Vanderbilt football on a streak of NFL draft futility: What it means for Clark Lea
Since Clark Lea's first season as Vanderbilt football coach in 2021, the Commodores have not had a single player selected in the NFL draft.
The one player Lea has coached who has been selected is Tyler Steen, who was a third-round pick in 2023 after transferring to Alabama. Another player who transferred out, running back Ray Davis, is likely to have his name called this year after transferring to Kentucky.
But for players who stuck around at Vanderbilt, the only one who seemingly has a shot to be drafted this year is punter Matt Hayball, himself a transfer from FAU.
It seemed like the Commodores would have a chance to snap the streak of futility in 2023 with Anfernee Orji, but Orji was not drafted and instead signed a free agent deal with the New Orleans Saints. One other player who played under Lea, cornerback Allan George, appeared briefly in the NFL in 2022 after signing as an undrafted free agent.
Here's what that means for the program ahead of the draft, which takes place April 25-27 in Detroit:
Streaks of futility
If Hayball does not get drafted, the streak of three straight years without a selection will tie the program's record since the inception of the draft. Vanderbilt also did not have any players selected from 1993 through 1995.
At least one player was drafted the next spring in six of Derek Mason's seven years with the program, with eight total selections in that time. Some of those players, including Dayo Odeyingbo, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Oren Burks and Zach Cunningham, have had staying power in the NFL. A few Mason players who signed as undrafted free agents, Trent Sherfield and Tre Herndon, have also had multiyear NFL careers.
Clark Lea's recruiting and the NFL draft
Players who are higher-ranked recruits are more likely to get drafted, but it's a delayed indicator for a head coach. Cunningham, for instance, was a James Franklin recruit who stayed on to play under Mason. When Mason's recruiting dipped at the end of his tenure, it spilled into Lea's streak.
Lea did not recruit the majority of his 2021 class, the only class with him at the helm that is even eligible for the NFL draft. While several members of that class are still on the team, none of them declared early for the draft − something that is rare except among the most talented players in the sport.
Lea's 2022 and 2024 classes rated out better in the 247Sports Composite than Mason's classes, and there's still time for that to produce NFL players. However, it will take some time before the success rate is known.
Notable players from the 2022 class include Yilanan Ouattara, Langston Patterson, Darren Agu and Cole Spence. But none of these players will even be eligible for the draft until 2025, and it's unlikely any of them will declare at that point. It may be 2026 or 2027 before the full impact of Lea's high school recruiting is known.
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Could the transfer portal end Clark Lea's NFL draft streak?
Steen got drafted after leaving Vanderbilt, and Hayball could get drafted after joining Vanderbilt from the transfer portal.
Lea previously had been reluctant to utilize the portal, bringing in only a handful of transfers. That changed after the 2023 season.
All of the incoming transfers are at least a year away from potential NFL draft selections, and some are two or three years away. But players like Nate Johnson, Randon Fontenette, Khordae Sydnor and Marlon Jones Jr. could at least put themselves in a position to be drafted with strong performances in the SEC.
The streak of draft futility isn't all the fault of Mason, though. Lea has had three seasons at the helm of the team and the only players he has helped develop into draft prospects are ones who later left via the transfer portal. That's showed up in the 2-10 finishes in two of his three seasons.
Ultimately, the two things are connected. If Lea is able to improve Vanderbilt's record, it will likely be due to improved recruiting and/or development, which will lead to more draft prospects. But for now, the draft futility is just another sign of the Commodores' struggles to compete in the SEC.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt football on NFL draft futility streak
