Calhoun’s Nance commits to Vanderbilt

CALHOUN, Ga. — The plan was for Nash Nance to show college football scouts what he could do in an offense better suited for his talents, gather several scholarship offers and then choose his school.

Plans can change quickly, as the Calhoun High School senior found out recently.

Nance, rated a three-star “pro-style quarterback” by scouting services, committed to Vanderbilt University on Tuesday, citing the Nashville school’s combination of academics and improved athletics as a package too good to pass up.

“After visiting there at junior day, they have everything to offer,” said Nance, who joined Calhoun teammate, best friend and future Georgia Bulldog Da’Rick Rogers in announcing their commitments. “The academics are great, and the SEC is the best football conference in the country. You can’t really measure a Vanderbilt degree, and Coach (Bobby) Johnson is doing great things with the football program.”

Nance, 6-foot-3 and 207 pounds, chose the Commodores over offers from Mississippi State, West Virginia, Harvard, Central Florida and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He informed Johnson of his decision over the weekend, and the coach quickly tested Nance’s loyalty.

“When I called him to commit,” Nance said, “he was excited and said, ‘Son, are you 100 percent committed on us? Because I’m going to have to tell these three or four other quarterbacks that are strongly considering us that we have our quarterback.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir, I am.’

“Getting this done is a big weight off my chest, and, yes, I am 100 percent committed to Vanderbilt, and I will take no more visits.”

Mike Nance said the Vanderbilt coaches liked his son’s work in camps last summer and this spring and video from his junior season at the Darlington School in Rome in a run-first offense.

“Really, they told me they like it that he’s kind of raw because he doesn’t have the bad habits a lot of more experienced quarterbacks have,” Mike Nance said. “I’m so happy for him. Academics have always been a huge priority with him, and he’s always wanted to play in the SEC. At Vanderbilit, he gets both.”