Tennessee Volunteers 2012 Recruiting: Are Vanderbilt Commodores Making a Run?

On July 1st at 1:00 PM Central Standard Time, three in-state recruits met at D1 Sports Training in Nashville, Tennessee to verbally commit to one of several SEC schools that wanted their football talent.

They all selected the Vanderbilt Commodores and used the venue to signify their commitment to make a change in the SEC football landscape, specifically in Tennessee.

And who can blame them?

New head coach James Franklin is a savvy salesman, using the academic standards of Vanderbilt as a selling point in recruiting, rather than a crutch.

Clay Travis, author of Dixieland Delight and self-admitted Tennessee Volunteers fanatic, raves about Franklin on a radio show he co-hosts in Nashville during the week, the 3 Hour Lunch.

The recent signing of this trio of in-state prospects furthers the claim that Franklin is here to bring about change.

But you know what? I don't buy it.

As much as I enjoy Travis' take on subjects pertaining to sports and pop culture, I think he's being swept up in the honeymoon of Franklin like many other SEC prognosticators.

I'll cite three overwhelming pieces of evidence as to why this is more of a fad than a trend in this article.

A Tradition of Excellence? Nay, a Tradition of Insignificance

According to Rivals.com, the Vanderbilt Commodore's have managed to recruit only four 4-star recruits since 2002.

Those players are...

1. 2003 - Marcus Dixon, who never attended Vandy due to a statutory rape conviction.
2. 2005 - John Stokes, whose four years as a 'Dore led to senior highlights of long-snapping and his first career fumble recovery.
3. 2010 - Rajaan Bennett, who was killed before he ever had a chance to play in the black and gold.
4. 2011 - Brian Kimbrow, recent signee who hopes his future is extremely different from those before him. 

Compare that number to Mississippi State, a typical middle-of-the-road SEC football power. The Bulldogs have almost doubled that number of 4-stars in just the past two years with six.

By the way, Alabama got 14 last year alone.

Vanderbilt has a long way to go to exit the cellar of the SEC football world. How long can a school continue to build a program when the players know they're highly unlikely to compete for any major accolades.

James Franklin Ain't General Robert Neyland

When legendary Tennessee Volunteers coach General Robert Neyland was hired to coach the football team in Knoxville by athletic director Nathan Dougherty.

The charge he gave The General? Beat Vanderbilt.

And that's what he did.

Before he arrived, the Vols were far from the current beatdown of the Commodores, beating them 27 out of the past 28 years. In fact, Vanderbilt owned a 18-2-1 against Tennessee before Neyland.

That record quickly reversed to 16-3-2 under General Neyland and has been that way ever since.

If James Franklin expects to truly turn Vanderbilt into an SEC threat, he must abide by the words of the former Tennessee AD but in the opposite direction—beat Tennessee.

Folks, Franklin is no General.

This Isn't the Big Ten or the Pac-12. It's the SEC.

The blueprint the academic-oriented Vanderbilt Commodores to follow is the mild success of the Northwestern Wildcats and the unbelievable success of the Stanford Cardinal, especially the 2010 crew.

One problem: Those team plays in the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively. Vanderbilt, however, plays in the NFL-breeding ground called the SEC.

Northwestern is routinely able to collect conference wins against weaker foes like Indiana and Minnesota, occasionally taking down respectable teams like Iowa. That helps in recruiting.

The same goes for Stanford who draws games against Washington State and Arizona State but rose up to win the conference last year outright.

Vanderbilt's in-conference opponents are also national powers that regularly compete for the BCS National Championship.

The math doesn't work. The status quo in the SEC has no end in sight—a bad sign for Vandy. 

How Long Do Honeymoons Last?

The thing that Tennessee Volunteer fans need to worry about is not the rise of James Franklin's Vanderbilt Commodores, but the loss of legitimate recruits to the black and gold.

Derek Dooley & Co. have to find a way to convince in-state recruits that making a statement is not as important as winning in college and getting better exposure for a career in sports.

Caleb Azubike, Cory Batey and Brian Kimbrow made a statement when they verbally committed on Friday to Vanderbilt.

On Saturday November 19th, the Vols will make theirs.