Vanderbilt Football Adds Three-Star Defensive Lineman to 2027 Class – Sports Illustrated

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Vanderbilt football has been active in building its 2027 class throughout the summer. Monday afternoon, it grew by one.
Per his announcement on Twitter/X, three-star defensive lineman Hunter Eligon has committed to Vanderbilt. Eligon has spent his high school career playing for Los Alamitos High School and will play for Western High School in 2026 in the Anaheim, California area.
Eligon committed to Vanderbilt over Northwestern, Boise State, Arizona and Arizona State. He became the 14th player in the 2027 class to commit to Vanderbilt. According to the player rankings on Rivals, Eligon is the No. 1,483 player in the country, No. 147 defensive lineman and No. 138 player in the state of California.
Eligon went on an official visit to Vanderbilt June 12. Ten days later, he committed to playing for Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea.
In his film, Eligon shows the ability to be disruptive in run defense. Eligon has put examples of his play on tape where he uses his first move to quickly dispense of an opposing defensive lineman and get into the opposing backfield.
The initial push that Eligon gets against offensive lineman is what seems to draw Vanderbilt’s coaching staff to him. Eligon has even made plays against an opponent’s special teams, forcing his way to block punts and field goals.
What Eligon brings to Vanderbilt is a clear presence in run defense, his film does not deny that. But the motor he plays with on film seems to be another reason why Vanderbilt was interested in Eligon. If a ball is thrown to a receiver to one sideline, he does not give up on the play and finds ways to come up with tackles.
His skillset helps him to either come up with turnovers himself or help create turnovers by getting to the quarterback within a couple seconds of the snap.
Eligon is the 10th three-star to commit to Vanderbilt in the 2027 class. The Commodores have been rolling in their recruitment this offseason. Per Rivals, Vanderbilt has the No. 31 recruiting class in the country and 12th in the SEC.
Vanderbilt is trying to do all it can to keep up the momentum that it has gained the past two seasons. Its class sits at 14 now, but the Commodores will continue to look to add more as the summer goes on.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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