The Commodores landed the No. 46 recruiting class in the country in ’14.

James Franklin left for Penn State, commandeering some previous Vandy commitments after he accepted the job and leaving first-year head coach Derek Mason scrambling after he arrived from Stanford.

The result wasn’t pretty, as the ‘Dores went 3-9 last fall. But after near-wholesale changes at the important posts of the coaching staff, which players from the ’14 class could be part of the solution?

Player Position Starts Games Played
Nifae Lealao DE 0 9
Emmanuel Smith S 0 10
Dallas Rivers RB 0 12
Trent Sherfield WR 0 7
Caleb Scott WR 1 11
Tre Herndon CB 0 12
Wade Freebeck QB 4 5
Ladarius Wiley CB 0 1
Tre Tarpley S 0 11

Overall, 8 of the 21 enrollees played at least one game. Those eight players participated in a combined 78 games, starting five.

Wade Freebeck is the only player from this class to start more than one game, earning the mid-season nod at quarterback before suffering an injury against Charleston Southern. The 6-foot-5 true freshman was less than inspiring in ’14 and didn’t seem to perform as well as Patton Robinette or Johnny McCrary. But he’ll still get a chance to compete for the starting job (along with fellow ’14 class member Shawn Stankavage), auditioning for new coordinator Andy Ludwig this spring.

Three others saw time on offense for the Commodores: RB Dallas Rivers, WR Trent Sherfield and WR Caleb Scott.

Vandy returns most all of its skill players from last season, so there shouldn’t be a major shakeup with each player’s role this fall. Rivers, the team’s backup running back and an occasional kickoff returner, should be the more prominent contributor. But Sherfield could emerge as the team’s best deep threat and looks like the team’s No. 3 option at receiver. Redshirt freshman Ronald Monroe is worth watching at the position as well.

The 2014 recruiting class featured four true freshmen defensive backs who played, three of which reached double digit games. With virtually the entire secondary returning, Tre Tarpley has the best opportunity to make an impact. He played 11 games, competing at safety and nickelback. In addition to playing on special teams, Tarpley made two tackles for loss and forced two fumbles.

Or perhaps four-star safety Emmanuel Smith could charge into the lineup in 2015, as the ‘Dores weren’t good in pass coverage last season.

The team will give a long look to 6-foot-5, 320-pound Nifae Lealao at nose guard in place of the departed Vince Taylor.

Overall, Mason is a young coach and seems finicky. So if Vanderbilt is struggling at a position, don’t be surprised if he starts thrusting a member of the ’14 class — perhaps even a less-heralded one — into a major role at some point during the season.

This group of players isn’t devoid of talent, but to this point they look every bit their age. Maybe the group can make big contributions in ’16 and ’17, but for now most of these players still will be serving supporting roles.