Exclusive: How Hunter Eligon Committed to Vanderbilt Football and Why he Feels It's the Right Fit
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Usually April Fool's Day is a day where jokes and pranks spread like wildfire. It is a day where nobody can trust any sports news they see on social media. But for Vanderbilt football commit Hunter Eligon, April 1 this year was no joke.
A week after Vanderbilt director of player personnel Kendall Lawson reached out to the three-star defensive lineman complimenting his film, Vanderbilt defensive line coach Seth Payne maintained contact with Eligon and officially extended an offer to him on April 1.
From there, Eligon took an official visit to Vanderbilt June 12 before committing to the Commodores June 22. The visit certainly helped him in his decision to commit as he got to continue to get to know the Vanderbilt coaching staff and hear Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea convey his winning philosophy.
But what really struck a cord with Eligon was the communication between the coaching staff and him throughout the entire recruitment process.
"One thing that stood out to me was although they offered late, they were consistent with daily communication from someone on the staff, whether it be text, call or FaceTime," Eligon told Vandy On SI.
In conversations with Payne, Eligon understood and saw the vision Payne had for him for Vanderbilt's defense. Payne was genuine with Eligon in telling him his strengths and the skills Eligon needs to work on before getting to campus.
Eligon has a brother in the college football world, too. He has seen his brother, Hayden Eligon Jr., become a starting wide receiver at Northwestern. Ultimately, the opportunity to follow in his brother's footsteps and play at a school that is in a power conference and is highly-rated academically closed the book on his recruitment journey.
Eligon describes himself as a versatile player on the defensive line. He tries to model his game after a notable defensive lineman on the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I only know one way to play and that's fast, physical and twitchy with a first step," Eligon said. "I try to model my game after Jalen Carter. Jalen is aggressive and combines his strength with quickness. He's known for his ability to quickly penetrate offensive lines while playing numerous positions across the defensive line."
Before Vanderbilt entered into Eligon's recruitment, he was not familiar with the style of defense the Commodores run. But after meeting with the coaching staff, Eligon sees the plan. He seems to share the same philosophy defensively as defensive coordinator Steve Gregory, which is to get after the quarterback aggressively. When Eligon gets to Vanderbilt, he wants to be a run stopper and a guy that uses his moves to create negative plays.
Eligon is the third committed player in Vanderbilt's 2027 football class that is from the state of California. The other two are three-star quarterback commit Matthew Smith and three-star safety commit Dillon Davis.
Recruiting from the state of California has not been a common occurrence for Lea and his coaching staff. Before Davis' commitment, Vanderbilt had not gotten a commitment from a player from California in four years. Now, there is a sudden surge in Vanderbilt's ability to recruit guys from across the country.
Perhaps that result is a byproduct of the success Vanderbilt has put on the gridiron over the past couple of seasons. Winning brings attraction and attention to a program and that is exactly what the Commodores have gotten more of coming off a 10-3 season.
But it is also a credit to the Vanderbilt coaching staff to get players from regions it is not known to recruit in to buy in and move across the country for. For Eligon, he notices the job Vanderbilt has done in recruiting and wants to make something special happen in Nashville.
"I think it shows that they have some pretty detailed analysis and player personnel coaches. They've been taught to look beyond the stars and states and fully evaluate film and see if someone can play at the next level," Eligon told Vandy On SI. "I like the pieces Vanderbilt has put together so far for the 2027 class. Remember, we're just getting started."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/vanderbilt as Exclusive: How Hunter Eligon Committed to Vanderbilt Football and Why he Feels It's the Right Fit.
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