Feb. 4, 2015
Press Conference | Signing Day Central | 
Russell’s War Room Photos
Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason
National Signing Day, Feb. 4, 2015
Opening Statement:
“Welcome (to) National Signing Day, 2015. Man, this class — for me and our staff — is something to be extremely excited about. I woke up this morning a little early, 3:45 a.m., to be exact. … In getting up, I felt that this class was going to be a special class. In looking at it, it’s cultivated relationships over a long time. This is a year’s worth of work. It started last year on Signing Day all the way until now. I think this class is without a doubt a class that speaks to the needs of this program, athletically in terms of who we are and what we are trying to build. … When you look at it top to bottom, I think there is good depth and breath in this class to get us to where we need to go.”
On QB Kyle Shurmur …
“Kyle is tremendously talented; the cornerstone of this class. … To have a quarterback of his caliber who has played in as many big games, and has done what he has done throughout his prep career, and to be able to keep him, that’s huge. A lot of people came after Kyle, including Michigan as of late. He stuck to the course. He knew exactly what he wanted and feels like Vanderbilt is the place for him. (He has) an extremely strong arm, he’s extremely smart and has been around the game his whole life. He fits who we are. He’s a football junky and we want a football junky in the building.”
On LB Josh Smith …
“One of the most decorated high school players in the country. … His brother Emmanuel you already know is here as a safety. Josh is extremely talented. He’s 6-4, very athletic, can play inside. That’s where he is — an inside backer — but has the position, flex to go outside, you know situationally. He can run sideline to sideline. We haven’t seen length and athleticism in a backer like this in a long time. Late, late in his recruiting process, everybody in America — including Oregon, Alabama, Auburn — they all came after him. You, know he stuck true to what he is and who he is, student athlete. He feels like he is going to take Vanderbilt to new heights.”
On DB Donovan Sheffield …
“A lot of you know him. Ensworth High School product. … Donovan has been a dominant player in this area for a long time. He gives you exactly what we need here — a tough, physical, quick, sudden, makes plays, and gives you something immediately in the return game. We’re so excited about that.”
On the class as a whole …
“Again what you’re talking about in this class is a group of student-athletes that probably spans 12 states in total. We have five local kids in this signing class that are highly sought-after young men. I think as a whole this class speaks to the depth of what we need to be. You may look at this class and say, ‘Okay what does that mean?’ Well, it means that when you look at numbers 25-42 on your roster, those are the numbers that really count when you talk about playing meaningful football. When you talk about depth and playing the style of football that we want to play. Be active, be physical up front on both sides of the ball, depth is the issue.”
On the challenge of making sure making the local talent count …
“I don’t see the challenge of making those local ones count, but I just think it’s about the opportunity. You know, when you go through the recruiting process, I really had the chance to invest some time with these guys. All 18 of these guys were on our campus at least three times. Every one of these guys. So, when you start talking about building relationships — recruiting is about relationships. If you can get guys to your campus, if you can get around these guys, it gives you a chance for success. In looking at a guy like Josh Smith, it started with Junior Day. He came during Junior Day. Donovan Sheffield – (he came) Junior Day, Summer Camp, and then back during the fall a couple of times. So, these guys are going to be guys who are going to be impact guys. I think it helps grow your fan base in terms of people want to see local talent. These young men are going to be successful here in this program. I see them playing great football, but as a whole when I look at these guys, they are important to us for what they stand for. I think for our fan base it gives us a chance to be proud and to continue to keep growing.”
On being able to be “specific” with this class …
“These young men are about us. We look for certain tangibles at certain positions, and we understand the academic piece. But there is a football piece in this conference that’s got to be paramount in order to play good football. When you look at speed, size, athleticism, a willingness to be physical, and put your face in a meat grinder — that’s what this conference is — and these young men speak to that. We saw first hand most of these young men had a chance to do some of that in our camps. So, I’m excited about who they are, what they are. They’re us and we are them now after today.”
On the good relationships helping to keep the class together after a rough year …
“Oh absolutely. They had a chance to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. So, with that we got them to the other side. They got to see what changes have been made; what corrections were made (and) where we are going now. I think that was the most important piece for this class staying together. … You know, I wish I could say it was about these coaches and just about this administration, but our student athletes here at Vanderbilt were probably our best recruiting tool. They had a chance to build bonds with these guys over time in terms of just being here on this campus. So they understand who we are, and our guys spoke highly of what these recruits mean to us. I mean every Sunday after these recruits left, guys would come up to me and say, ‘Hey coach we need that guy, we want that guy. He’s us.’ So, I think relationships have everything to do with recruiting. That’s why again this class stuck together. It’s a strong class, and probably one of the highest rated in Vanderbilt history.”
On what feelings he has from being able to retain guys other schools are recruiting …
“The sense of satisfaction is in knowing that we got the right kids. They understand the brand. They understand who we are. You know, they want to play with one another, and this place is only going to continue to grow and get better. They see it. They see what I see. This vision is strong, it’s grand, it’s big, and we just have to be about what it takes everyday to get us there.”
On this class filling “fewer” immediate needs in this years roster as opposed to a year ago …
“I addressed some needs a year ago in recruiting and I know it may not look like that to the naked eye, but really through playing, and through guys growing up a little bit, and through the restructuring process of some staff changes. The depth is really coming into focus in terms of position needs and identifying position needs and where we needed to go. Remember, defensively we changed from a 4-3 structure. Offensively, I mean there weren’t so many changes as much as we needed to have more flexible guys. So, when you talk about the fullback position and what that thing looks like — a guy like Jay Hockaday could play fullback, could play H-back. You know, when you talk about the tight ends, having a true Y like Kyle Anderton versus a position flex guy like Sam Dobbs. So, again where do those pieces plug in? You know, does it give you an advantage in this conference where everyone is lining up in spread football to be able to throw multiple personnel groups at people. To play fast, play physical, and still find a way to run the ball, and attack guys on the outside with guys on the perimeter who can make plays for you.”