Vanderbilt football gets Brian Kimbrow, Caleb Azubike and Cory Batey

By Dave Krider Jul 2, 2011, 10:56am

Commodores receive commitments from state's No. 1 prospect and two others.

The longtime downtrodden Vanderbilt University football program appears to be on the rise under new head coach James Franklin.

The former University of Maryland offensive coordinator may have staged the biggest one-day recruiting coups In Vanderbilt history on Friday when three of Tennessee's premier rising seniors chose the Commodores.

The Tennessean reported that the state's No. 1 prospect, Brian Kimbrow, said yes to Vanderbilt. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound running back runs 40 yards in a blazing 4.27 seconds and had 1,557 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior at Memphis East (Tenn.).

On the same day he was joined by Caleb Azubike and Cory Batey.



The 6-5, 240-pound Azubike, a defensive end, recorded 70 tackles and 17 sacks last fall at McGavock (Nashville, Tenn.). Batey (6-0, 183) caught 48 passes for 688 yards and three touchdowns as a wide receiver during his junior year at Ensworth (Nashville, Tenn.).