TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - OCTOBER 04: Martel Hight #4 of the Vanderbilt Commodores intercepts a pass intended for Josh Cuevas #80 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first quarter of a football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 4, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images) | Getty Images

One of the most belabored groups on Vanderbilt’s defense last season, and for the last few seasons, was the cornerbacks. Mark Davis (Achilles) and Marlon Jones (cancer) both transferred to Vanderbilt before 2024 but missed the entire season. Neither found their way back to expected form in 2025. Kolbey Taylor went from a Vanderbilt villain to a mostly competent cover corner in that span. Trudell Berry never could live up to the hype as a former US Army High School All-American.

All of them are gone in 2026, and Vanderbilt was quiet in the transfer portal. They brought in Cobey Sellers who was a highly rated recruit but did not play at Texas A&M as a freshman and Jaylin Davies who had 20 starts in 3 seasons at UCLA then only played in 1 game for Oklahoma State in 2025. Davies seemingly has the year of eligibility remaining due to an injury that sidelined him for all but one game in 2025.

The reports out of camp have been positive, but that could be an indictment of the WRs, too. Clark Lea’s plan has clearly been to develop talent within the program instead of chasing splashes in the transfer portal.

The Silver Dollars

One player who should see his level of play reach new heights in 2026 is Martel Hight. The experiment of playing Hight at WR along with CB yielded only 7 catches for 64 yards. He was still very effective at corner with 35 tackles (24 solo), 4 interceptions (most in a season for him), and 2 PBUs. I do not have snap counts available, but there were times where Height was not on the field as much defensively due to the offensive experiment. The 2-way action died down by the midpoint of the season. Still, being fully focused on CB again and allowing everyone else to solidify behind him will be a boost for Hight and the other CBs.

Jordan Matthews became a player that other teams simply did not challenge very often. Mostly playing Nickel (slot corner), Matthews had 20 tackles with all but 2 being solo stops. He did not have any interceptions and just 3 PBUs. What did not happen was the man guarded by #6 getting big gains very often. It will be interesting to see if he stays on the outside in packages that have 3 or 4 corners on the field, or if he shifts down inside where he was so effective a season ago.

The Change (Nickels and Dimes)

The next man up in those packages will likely be Jaylin Lackey, though Cayden Daniels may have something to say about that. Lackey has been a name to watch since getting to Vanderbilt as a freshman in 2024. He started 5 games and played in all 13 in his freshman campaign while Davis and Jones were unavailable and Taylor looked like a player who would be run out on a rail for horrible performances. He would again play all 13 games but not earn any starting assignments as a sophomore with those players back and/or playing well.

Cayden Daniels keeps the eligibility pipeline flowing as each of Hight, Matthews, Lackey, and Daniels are in successive recruiting classes. He was a Top 100 CB according to 247Sports’s Composite ratings and rankings, but they were lower on him at 125. Rivals, on the other hand, had him all the way up at 46. Realistically, he looks to be somewhere between those two rankings. He turned some heads in Fall Camp 2025 as the pair of Jones and Davis were still recuperating from their conditions that ruined their 2024 seasons. Daniels only played in 5 games as a freshman though. The room got a bit crowded with veteran presences that were generally not terrible but overmatched by the competition of the SEC. He is right behind Matthews on the depth chart, so he should have a chance to show what his potential is.

A big surprise on the depth chart for those of us not privy to fall camp is Bishop Starling cracking the 3-deep behind Hight and Lackey. Starling was not a flashy win on the recruiting trail as a solid 3* that ranked as the 154th best “Athlete” by 247’s internal rankings, but Rivals did have him as the #54 CB. Something in the evaluation from Vanderbilt’s staff and the Rivals staff must like the same things in cornerbacks. ESPN did not have him ranked or rated, but they are by far the least respected of the recruiting rankings. Vanderbilt’s depth at CB5/CB6 is pretty thin, so I am not sure if this is a very encouraging sign for Starling or a concerning one for the defense.

The only transfer with real college football experience is Jaylin Davies. His topsy turvy route from appearing twice in 2021 for Oregon to transferring to UCLA for 3 seasons and transferring again for a season at Oklahoma State before finally coming to Vanderbilt. I believe the eligibility route here is that 2021 was a normal redshirt then he got a medical year for 2025. Davies played in 13 games for UCLA in 2022 then played in 13 with 12 starts in 2023 before losing some ground with 12 appearances and 8 starts in 2024. He only played one game for Oklahoma State. Having a player with 20 FBS starts as 5th or 6th on the depth chart at CB is promising.

Lost in the Couch

Cobey Sellers is the only name not on the depth chart that interests me from the rest of the CB group. He was rated as the 28th best CB by the Composite. He was ranked 20th (ESPN), 29th (On3), 33rd (247), and 43rd (Rivals), so it is not a case of one service being way higher on him than the others. Then he made one appearance for Texas A&M without registering a stat. Sellers is still young enough that whatever potential everyone saw as a recruit could still be recoverable. He should have a chance to work into playing time if he shows development, or he may be mired deep on the depth chart for special teams usage.

The other freshman besides Starling is Jeremy Garner II. Garner was much further down the recruiting lists at 156th in the Composites rankings for CBs. With nothing more to go on, hopefully he can get on the field in some blowouts and otherwise learn behind the players in front of him.

I will give Mustafa Dannett special recognition because he earned the “Make It Possible” Award for the ReliaQuest Bowl preparation. Basically, it is a teammate-voted award for the player who works the hardest and is the best teammate on the field. Being a practice squad player with 1 game appearance in 4 seasons who is voted to an award like that says Dannett is a guy who puts in the work the right way. Hopefully he gets the chance to make some plays on special teams this year.

The final two CBs are Blaine McClure and Jack Wanzung. Neither has played at Vanderbilt, nor did they have recruiting profiles with rankings. McClure is a 3rd year player while Wanzung is in his 2nd season on West End.

Final Verdict

I really feel like I have talked myself into liking the defense way more than I should this year. Every position group has 2 or 3 players I think are at least competent SEC starters. The turning point for the cornerbacks will be whether they have the quickness and speed to contend with SEC WRs. Speed is not usually something that just appears over an offseason, but maybe they have closed the gap just enough to matter.

Also, I refuse to apologize for the coin-based jokes here.

Source: Yahoo Sports