Vanderbilt Football 2024: A Look at the Season Ahead

We are two days away from Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech kicking off. Week 0 was already wild. Tonight has plenty of room for nonsense, especially in the battle of the Buffaloes vs. Bison between Colorado and North Dakota State. Four Top 25 teams play FCS opponents tonight for a chance at some excessive hilarity. Friday’s slate does not have as much intrigue, but who knows what might get wacky in the Transfer Portal Era of college football where most teams have put their roster in a blender over the offseason?

Vanderbilt was certainly an active participant in the talent tumbler. A trio of important WRs left along with 3 QBs. Some reinforcements for the defensive secondary were added along with 3 QBs and players at every spot around them. I will need to keep a roster on me to keep up with who is on the field.

Thankfully, my past renditions of this series save me from pretending I know anything about this season except we probably do not go winless but also are definitely not winning any championships. If you are not familiar with this series that dates back to 2016, I will try to keep breaking down the Dores as the season progresses to keep track of the “Lessons We Are Learning,” “Lessons We Know Well,” and “Lessons for Further Study” after each season. I also try to keep the focus internal to the current season with limited “big picture” takes. Before the first game, that means I limit myself to asking questions where I think the answers make or break the season OR are the most interesting potential storylines. Here goes something…

The Quarterback Battle

What does Diego Pavia look like playing in the SEC consistently, and what role does Nate Johnson have? Vanderbilt listed Pavia and Johnson with the “OR” designation on who will be the starter. However, I think the OR was used with very thinly veiled intentions throughout the depth chart. Typically, teams will use either name or number to order players with that designation. The HB position is alphabetical by first name, but the F position is not. My guess is the depth chart is mostly in the true order, but packages and situations may affect who is behind the starter at some positions. I do not think that is true at QB, though Nate Johnson’s electric wheels may the dreaded “situation” or “package.” For now, I will trust Tim Beck and Jerry Kill to know how to use something like that effectively. I just want to see how Pavia plays and controls the offense and if Johnson may be asked to do some gadget things.

The Offensive Line

How improved can the offensive line be? The OL and DL may be the two places where any improvement in the Strength and Conditioning Program would show up. The OL also has a new position group coach as AJ Blazek is now at Wisconsin with Chris Klenakis. Klenakis has 30+ years in college coaching and was the offensive coordinator for both Colin Kaepernick and Lamar Jackson. He is used to coaching an OL who is protecting a QB who might be moving about the pocket. He and Beck are also implementing a system where the line is not split left and right but quick and strong. It is a lot like a field and boundary side on defense where the quick guard and tackle will be more likely to pull and create numbers advantages while the strong guard and tackle will be tasked with winning at the point of attack. Of course, there may be times where the “strong” players pull to be less predictable, but that is the extremely basic way to look at it.

The Weapons Around the Quarterback

Who makes plays around the QB? Sedrick Alexander flashed at times as a freshman with 96 carries for 371 yards which was the highest total rushing yards but 3rd in terms of YPC for a RB last season. Behind him, AJ Newberry has been talked about as the most athletic RB but has questions about ball security. Chase Gillespie is fine but would have to make a big jump to be an impact player. Moni Jones is a power back with limited top end by all accounts. Out wide, the only players with any real exposure are Junior Sherrill and Quincy Skinner Jr. Sherrill is good in the slot and on jet sweeps, but I have real concerns about him as WR1 out wide. Skinner has been very inconsistent in his Commodore career. He could be one to blossom if this offense starts causing problems for defenses that shifts attention. Beyond that, I have no real grasp on the WRs. Which leads me to…

The Importance of the Tight Ends

Will the TEs be more important to the passing game than the WRs? I do not think a TE will lead the team in receiving yards, but there is a decent chance that Cole Spence and Eli Stowers are the players that the opposition gameplans for in the passing game. Spence’s 6’7” and 243-pound frame may be hard to guard from a catch radius standpoint. Stowers is more average in height at 6’4”, but he probably brings a bit more athleticism. My guess is that we see the big TE targets used as safety blankets that keep the offense on schedule and put LBs into spots where they may be hesitating on getting into run fits for fear of an RPO or play action where the TEs get into space quickly. Kamrean Johnson also made some nice plays late last season, so keep an eye out for him to make a play or two.

The Coaches and Their Schemes

With all of the position groups covered, what do Tim Beck and Jerry Kill have in the arsenal? Beck has an odd coaching career path. He was most recently the OC for New Mexico State under Kill for 2 seasons as they turned that program around in record time. He spent time as an offensive analyst at TCU, but the majority of Beck’s career has been at Pittsburgh State. In 30+ seasons there, he was head coach for 10, including a DII national championship in 2011, and OC for 15. Oddly enough, Beck was also DC for 2 seasons before coming to the OC role. Kill has been all over as a P5 OC at Rutgers, HC at Minnesota and NMSU, and Special Assistant to the HC at TCU (then interim HC when Gary Patterson was fired). There are also stints as HC at some lower-level schools and a brief stop at Virginia Tech as a special assistant to Justin Fuentes. Kill is one of the most respected men in college football even if he has not won at the highest levels. He has won at some of the hardest places though, and that is a description Vanderbilt fits. I expect we will see a fun offense, but I am not sure how effective it can be.

Defensive Schemes and Play Calling

For the defense, I am flipping the order. What does Clark Lea bring to the defense as DC and play caller? He mentioned the off coverage that saw teams hitch and slant the defense to death last season in his press conference on Tuesday as something we will not see this team fall into so regularly that teams can exploit it ad nauseum. Lea has some pieces on that side of the ball that are high talent commodities. CJ Taylor and Langston Patterson are the standouts, but I think Randon Fontenette, Miles Capers, Martel Hight, Tyson Russel, and De’Rickey Wright can all bring their own impact.

The Defensive Line

What does the defensive line bring in terms of pressuring QBs and stuffing the run? Transfers Khordae Sydnor and Zaylin Wood are listed as starters and were touted as athletic pass rushers, but Capers held down the Razor spot with Boubacar Diakite and Darren Agu behind him. That group, along with DTs De’Marion Thomas, Yilanan Outtara, and Bradley Mann holding down the fort inside, needs to get some push into the backfield while freeing up the linebackers to have clean shots on ball carriers.

The Defensive Backfield

Clark talked about not playing the predictable off coverage, but does the CB room have the ability to match up man-to-man or effectively zone up against SEC teams? Kolbey Taylor is a big addition (literally at 6’3 and 190 pounds) who has pushed Russell and Hight into a position battle to start opposite him while Trudel Berry is behind him. They should be better purely by having another year of experience and growth while replacing BJ Anderson with Taylor. Between coverage changes and development, there might be room for nervous optimism here.

The Safeties and Linebackers

The final major question on defense is the combination of where De’Rickey Wright lands and how good can the safeties and linebackers be? Wright is massive for a safety at 6’4 and 229 pounds. He is on the slow side for a field safety, but he was also hampered by an ankle injury last season. I think he may fit better closer to the LOS, but I do not think Fontenette, Patterson, or Bryan Longwell are giving him much room to slide down. The fit for everyone there may be interesting to watch, especially depending on matchups where a 6’4 body may be useful to cover big TEs. Whatever Wright’s final role is, these men are where the real talent of the defense is. They will have to be disruptive all over the field to keep defenses off balance.

The Specialists

What will the specialists offer this season? Brock Taylor was hyped up as a high school kicker with a massive leg. He did not see the field last year but has won the starting job. Jesse Mirco comes in from Ohio State with the 4th highest average punting yardage in school history. His last appearance was in the Cotton Bowl where he was forced to punt 8 times and boomed them out for an average of 48.3 yards. He may be able to adequately fill newly named Saints punter Matthew Hayball’s shoes.

The Big Picture

Finally, how quickly (if ever) does this team come together? There have been a lot of moving parts. Such is the world of college football now. As I covered in the opponent preview, Virginia Tech is a team with a huge amount of last season’s production returning, so they should face fewer growing pains. If Vanderbilt wants to have a successful season, they need to mesh and gel immediately. Game 1 is not necessarily a must-win, but the Commodores need a good, competitive showing to keep the fan base engaged.

And now…your turn. What questions do you have? What are your worries, concerns, and hopes? Is there something you want me to pay attention to when I re-watch the games? Oh, yeah, if you are new here, I do re-watch every game to be as educated as possible about what actually happened instead of what I think happened in the emotions of watching a game. Drop them below.