As reported by Alabama.com, fullback commit Bailey McElwain has swapped his college choice from Stanford to Vanderbilt, where he will enroll this fall as a member of Commodores football team for the 2016 season.
You may remember McElwain from this past recruitment class. A high school graduate in 2016, McElwain was slated to join Stanford this fall on the football field. However, McElwain didn't partake in National Signing Day, and it emerged that his plan changed to make him a member of the 2017 class following a year at a college prep school. Most presume the change was caused by McElwain being denied admittance to Stanford due to academics.
Now, the fullback will be able to join a football team immediately. He'll join an offense similar in style to that of Stanford and will have a Cardinal connection through head coach Derek Mason, Stanford's defensive coordinator from 2012-2013.
What does this mean for Stanford in the short term? Not much. Under the David Shaw regime, true freshman play has been limited and Stanford is already deep at the fullback position. Junior Daniel Marx will lead the charge provided he's recovered from a late season leg injury, and redshirt freshman Reagan Williams is likely to see the field as well as early as this year. McElwain wouldn't have arrived till 2017 to an already crowded backfield.
In the longer term, Stanford will be tasked with finding another fullback recruit. From Ryan Hewitt to Lee Ward, fullback is an ever important part of the smash-mouth attack, and there's a good chance Coach Shaw and company will look for a suitable replacement for McElwain in the class of 2017.
Best of luck to Bailey and his endeavors at Vanderbilt University.
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