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The Boston College Eagles 2014 recruiting class took a bit of a hit on Sunday when Central Catholic (Pa.) safety Tre Tarpley flipped his commitment from Boston College to Vanderbilt.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic DB Tre Tarpley @TreT_2 said he flipped his commitment from #BostonCollege to #Vanderbilt
— ScoutBrianDohn (@BrianDohnScout) February 2, 2014
Tarpley was one of five 2014 recruits previously committed elsewhere to flip to the 'Dores over the weekend.
"I didn’t know this is where I wanted to be last week. I kind of woke up Wednesday morning and felt like God tapped me on my shoulder and said, ‘Hey, I want you to go check out Vanderbilt.’ Coach Mason came by my house and we had a great conversation, and then I talked to my parents after they left. And I said, ‘I can’t ignore this message.’
"I kind of made a mistake committing to Boston College. I’m not going to lie. Academics are important, and (Vanderbilt was) so well organized. I could tell the students love it there. I knew on Friday, I’m coming here."
Oh.
Tarpley, a 6-foot-1, 190 safety out of Pittsburgh, chooses Vanderbilt over claimed offers from BC, Massachusetts, Western Michigan, Temple and Toledo.
First year Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason is scrambling to build on a recruiting class that was down to just nine verbal commitments after James Franklin left for Penn State. Vanderbilt's 2014 class is up to 17 commitments; ranked 74th nationally and last in the SEC by Rivals. Boston College's recruiting class is down to 26 commits, ranked 40th nationally and ninth in the ACC.
Hard to say what, if any, impact Tarpley's decommitment will have on the incoming recruiting class. Boston College's much maligned secondary needs a lot of work, but it's arguably one of the deepest units on the team. The Eagles' defensive backs will also be bolstered by the additions of incoming recruits Kevin Bletzer and Kam Moore as well as early enrollees Allen Dawson and Isaac Yiadom.