Sting Factor: Reese Mooney's decommitment from Vanderbilt
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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THE STORYLINE
Reese Mooney committed to Vanderbilt in November and it was a big recruiting win for coach Clark Lea and his staff as they look to rebuild the Commodores. Mooney picked Vanderbilt over Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Houston and many others.
But after months of being committed to the SEC program, the three-star quarterback from Denham Springs, La., backed off his pledge on Tuesday night, leaving Vanderbilt without a quarterback in the class when it might be looking for two.
On Tuesday night, the three-star standout – who looked good at the Rivals Camp Series in New Orleans – said Wisconsin, Memphis, Liberty, UAB and Temple have been reaching out most.
The Commodores are down to four total commitments and they’re No. 11 in the SEC team rankings.
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LOCAL REACTION
“Definitely a tough blow for Vanderbilt's 2023 recruiting class when you consider Mooney had been committed to the Commodores for nearly six months. Along with Mooney, Vanderbilt was also looking to add a second quarterback to this year's class as well. Now, it has none currently committed.
"The Commodores will also enter the fall with five scholarship quarterbacks on their roster that will consist of two juniors and three freshmen, so there is already a bit of a logjam at the position.” - Sean Williams, VandySports.com
Sting factor: 8
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NATIONAL REACTION
“Vanderbilt loaded up at quarterback in the 2022 class and the idea is that four-star AJ Swann could be the future of the offense there. Getting three quarterbacks in the last recruiting class definitely helps with the loss of Mooney, who is a talented player but other players at that position should be intrigued with the possibility of playing in the SEC for a program rebuilding and with the academic prowess of Vanderbilt.
"It was slightly surprising that Mooney picked the Commodores in the first place so it’s not an absolute shock he’s back on the market. Vanderbilt would much prefer to have him but the QB room is stocked and another quarterback will probably happily take his place.” - Adam Gorney, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 6