Vanderbilt football lands commitments from transfer punter, 2022 quarterback

Former Florida Atlantic punter Matthew Hayball announced Monday that he would be transferring to Vanderbilt.

A grad transfer originally from Australia, Hayball averaged 45.7 yards per punt in 2021 at FAU with 28 of his 61 attempts going inside the 20 and six touchbacks. Hayball also did occasional kickoffs for the Owls.

He was a two-time All-Conference USA honorable mention. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Vanderbilt's punter in 2021, Harrison Smith, averaged 42.6 yards per punt and pinned 16 of his 73 kicks inside the 20. As an academic senior with eligibility remaining, it is unclear if Smith intends to return to Vanderbilt in 2022.

Hayball is the Commodores' second transfer commit of the offseason, with the other from linebacker Kane Patterson from Clemson.

Vanderbilt also landed a commitment from quarterback Walter Taylor of Jackson, Alabama.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Taylor does not have a rating in the 247Sports Composite. His other offers were primarily from FCS schools including McNeese State, Nicholls State and Northern Illinois. He is the third quarterback commit in the class, after AJ Swann and Drew Dickey.

National Signing Day is Feb. 2.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football recruiting: Punter, QB commit to Clark Lea