an 84 three star. Another long corner with super ball skills and an excellent punt returner. Super hitter, too. Raheem was a Minnesota commit, but opened things up with their coaching change recently. He will visit.

12. Brandon Smith- Brandon is a 6’3″, 205 wide receiver out of Lake Cormorant High School in Lake Cormorant, MS. He is an 86 three star. He caught passes for 1,509 yards and 19 TDs. Looks like a 4.45 guy. Game breaker. He is an Iowa commit, but the coaching staff is working on a visit date for the game changing player. 

13. Beau Corrales- Beau is a 6’4″, 205 pound receiver out of Georgetown High School in Texas. He is an 83 three star. He is an excellent football player looking at his film. He caught 86 passes for 1,205 yards and 14 TDs this past season. Beau has outstanding hands and nice speed. He was originally an Iowa commit, but backed off and has us, North Carolina, Utah and West Virginia on his list of visits. Beau would be another awesome pickup.

Other players of note: 93 4 star saftey Chaz Ah You out of Provo, Utah, 79 two star defensive back Willie Langham out of McAdory High School in Alabama, 84 three star safety Rodney Owens out of Ensworth School in Nashville, 85 three star wide receiver Josh Palmer out of St. Thomas Aquinas,  and 84 three star defensive back Charles Watson out of Wahaiwa, Hawaii. 

Visit dates

This weekend:

Alex Palczewski, tomorrow or Sunday.

January 20-22nd:

Commits Colin Anderson, Bryce Bailey, James Bostic, Cole Clemens, Jacob Free, Randall Haynie, McLane Mannix, Grant Miller, Dare Odeyingbo, Jalen Pinkney and Jonathan Stewart. Targets confirmed are Beau Corrales, Demetrius Douglas, Willie Langham, Michael Owusu and Chris Pierce.

January 27-29th:

Feleti Afemui, Myron Tagovailoa,-Amosa and, potentially, Miki Sugutuaraga as well as late emerging targets Waydale Jones and Raheem Layne.

So exciting times ahead for recruiting with our program. Will be thrilling to see what other players pull the trigger in the upcoming weeks and make the best 40 year decision of their lives. Signing day is Wednesday, February 1st. Will keep you posted on pops.

Final numbers on NFL guys

Casey Hayward, San Diego Chargers: Casey finished this season leading the NFL in interceptions with 7 from his cornerback spot . Huge. The 27 year old Hayward added 58 tackles in a breakout 2016. I remember how good Casey was for us and would intercept anything he was close to. Proud for Case. The Chargers are moving to LA, so hopefully the man can keep it up in Hollywood. 

Andre Hal,  Houston Texans: Andre has had a super year for the Texans finishing with 48 tackles from his safety position and adding 2 ints. The 24 year old Hal is in action this weekend in the second round of the playoffs as the Texans, the No.1 defense in the National Football League, will be severely tested by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Kickoff in Foxborough, Mass. is Saturday @ 7:15 PM CT/8:15 PM ET on CBS.

Jordan Matthews- J Matt was hampered by an ankle injury some of the year and didn’t have his usual numbers, but he still caught 73 passes for 804 yards and 3 TDs. Expecting JMatt to get back to his typical numbers when healthy next season. The 24 year old still has some super football left in front of him for many years to come.

Jay Cutler: Jay completed 81-of-137 passes, 59%, for 1,059 yards, 4 TDs and 5 ints. He was injured much of the season. Chicago looks like they are looking elsewhere for a quarterback, so hopeful Jay will land somewhere that appreciates him, and there is less massive pressure. He still has it in him to be a big time QB. Tony Romo didn’t really come into his own until last year, when he turned 34. Jay will be 34 in April. Romo is behind Dak Prescott now, so both Jay and Romo will be valuable free agents for some team in the offseason.

Wesley Johnson: Became the starting center for the New York Jets towards the end of the season. Proud for Wesley, who is 26 years old, and has a bright future with the Jets.

Spencer Pulley, The 23 year old rookie is the second string offensive guard for the now Los Angeles Chargers. Spencer is also playing some at center, which he did very well at VU. Will be on top of Spencer and Wesley next year along with our other guys, who I’ve watched more of. 

Tomorrow, Bball

VU basketball  vs. Tennessee @ Memorial in Nashville, 7:30 PM CT/8:30 PM ET on the SEC Network. We’ll have to play our best to get over the hump. We are 8-8 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. Bryce said he’s ready to end this two game losing streak. I do like the team’s fight and dedication. Just needed to make a few more shots and free throws against Kentucky Tuesday Night and we would have won. Lost on the road in a tough game to Alabama last Saturday, but have victories over LSU on the road and Auburn at home. Important one tomorrow night. Hopefully, we can pack the house. 

Baseball

Perfect Game ranked their top 100 players, and our right fielder, Jeren Kendall, is No.2, Wow. One of our starting pitchers, Kyle Wright, is No.5 and third baseman Will Toffey is No. 80. Baseball is not too far away. Excited about that season along with football recruiting, basketball,  men’s golf and women’s tennis coming up. A lot to look forward to.

Enjoy your weekend.