Dare Odeyingbo commits to Vanderbilt: Commodores land 3-Star LB
Under James Franklin, the Vanderbilt Commodores were turning into a recruiting power. Now that he has moved on to the Penn State Nittany Lions, new head coach Derek Mason is looking to do the same.
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Mason knows about recruiting at a school so focused on academics – he was a coach with the Stanford Cardinal from 2010-2013, serving as the defensive coordinator for the last three seasons. On Saturday night, Mason earned a key commitment from 3-Star inside linebacker Dare Odeyingbo.
“Coach (Derek) Mason said they were very impressed with my physicality. He thinks I’ll be a game-changer and do big things at Vanderbilt,”Odeyingbo told Scout.com via The Dallas Morning News. “The offer was for a defensive end-linebacker hybrid who can rush the edge or drop back in coverage. The coaches were great.
“They seem like they’re very excited to be at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt’s been doing well lately. They don’t have to turn things around but continue the momentum James Franklin was building. I think they’re the right coaches to keep it going.”
The 6’1, 225-pounder is from Irving, Texas and attends Cistercian Prep. He is ranked as the country’s 27th-best inside linebacker prospect, the 96th-best overall prospect in the state of Texas and the 752nd-best overall prospect in the class of 2015 according to 24/7 Sports.
Odeyingbo also holds offers from the Air Force Falcons, Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State Cyclones and Missouri Tigers, among others. He is the ninth commitment for the Commodores in the class of 2015. The class is headlined by 4-Star cornerback Donovan Sheffield and another linebacker, 4-Star prospect Josh Smith.