Vanderbilt 2026 quarterback commit Michael Mitchell Jr. has decided that Nashville won’t be his destination after all, announcing on Friday that he’s decommitting from Vandy.
The 3-star quarterback prize from San Francisco officially decommitted from Clark Lea‘s program on Friday. Mitchell told On3 of his decision to head elsewhere and withdraw his commitment to the Commodores.
In a twist of irony, Mitchell’s commitment was the first of Vanderbilt‘s 2026 class. Mitchell originally made his commitment to Vandy in September of 2024, so the Commodores had been counting on Mitchell being a part of their quarterback room next year for the past 14 months. But all that has changed now.
Losing out on Mitchell could potentially turn into a positive for Vanderbilt, which has had its eyes on 5-star Georgia quarterback commit Jared Curtis, who just happens to be from Nashville. Curtis has been committed to Georgia since May 5, but with Mitchell decommitting from Vanderbilt it certainly makes Curtis’s recruiting future worth watching.
Mitchell is the 855th-ranked player in the Class of 2026, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is also the 44th-ranked quarterback in the class and the 62nd-ranked player from the state of California.
With Mitchell’s decommitment, Vanderbilt is left with 20 commits for its 2026 class. Vandy’s 2026 class is now ranked 43rd in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
