BYU Recruiting: Khari Vanderbilt Evaluation And Prediction

Recruiting season is picking up. High school football seasons are over and recruits are making their commitments known across the country. BYU has a good looking class so far this season but there are still a number of big names with offers that the BYU coaching staff would love to see in Provo. Today, we take a look at San Jose City College defensive back Khari Vanderbilt. He’s been committed to the Cougars for about six months but has recently picked up another offer and taken another official visit.

Star Ratings

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Scout.com: 3-star prospect

Rivals.com: 3-star prospect

247Sports.com: 3-star prospect

ESPN.com: Unrated (Not sure why ESPN isn’t more on the ball with this.)

I really like Khari Vanderbilt. At 6’2 and 185 pounds he has legitimate size to come in and make an impact in a BYU secondary that suddenly has a few question marks heading into 2015. The Cougars lost safety Dallin Leavitt who transferred to Utah State (we’ll have more on the impact that really has later on) and safety Kai Nacua’s eligibility is up in the air due to his actions after the Miami Beach Bowl. The Cougars also lost Craig Bills, Robertson Daniel, Harvey Jackson and likely Jordan Johnson in the secondary as well, though, there have been rumors Johnson could qualify for a medical redshirt. Vanderbilt would be a safety at BYU and would seemingly be a favorite to earn a starting position the first day he got on campus.

When I watch Vanderbilt’s highlights the first thing that sticks out to me is his closing speed. Whether he’s helping in the running game and getting into the backfield to make a tackle or if he’s giving over-the-top help to a corner and he breaks up a deep pass, he shows excellent closing speed. Highlight films are always designed to make someone look really good, but you can’t help but think that Vanderbilt is everywhere on the field on every play, not just his highlights. He has great instincts, hits hard and has the speed that stands out. I really think Vanderbilt has the ability to be a great player under Bronco Mendenhall.

Where Does BYU Stand

Vanderbilt committed to BYU in June. Since then, he’s been on Cal’s campus and received some interest from the Golden Bears and recently received a Utah State offer and visited Logan a couple of weeks ago. Vanderbilt was very excited about his BYU commitment initially and tweeted that he would stick to his BYU commitment even if he got a Cal or USC offer. I firmly believe that BYU is still in a really good position with Vanderbilt and that he still stick with the Cougars, but it got a lot more interesting after his trip to Logan when he received a Utah State offer.

Vanderbilt visited Logan the same weekend that Leavitt visited Logan and committed to the Aggies. I’m not sure all of the reasons why Leavitt transferred and I’m not sure if he was upset or just looking for a new situation. But, I do know that Leavitt saw BYU firsthand, decided it wasn’t for him, went to Logan and loved it and decided he’d rather be an Aggie than a Cougar. That’s not what you want to see if you’re a BYU fan. We’ll never know the kinds of things Leavitt said to Vanderbilt but he definitely recruited him to Utah State during their visit together and he had firsthand knowledge of everything BYU. Vanderbilt has never officially “decommited” from the Cougars, but he has recently made comments about having a difficult decision to make on signing day.

Prediction

BYU has a lot of things going for them. Vanderbilt has tripped to Provo before and still has his official visit. He’s already a commit and has a relationship with the coaching staff and multiple players on the team. There are holes that need to be filled in the defensive secondary so Vanderbilt will have plenty of opportunities to see playing time and earn a starting spot. Ultimately, I think that BYU is doing well.

My prediction come signing day: BYU.

Be sure to follow Vanderbilt on Twitter @Khari2Smoove to stay up to date on his recruitment and check out his highlights here. Cross your fingers, BYU fans. This would be a big get for a secondary with a lot of question marks.

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