Tuesday, July 5, 2011

A look at Vanderbilt's starting lineup... for 2013

Folks on chat boards excited by Coach Franklin's recruiting efforts are saying they can't wait for this season to start. I can. Sure, I'm curious to see who Franklin puts on the field and what plays he calls for them, but I'm really interested to see what happens after he puts a couple more classes together, say in 2013.

Speaking of which, here's a projected starting lineup for 2013, which is cause for excitement but also highlights our needs in recruiting (WR, OL, DL, K, P):

QUARTERBACK
1 - Lafonte Thourogood, JR
2 - Josh Grady, R-SO

RUNNING BACK
1 - Wesley Tate, R-SR
1 - Brian Kimbrow, SO
2 - Jerron Seymour, JR
2 - Mitchell Hester, R-SO

WIDE RECEIVER
1 - Jonathan Krause, SR
1 - Jordan Matthews, SR
1 - Jaydrick Declouet, SO
2 - Chris Boyd, R-JR
2 - Cory Batey, SO
2 - Trent Pruitt, R-JR

TIGHT END
1 - Darrien Bryant, R-SO
2 - Steven Scheu, R-SO

OFFENSIVE LINE
1 - Wesley Johnson, R-SR
1 - Logan Stewart, SR
1 - James Lewis, JR
1 - Jake Bernstein, JR
1 - Dillon van der Wal, R-SO
2 - Barrett Gouger, SO
2 - Andrew Bridges, R-JR
2 - Grant Ramsay, R-JR
2 - Jose Valedon, R-SO
2 - Spencer Pulley, R-SO

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
1 - Vince Taylor, R-JR
1 - Barron Dixon, JR
2 - Jared Morse, SR
2 - Ladarius Banks R-FR

DEFENSIVE END
1 - Kyle Woestmann, R-JR
1 - Josh Dawson, SO
2 - Conner Hart, R-SO
2 - Thomas Ryan, R-JR

LINEBACKER
1 - Jacob Sealand, SO
1 - Darreon Herring, SO
1 - Stephen Weatherly, SO
2 - Chase Garnham, SR
2 - Jahmel McIntosh, JR
2 - Jimmy Stewart, R-SO

CORNERBACK
1 - Derrick King, JR
1 - Jacquese Kirk, JR
2 - Andre Hal, SR
2 - Paris Head, SO

SAFETY
1 - Kenny Ladler, SR
1 - Larry Franklin, JR
2 - Andre Simmons, SR
2 - Karl Butler, SR

KICKER
1 - Carey Spear, SR
2 -

PUNTER
1 - Fitz Lassing, SR
2 -

What do you think?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dimon, good post but I'm hoping that we can 1st get through this season "starting lineup" without significant injury before we start to focus on 2013. Too many factors come into play when looking beyond the upcoming season. I am more interested in our O-Line and D-line starters and can they play at a high SEC level thoughout he season (without injury). My experience is that talent and the skill level of our "skill players" (rb & WR play) do not mean much without solid and effective line play. Even this upcoming season, if LS gets good line play (and he makes the proper reads), we could have a special season and perhaps get to 5-6 wins. I have heard that coach Hand is doing a great job with the O-line and guys have been in the weight room gettiing ready for what we hope will be a really good season. No doubt that with this projected 2012 class, that the talent level is improved significantly from CBJ era. Let's see what our projected 2012 lineup looks like with much better coaching and improved line-play. Don't forget that incoming freshman have no idea of the speed and punishment of SEC football. This should be the season that CJF makes a statement about Vandy's improved position coaching and getting more from our existing talent. Go Dores !

Dimon said...

Good comment. I think our line play will be improved, what with the top six guys returning and apparently getting better under Coach Hand.

Anonymous said...

I think Azubike will be a huge player for us. Did you leave him off because you think he will need some time or do you think the guys you listed will be better?

DIMON KENDRICK-HOLMES said...

He's a raw kid with lots of talent. I think he'll need some time though I did this list off the top of my head and think he could certainly replace Thomas Ryan.

Anonymous said...

Dimon, Looks like a well thoughtout line up for '13 to me,other than two guys one right off the bat #36 Garnham OLB being a number two OLB in 2013 as a senior.This guy jumps higher,runs faster and hits harder than any of these signee's. No way they beat out him as a Sr. Your drinking the cool-aid and star gazing again! Garnham will start in '11. I promise you as god is my witness not one of those LB recruits will keep this guy out of the line- up in his Vandy career, and he will be drafted at latest 3rd or 4th round. Do you go to practice or workouts have a inside source i.e.coach,trainer or any program insider at all? Where you at the spring game? I was maybe you played some high school football? If I didn't think you where trying to get a rise out of us. I would think you didn't know what the heck you where talking about. Same with Jared Morse DL geez man! However you got me to respond good job! Your still relevent Keep up the good work. Dimon, you know this is all in fun........plus Biddle got fired know one to blow-up at!

Anonymous said...

Interesting that u have Van Der Wal as OL. Do u see him being like Thomas Welch where he comes in as TE then bulks up and becomes stud OL?

Anonymous said...

Dimon - Whether readers agree with you or not, I know this is a time commitment for which we're all appreciative. I'm a huge fan of this blog because it mostly has a different take. Keep 'em coming!

A few more topic ideas:
1. Athletically speaking, VU gets compared to academic schools often (Stanford, Northwestern, etc.). Are these fair comparisons? If so, what has history taught us about the staying power of academic schools on the athletic field? Can VU be different?

2. Have you ever thought about getting Franklin, or any of the coaches/staff to do an interview for MV? Would be a great column.

3. To me, the greatest measure of a high school player is the type of offers he received. Yes, still imperfect but likely better than the star system. I believe you've done this before, but it'd be interesting to see a martix of a how the past few classes stack up against one another w.r.t. (i) # of offers, (ii) BCS offers, (iii) SEC offers, and (iv) top 25 offers.

4. Opponents: It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the opponents (starters returning, last year's record, etc).

Thanks again for all the great work.