National Signing Day delivers a handful of surprises every year and the Commodores were one of them.

Normally happy to extol the virtues of a recruiting class comprised of two- and three-star players, who would never get a sniff anywhere else but Vanderbilt, the Commodores are doing things differently under new coach James Franklin.

Known as an ace recruiter during his time at Maryland, Franklin showed why with his first signing class, regarded as Vandy's best talent haul in more than a decade.

The 21-man class included 18 players who were regarded as three or four-star material, including the major coup of the group, quarterback Lafonte Thourogood.

A Virginia Tech commitment since November, Thourogood stunned veteran coach Frank Beamer and thrilled Commodore fans by changing his mind on Signing Day and casting his lot with Vanderbilt.

Thourogood and defensive end Dillon van der Wal are four-star guys, the kind of players who might in the past include Vanderbilt on his list of finalists but then pick another school.

TOP OF THE CLASS

OL Jake Bernstein (Crystal Lake South High, Crystal Lake, Ill.) -- The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Bernstein committed to Vandy back in August and held that commitment even after the school ran coach Robbie Caldwell after 4 1/2 months and a 2-10 season. Given the problems this team had with its offensive line last year, Bernstein could figure into the picture right away with a good preseason.

QB Lafonte Thourogood (Ocean Lakes High, Virginia Beach, Va.) -- Thourogood verbaled to Virginia Tech in November and some fans saw him as the program's next Tyrod Taylor. But Thourogood had a change of heart on Signing Day and picked the Commodores, meaning he could be terrorizing SEC defenses as soon as this fall if he has a good preseason.

DE Dillon van der Wal (Oaks Christian High, Westlake Village, Calif.) -- A high school teammate of Nick Montana, son of Joe Montana, van der Wal originally verbaled to Arizona State but changed his mind after visiting Vanderbilt in late January. He's projected as a defensive end for the Commodores and given that DE is a position of need, van der Wal could easily see the field this fall.

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