Tight end Brandon Vandenburg from College of the Desert Community College in Palm Desert, Calif., has committed to Vanderbilt.

“Only a few schools can compete with Vandy on an academic and football level,” Vandenburg told ESPN.com. “Out of those schools, Vanderbilt has the most stable coaching staff, which is important. No other school had the combination of those three things.”

Vandenburg, who’s ranked the nation’s top JUCO tight end by ESPN, considered offers from such schools as Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

Vandenburg hopes to earn a starting position early in his time at Vanderbilt. That’s not all.

“I don’t just want to be a starter,” he said. “I want to be an impact player.”

SEC Basketball

1.  Kentucky escaped Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym with a 60-58 win last night.

2.  After building a 47-31 second half lead the Wildcats missed 12 shots in a row as the Commodores went on an 18-0 run.

3.  Vandy’s comeback proved that there’s still some Memorial Magic left.

4.  Freshman Fred Thomas is making a name for himself in Starkville.

5.  Florida’s Scottie Wilbekin has registered 16 assists in his last two games.

6.  Tennessee’s Jordan McRae is getting hot, but the Vols are ice cold.

SEC West Football

7.  Auburn assistant Charlie Harbison on sharing secondary duties with newly hired Melvin Smith: “Melvin and I are like brothers, so if anyone thinks what we do is opposite, it’s not.”

8.  Nick Saban has the perfect job… for Nick Saban.

9.  A pair of ex-Razorback quarterbacks have reportedly interviewed for the position of tight ends coach at Arkansas.

10.  All-SEC offensive lineman Gabe Jackson will return to Mississippi State for his senior year.

11.  As expected, Texas A&M offensive lineman Jake Matthews will return for his senior season.

12.  Could the Aggies grab a BCS championship of their own next season?

SEC East Football

13.  Quarterback Jeff Driskel will be back, but Florida will still have to answer a lot of off-season questions.

14.  A Notre Dame linebacker commitment has flip-flopped and enrolled at Florida.

15.  Georgia’s Mark Richt wants to reload on defense and improve on offense.

16.  Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart on Commonwealth Stadium renovation plans: “That sends a clear message that they’re serious about their commitment to college football.”

17.  Sources say Missouri is set to hire veteran SEC receivers coach Pat Washington.

18.  New Tennessee receivers coach Zach Azzani on the Vol WR corps: “It’s pretty depleted.”

Extras

19.  Rob Chudzinski?  I thought Saban was supposed to be coaching the Cleveland Browns next year.

20.  Apparently AJ McCarron’s beauty queen girlfriend is going to pose for a photoshoot with Sports Illustrated.  (Bet that sexist Brent Musberger is making her do it!)

Earlier this week, after his team had just finished off North Carolina State 38-24 in the Music City Bowl, James Franklin made it clear that he believes a new day has dawned for the Vanderbilt football program:

“We have very, very high expectations for this program of where we are going, who we can be and what we can achieve.  We’re going to work at it every single day like crazy.  We’re not going anywhere so everybody better get used to it.  We’re not going anywhere.  This is the brand new Vanderbilt...

We’ve been able to come here in two years and do something that I don’t think anybody said could be done.  To me, we look at the future the same way.  There is going to come a point where we’re going to start talking about things people think we have no business talking about…

This thing is (going to) keep going.  With the support of (athletic director) David Williams and chancellor (Nicholas) Zeppos and the community who is jumping on board right now, the sky is the limit.  So get used to us.”

The brand new Vanderbilt was a nine-win football team this past season.  Can Vandy replicate that — or at least go bowling — next season?

The Commodores will lose 16 seniors, nine of whom were redshirt seniors.  Among those departing will be starting quarterback Jordan Rodgers and the school’s all-time leading rusher, Zac Stacy.  Starting O-linemen Ryan Seymour and Josh Jelesky were seniors, too.  Trey Wilson, who led Vandy with three interceptions (two returned for TDs), will be gone.  So will the team’s fourth-leading tackler, Archibald Barnes.  Defensive lineman Rob Lohr will depart along with his 11 tackles for loss in 2012 (third-best on Vandy’s team).  And senior punter Richard Kent, whose 44.95 yards-per-punt average was third-best in the SEC, will have to be replaced as well.

Clearly, more of Franklin’s signees will be called upon to contribute next year.  This past season 18 members of his 22-man 2012 signing class redshirted.  Those guys will be called upon to chip in in 2013.

Having seen what Franklin has been able to accomplish with the experienced redshirt juniors and seniors Bobby Johnson left for him, there’s plenty of reason to believe he’ll do just fine with his own more highly-touted signees.  They may have some growing pains at first, but the coach certainly seems to know how to get the most from his players.

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When there’s turmoil in the SEC, the guy most writers go to for a quote is Steve Spurrier.  And South Carolina’s coach had no trouble talking about the turmoil Tennessee is facing in its football program right now:

“It can happen to any program.  The sun doesn’t always shine on the same dog all the time, as we know.  Tennessee, I think is a very good coaching job, certainly with a huge stadium and tradition and everything they’ve got there.

But Tennessee’s got to recruit pretty much all over the nation.  They’ve got to get players to leave their home state area and come to Tennessee.  And it seems like in the last, oh, 10 years, 20 years, almost all the home states are getting their programs up to where the kids will not leave their state.  I think that’s a little bit different now that it was several years ago.  (Coaching at Tennessee) is maybe not as easy of a job as it was 10, 20 years ago.”

Spurrier is spot-on in terms of Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana all being tougher “pulls” for UT now than during 1990s.  As UGA, USC and LSU improved, those borders became harder to cross for a school that boasts little in-state talent.

Another issue facing Tennessee — to hear UT assistants and some other outside coaches tell it — is the school’s recent attempts to improve itself academically.  There’s a growing feeling in the Volunteer fanbase that UT is no longer allowed to bring in as many sub-par students as some of its SEC rivals.

Of course, when Vanderbilt whips you 41-18 as happened this past Saturday, it might be time to stop using higher academic standards as an excuse.  Vandy’s standards certainly haven’t gotten in James Franklin’s way as he’s led the Commodores to a 5-3 SEC mark.  Tennessee is currently 0-7 in SEC play for the first time ever.

And so far as I can tell, the Vols are still wearing helmets on Saturdays, not mortarboards.

Vanderbilt running back commit Johnathan Ford was impressed when he watched the Commodores beat Tennessee 41-18 on Saturday night.

“That’s the best game I’ve went to,” Ford told 247Sports. “It was intense from start to finish. That was a big rivalry right there. There were big plays, hard hitting from start to finish. It kept us in it. That was the best atmosphere I’ve ever seen of all the times I’ve seen Vanderbilt University. The fans were wild.”

Vanderbilt’s success under second-year coach James Franklin has been wild to many outside observers. The Commodores have a 7-4 record, 5-3 in the SEC this season. That’s more conference wins than Tennessee has since the start of the 2010 season.

Recruits have noticed. Vanderbilt’s 2013 class is ranked No. 23 in the nation by 247Sports. Ford told the website he believes more top prospects will join him in Nashville.

“I talked to (Arlington, Texas, safety) Trevor Walker,” Ford said. “He’s coming to Vandy. We’re getting him there. I talked to (Seffner, Fla., safety) Leon McQuay. We’re getting these guys with us. I talked to (Nashville, Tenn., cornerback) Jalen Ramsey. I’m fixing to do all I can and be the leader of the group.”

Junior athlete Todd Kelly Jr. was in Nashville Saturday to see Vanderbilt’s win against Tennessee. He noticed the same thing that impressed Ford.

“The coaching staff and players have a strong connection and it feels like they are a family,” Kelly told ESPN RecruitingNation.

Vanderbilt 41 – Tennessee 18

1. For the first time since 1935, Vanderbilt has won five SEC games.

2. Three interceptions for the Commodores defense.  Quarterback Jordan Rogers: “The defense played unbelievable.”

3. Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray temporarily benched in second quarter. Did he stare down Vandy bench or an official after Vols first TD?  Derek Dooley: ”If I had seen it, I would have addressed it.”

4. Volunteers eliminated from bowl contention – lose in Nashville for the first time since 1982.

Syracuse 31 – Missouri 27

5. Wide open Syracuse receiver scores game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds left.  Half the Mizzou secondary in man-to-man coverage, half in zone.  

6. Tigers lose starting quarterback James Franklin to injury again, bowl game hopes come down to Texas A&M game.

7. What was suspended defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson doing when Syracuse took the lead? Tweeting.

Texas A&M 47 – Sam Houston State 28

8. Quarterback Johnny Manziel accounts for 367 yards and five touchdowns. 

9. Close 7-0 game turns into a 34-0 halftime blowout as Aggies defense stiffened.

Kentucky 34 – Samford 3

10. Joker Phillips and his seniors leave Commonwealth Stadium on a winning note.

11. Samford coach Pat Sullivan appreciative of Phillips’ decision to take a knee at the end of the game” ”You know, there are not many people in college football that are doing those things. I told him at the end of the game that it was really a class thing and I wish him well.”

When you become bowl eligible in back-to-back years for the first time in school history, there’s reason to celebrate.  And celebrate Vanderbilt did last Saturday after it’s 27-26 win at Ole Miss.  At 6-4, the Commodores are the leading candidates for the Music City Bowl and could actually rise higher — doubtful, but possible– in the bowl pecking order with a very possible 8-4 finish.

As usual, the VU athletic department leads the way in pumping out videos to promote its football program.  Below you can watch the pregame, game and postgame highlights from Vandy’s win… or you can skip right to the 5:30 mark where James Franklin picks up and carries the Commodore mascot into the jubilant Vanderbilt locker room.

“This Vanderbilt team overcomes adversity.  This Vanderbilt team wins on the road.  This Vanderbilt team finds ways to win, no matter what.”

Whether you believe the message or not, you gotta hand it to Vandy, Franklin and the school’s promo department for knowing how to sell an exciting message to recruits.

With the exception of the cheesy song from The Script, this clip’s about pitch perfect.

North Carolina State head coach Tom O’Brien has his team at 6-4 and — at least publicly — he still has a job.  Unless the coach has been told behind the scenes that he’s finito, it wouldn’t be kosher for NCSU athletic director Debbie Yow to be making contact with any coach… not even the coach she once named Maryland’s coach-in-waiting before she left for Raleigh.

Still, VandySports.com — the Rivals site covering Vanderbilt — is reporting that Franklin has been approached by someone on behalf of NC State and that he’s shown no interest in the Wolfpack job:

“According to a source close to the Vanderbilt athletics program, VU head football coach James Franklin has turned down the opportunity to speak with North Carolina State about its head football coaching position.”

You’ll need to buy a subscription to the read the rest of VandySports’ report.

As we noted yesterday, Franklin should think long and hard before leaving Vanderbilt (if he’s given that chance).  The knee jerk response from most folks is that a coach should jump on the first train out of Nashville the first time the first time a bigger program comes calling.  But the reality is that a coach who has any amount of success at a school like Vanderbilt, Northwestern or Duke can stay put and be a hero there for quite some time.

Gary Barnett left Northwestern and Gerry DiNardo left Vanderbilt only to find that the expectations are a lot higher elsewhere.  Steve Spurrier — who left Duke for Florida — is an example of how moving on from a school with high academic standards might work out in one’s favor.

At the very least, Franklin should — and, of course, would — weigh all his options before blindly hitting the eject button at Vandy.  He and Bobby Johnson before him have led the Commodores to three bowl games in five seasons.  That should prove that VU can be competitive even in the SEC.  How much easier/better would life be at a school like NC State where the Wolfpack has been bowl eligible five times in the last eight years?

Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams says his school won’t go down without a fight if someone tries to lure James Franklin away from the Commodore football program.  Vandy is currently bowl eligible for the second straight year under the fiery, young coach and if the Dores finish 7-5 or 8-4, you can bet he’s going to be a sought-after commodity.

Williams says he’s prepared for such a situation:

“Whether it is an extension, whether it is changing terms, whether it is ripping [the contract] up and giving a new one, we’re prepared to do what we need to do for James Franklin to be the football coach…

James and I meet every week, including this morning, and I think we’re both on the same page that we expect next year when we kick off in the opening game against Mississippi that James Franklin will still be at the helm of Vanderbilt football. I have every expectation of that…

I think he has had a great season — and it’s not over.  In my 13 years [at Vanderbilt] we’ve been eligible for bowls three times. This is the first time in my 13 years that we’ve been bowl-eligible with still two games to play… Last year was a good year, he got rewarded. It looks like this is a better year.”

As we told you yesterday, NC State and athletic director Debbie Yow — who named Franklin as coach-in-waiting at Maryland before leaving for Raleigh — might exit Tom O’Brien and then chase Franklin.

If he’s given a choice to move, money probably won’t be Franklin’s sole motivation.  His career goals and his family’s happiness will also weigh into the equation.  Some coaches have left “high academic” schools for greener pastures only to realize that they could have stayed put and been a hero for life at a program with lesser expectations.  Franklin might want to call Gary Barnett or Gerry DiNardo if he has any job offers to mull over this offseason.

Yesterday we caught you up on the coaching murmurs we’ve heard in talking to people at Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as an industry source.  Everyone’s got their own sources but we feel confident enough in ours to state again that we’re hearing:

* John L. Smith is finished at Arkansas (whether he wants to admit it or not) and TCU’s Gary Patterson — who gave the most non-denial denial ever when asked about it — is AD Jeff Long’s top choice as a replacement.  We think this one pretty far down the pike, too.

* Gene Chizik is thisclose to having the curtain fall on him at Auburn and surprisingly Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher continues to be connected to the job.  There’s no question he dislikes having a one-loss team that’s out of the BCS title picture due to the ACC’s perceived weakness — he could remedy that by not losing to a team like NC State or Wake Forest every year — but we believe he may just be making a play for more power on FSU’s campus.  If not Chizik, would Bobby Petrino finally land on the Plains?

* Kentucky has already pulled the plug on Joker Phillips and we believe the two most realistic “gets” for AD Mitch Barnhart are Louisiana Tech’s Sonny Dykes and San Jose State’s Mike MacIntyre.  Those names are certainly getting a lot of play from the folks we’ve spoken to.

* Tennessee’s Derek Dooley is done and AD Dave Hart might be done, too, if he bucks the school’s biggest boosters in an effort to save the embattled coach.  We don’t think Hart’s that crazy, we just believe he’s trying to mark his territory one year into his Knoxville reign.  We’re told that Tommy Tuberville’s name has gained “traction” in recent days — no word on what his slap of a grad assistant might have done to his chances — and that Al Golden will definitely be in UT’s mix as well.

Another name that’s making the rounds today is that of Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy.  Various outlets have tied Gundy to the Arkansas job, the Auburn job, the Kentucky job and the Tennessee job.  Could he wind up at one of those places?  Sure.  But the fact his name has been connected to all four jobs suggests that either a) some reporters are just throwing out big names for the sake of gaining pageviews or b) Gundy’s agent is throwing his client’s name around in order to remind OSU brass and fans that they’ve got a sought-after coach.

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