Why Clark Lea won't stop recruiting freshmen to Vanderbilt football with new NCAA rules

Clark Lea plans to use new NCAA rules allowing all players five years of eligibility to his advantage with Vanderbilt football.

The new rules eliminate redshirts, and instead give players five years from the time of enrolling in college or turning 19, whichever is earlier. In football, where a much higher percentage of players typically redshirt, the new rules allow more freshmen to play right away without consequence, which means Lea no longer has to choose between using a player and saving a year of eligibility.

He spoke on the topic during SEC media days in Tampa, Florida, on July 21.

"Guys, in the past couple of years, they've had smaller roles, maybe played on a couple of special teams, but they were impacting winning," Lea said. "They retain that year, and so they can apply their experience for a fifth year. I think that's fantastic."

At the same time, he said, he will need to have conversations with some players who have graduated after four years in the program and have eligibility remaining but also the opportunity to turn pro.

For Lea, at least for now, the change doesn't mean going further away from high school recruits or trying to load the roster with primarily transfers. His recruiting with Vanderbilt has improved as the program has had more success. After a 10-3 season in 2025, he signed the No. 31 recruiting class for 2026, his best with the Commodores. Mid-cycle, the 2027 class is ranked No. 33 in the nation.

More of those players could see time in 2026 beyond just quarterback Jared Curtis.

"I think it unlocks potential in each roster because there are more people that you can access to impact winning and reinforces this developmental approach," Lea said. "I still believe at Vanderbilt to have a player in the program for four or five years is our best bet to build the kind of program we want to be.

"And that's not to say that we're not every year going to go and look to strengthen through the portal. But to get back to high school recruiting and to really focus on . . . third-, fourth- and fifth-year players is exciting to me."

There's a change on the other end, too. While some players will be able to get a fifth year they couldn't before, sixth-year players will soon become almost entirely obsolete. Quarterback Diego Pavia had his Heisman Trophy runner-up campaign as a sixth-year player. That in some ways makes development even more important. Lea recognizes that.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Clark Lea won't stop recruiting freshmen to Vanderbilt football with new NCAA rules