Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Vandy quietly building a talented, deep offensive line

Every now and then, a Vandy fan complains about how the coaches have let the offensive line fall into such disrepair. I disagree.

Fate has dealt the Commodores a cruel blow in the past year, with starter Reilly Lauer leaving school, starter James Williams an academic casualty, potential starters Chris Aaron and Justin Cabbagestalk suffering season-ending injuries and substitutes Richard Cagle and Rob Ashabranner leaving school. That’s six guys suddenly gone from your two-deep.

That’s why we’ve already burned the redshirts off two true freshmen offensive linemen this year.

But the coaches are not standing idly by. The recent verbal commitment from Jose Valedon — an underrated prospect with quick feet, long arms and the ability to play either tackle position — gives us a complete offensive line from our 2011 signing class:

• James Lewis, 6-5, 295, Arlington, Tenn., 3 stars from ESPN, Rivals, Scout
• Jake Bernstein, 6-4, 276, Crystal Lake, Ill., 3 stars from ESPN, Rivals, Scout
• Alex Barr, 6-7, 285, Fayetteville, Ga., 3 stars from ESPN, 2 from Scout
• Jose Valedon, 6-4, 270, Oak Ridge, Tenn., 2 stars from ESPN, Scout
• Spencer Pulley, 6-5, 277, Cordova, Tenn., 2 stars from ESPN, Scout

And this nicely complements the complete offensive line from our 2010 signing class:

• Grant Ramsay, 6-5, 280, Marietta, Ga., 3 stars from ESPN, Rivals, Scout
• James Kittredge, 6-4, 260, Ramsey, N.J., 3 stars from ESPN, Rivals, Scout
• Logan Stewart, 6-4, 270, Boiling Springs, S.C., 3 stars from ESPN and Rivals, 2 from Scout
• Andrew Bridges, 6-6, 245, Atlanta, Ga., 3 stars from ESPN and Rivals, 2 from Scout
• Chase White, 6-6, 260, Plano, Texas, 2 stars from ESPN, Rivals, Scout

What does this mean? It means that we’ll have a deep line in 2011:
• Redshirt senior: Kyle Fischer
• Redshirt juniors: Ryan Seymour, Jabo Burrow, Caleb Welchans
• Redshirt sophomores: Wesley Johnson, Mylon Brown, Justin Cabbagestalk
• Sophomores: Logan Stewart, James Kittredge
• Redshirt freshmen: Grant Ramsay, Chase White, Andrew Bridges
• Freshmen: James Lewis, Jake Bernstein, Alex Barr, Jose Valedon, Spencer Pulley

And an even deeper line in 2012:
• Redshirt seniors: Ryan Seymour, Jabo Burrow, Caleb Welchans
• Redshirt juniors: Wesley Johnson, Mylon Brown, Justin Cabbagestalk
• Juniors: Logan Stewart, James Kittredge
• Redshirt sophomores: Grant Ramsay, Chase White, Andrew Bridges
• Sophomore: James Lewis
• Redshirt freshmen: Jake Bernstein, Alex Barr, Jose Valedon, Spencer Pulley

Not bad, huh?

Just remember that more than any other position besides maybe quarterback, offensive linemen must make the biggest adjustments physically and mentally to the college game. That's why Myron Lewis, D.J. Moore, Warren Norman and Earl Bennett play as true freshmen, while Chris Williams, Thomas Welch, Brian Stamper and Justin Geisinger don't.

Our freshmen, even the ones who've been thrown into the fire, are still far from where they'll be in a couple of years. And with Herb Hand and Robbie Caldwell coaching them up, I'm confident the offensive line is going to improve dramatically during each of the next two seasons.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, said, the offensive line has been an issue at Vanderbilt since I was there in the early 70's. Up-the-Middle, Up-the-Middle, Up-the-Middle......Punt. Incredible beat-downs from Georgia and Alabama. Vanderbilt trying to play with a paralyzed offense----frustrating. Vanderbilt did not take a cue from the quarterback-rich successes of Steve Sloane and company. Take another cue from Jay Cutler and Co. Quickness and laser passes will not do it alone. Take a lesson from Bobby Petrino (which I guess we are getting ready to). THROW the BALL DOWNFIELD! If it can't be done right now find someone who can do it!!!! If the offense had been half as effective as the defense was two years ago, Vanderbilt would have been 11-2.

Anonymous said...

it doesn't matter how deep the offense line is next year; if they still can pass block or run block block we still will have an anemic offense. Hopefully, the kids we have coming in and the ones from last year are better than our starters now, so that in a few years our line will be okay and able to block for the playmakers we have at RB now and the ones about to come in next year.

DIMON KENDRICK-HOLMES said...

The operative word is "talented." And paired with the word "deep," it sounds pretty good. Of course, we have to see how these guys develop, but it sure seems like talent + numbers + good coaching = vastly improved offensive line performance over the next two seasons and beyond.

Anonymous said...

Great article! I have been very critical of our offensive line developement. I didn't know that we lost 6 guys. Wow.. That's a bunch. It really makes me feel a lot better. With better o-line play, we could run the ball and help set up some easier passes. Our offense doesn't have to be great with how well our defense has played. We can be in a lot of games if we can just get some first downs and create positive field position. Hopefully things will be on the upswing next year!