NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Being a part of the Vanderbilt football team is sort of a full-circle moment for Aeneas DiCosmo.
In 2018, the defensive lineman from New Jersey was being recruited by Clark Lea, the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame at the time. Five years later, after DiCosmo has now completed four seasons playing for Stanford and with Lea going into his third season as the head coach of the Commodores, DiCosmo and Lea have been reunited in Nashville.
“Having that relationship with coach Lea, that was someone I kind of wanted to have the opportunity to play for that I feel like I missed out on,” DiCosmo said after Tuesday’s practice, the sixth of the spring for Vandy. “So getting the opportunity to circle back and kind of fulfill that is pretty great.
“Early in the (transfer) process he reached out and I was able to talk to him and we got things rolling fast. Was able to visit here, I love Nashville, it’s a good place to be in an up-and-coming city getting a great education that I feel like will complement what I did for undergrad at Stanford.”
DiCosmo, a graduate student with two years of eligibility remaining, came to the Commodores to help bolster depth along the defensive line and at the star position inside defensive coordinator Nick Howell’s defense. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound pass rusher played in 37 games the last two seasons for the Cardinal and registered 28 tackles over that span.
He was on the visiting sideline Sept. 18, 2021, when Stanford beat Vanderbilt 41-23 at FirstBank Stadium.
“I can tell you just from the first five days of practice that he’s got a great motor, he’s got tempo off the edge. There’s a chance for him to carve out a role on third downs, too, just because he’s powerful and explosive and can set up some pass rush games for us and do some things that way,” Lea said of DiCosmo. “I’ve really enjoyed his personality. I’ve really enjoyed his competitive demeanor.”
DiCosmo was a highly-touted recruit out of Bergen Catholic in New Jersey. The son of former Boston College football standout Anthony DiCosmo and former St. John’s track standout Maia DeRoche, DiCosmo reportedly had scholarship offers out of high school from Michigan, Clemson, UCLA, Wisconsin and, of course, Notre Dame and Stanford, among others.
Coming off a season-ending injury as a high school senior, DiCosmo played in just four games as a true freshman and in just two game during Stanford’s six-game 2020 season.
DiCosmo said he hopes a change of scenery and playing inside a new defensive scheme will help him flourish.
“Playing the star position so I’m always on the boundary. There’s lot of rushing, a lot of setting edges, but also some opportunities to drop (into coverage), kind of have to be well-rounded there,” he said. “I feel in this defense I have the opportunity to just go which is exciting and kind of a change from what I’m used to. I can kind of just attack which fits my play style.”
The adjustments on the field have been coupled with some adjustments off of it, DiCosmo said, explaining that he now has an apartment after four years of dorm living, has his own car, must pay bills and must manage his time as a Vandy graduate student along with spring practice. And while he’s currently part of the Peabody College master’s program he’s hoping to transition to Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School before the start of the 2023 season.
But for now he’s enjoying his time on the field alongside his new teammates and coaches as he looks to become a big key for the Commodores moving forward.
“That’s been a lot of fun meeting with coach (Jovan) Haye and coach (Josh) Smith,” he said. “So every day just trying to lock in on the details and trying to put that into action these last few weeks of spring ball.”
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
