MORAL VICTORY!

Vanderbilt assembling impressive offensive line

2012-01-30T21:11:00.002-06:00

Maybe you heard that athlete Chris Moody, who verbally committed to Vandy last week, just flipped and committed to South Carolina.

And maybe you're aware that Josh Dawson, who committed to Vandy last summer, appears poised to flip and pick his home-state Georgia Bulldogs.

And oh by the way, he's being recruited by Todd Grantham, that jackass who got in a screaming match with Franklin after last year's game in Nashville.

Hey, no sweat. Regardless of what happens in the next 18 hours before the faxes start rolling in, James Franklin has put together a stellar recruiting class.

Offensive tackle Kevin McCoy verbally committed to us today and appears unlikely to change his mind. This puts the finishing touches on a terrific class of offensive linemen:

• Andrew Jelks (6-7, 270)
• Kevin McCoy (6-6, 280)
• Will Holden (6-6, 280)
• Adam Butler (6-5, 288)
• Blake Fromang (6-8, 280)
• Barrett Gouger (6-5, 285)

Here's how Scouts ranks them:
1. Jelks: 3 stars, No. 43 tackle
2. Holden: 3 stars, No. 49 tackle
3. Butler: 3 stars, No. 62 guard
4. McCoy: 3 stars, No. 77 tackle
5. Fromang: 3 stars, No. 84 tackle
6. Gouger: 3 stars, No. 100 tackle

Here's how Rivals ranks them:
1. Jelks: 4 stars, 5.8 rating, No. 31 tackle
2. McCoy: 3 stars, 5.7 rating, No. 37 tackle
3. Butler: 3 stars, 5.7 rating, No. 41 tackle
4. Holden: 3 stars, 5.7 rating, No. 52 tackle
5. Gouger: 3 stars, 5.6 rating, No. 68 tackle
6. Fromang: 3 stars, 5.6 rating, unranked

And ESPN:
1. McCoy: 3 stars, 79 rating, No. 51 tackle
2. Jelks: 3 stars, 78 rating, No. 59 tackle
3. Gouger: 3 stars, 78 rating, No. 61 tackle
4. Fromang: 3 stars, 78 rating, No. 71 tackle
5. Butler: 3 stars, 78 rating, No. 43 guard
6. Holden: 3 stars, 78 rating, No. 74 tackle.

I think the best way to judge a class — without beaming yourself into the future to see which players have the best college careers — is to look at who else offered these guys scholarships.

Here's how they rank according to offers:
1. Jelks: Alabama, Texas A&M, Miss State, Stanford, Tennessee, Louisville, Missouri
2. McCoy: Florida, Auburn, Louisville
3. Holden: Florida, West Virginia, Louisville
4. Fromang: Cincinnati, Virginia, West Virginia, Louisville, Virginia Tech
5. Butler: UCLA, Oklahoma State
6. Gouger: Wake Forest, Memphis

On signing day, prepare to be shocked and amazed by James Franklin's latest Vanderbilt recruiting class

2012-01-18T23:57:00.006-06:00

We’re coming down the home stretch. Less than two weeks away from signing day, and a bunch of kids are visiting Vandy this weekend. Mostly verbal commitments, but a few prospects mixed in there.

If you’re one of those tortured souls monitoring recruiting web sites and trying to figure out exactly who’s visiting where when, well, bless your heart. You’ll never figure it out.

But we think these prospects are among those visiting this weekend:

• ATH Chris Moody
• WR Herb Waters
• OT Kevin McCoy
• LB Harding Harper

Really, though, we should prepare to be surprised. This time last year, Coach James Franklin had wrapped up only six recruits and was trying to close the deal on 15 more.

If you remember, he sewed up 10 verbal commitments in the two weeks before signing day and then grabbed five more commitments on signing day, stealing Lafonte Thourogood from Virginia Tech and Barron Dixon from Mississippi State.

Unbelievable.

Right now, he’s got 20 commitments and despite all the rumors appears to have most of them locked up.

Josh Dawson’s visit this weekend is huge. He’s been verbally committed since June but was visiting Georgia and Todd Grantham last weekend. Yes, the battle continues between Franklin and Grantham.

Meanwhile, big 4-star receiver Andre McDonald has decommitted, recommitted and is now visiting UCLA this weekend instead of us, though he did visit us in September.

Like I said, prepare to be surprised.

And expect some names to pop up out of the blue on signing day. It appears we’re trying to lift Dy’Shawn Mobley, a sleeper running back, from Kentucky, to whom he’s been committed since November.

Oh, and Chaz Elder, who recently committed to South Carolina, has been Tweeting lately about how cool Franklin is. I mean, an SEC head coach who listens to Tupac in his office? What, Steve Spurrier doesn’t do that?

Anyway, it’ll be interesting to say the least.

Vandy hosts bunch of commitments and prospects on Jan. 20

2012-01-15T20:46:00.001-06:00

Some Vandy fans are freaking out over news that big-shot schools are trying to steal our verbal commitments. This is a good thing, people. It means that we’ve recruited really good players who could play anywhere.

One fan on a Vandy chat board actually wondered why things have turned so bad over the past few weeks. Hello! Things are great!

This time last year, we had zero commitments from four-star players, and then we stole two of them on signing day.

This year, we have commitments from six players with a four-star rating from either Rivals, Scout or ESPN. Not sure who we’re going to steal from other schools this year, but we know Franklin’s capable of it.

It’ll still be a nerve-wracking two weeks. Three of our most prized recruits – OT Andrew Jelks, DE Josh Dawson and WR Andre McDonald – were reportedly visiting campuses in their home states this past weekend, with Jelks to Tennessee, Dawson to Georgia and McDonald to Minnesota. Jelks is scheduled to visit Ole Miss on Jan. 27.

But all three are scheduled to visit Vandy next weekend, according to Scout and Rivals. Here’s at least a partial guest list:

Current Verbal Commitments:
• 4-star ATH Brian Kimbrow (Memphis, Tenn.)
• 4-star DE Caleb Azubike (Nashville, Tenn.)
• 4-star DE Stephen Weatherly (Atlanta, Ga.)
• 4-star LB Jacob Sealand (Tucker, Ga.)
• 4-star DE Josh Dawson (Tucker, Ga.)
• 4-star WR Andre McDonald (Minnetonka, Minn.)
• 3-star OT Andrew Jelks (Paris, Tenn.)
• 3-star CB Torren McGaster (Daphne, Ala.)
• 3-star OT Will Holden (Green Cove Springs, Fla.)
• 3-star OG Adam Butler (Duncanville, Texas)
• 3-star DE Torey Agee (Opelika, Ala.)
• 3-star ATH Brandon Banks (Brandywine, Md.)
• 3-star ATH Jaborian McKenzie (Natchez, Miss.)
• 3-star WR Cory Batey (Nashville, Tenn.)
• 3-star DT Ladarius Banks (Dallas, Ga.)
• 3-star OT Barrett Gouger (Chattanooga, Tenn.)

Players who’ve already enrolled in school and are locked in:
• 4-star LB Darreon Herring (Stone Mountain, Ga.)
• 3-star QB Patton Robinette (Maryville, Tenn.)

Prospects:
• 4-star ATH Will Redmond (Memphis, Tenn.); teammate of Brian Kimbrow, verbal commitment to Mississippi State
• 3-star OT Kevin McCoy (Seffner, Fla.)
• 3-star ATH Chris Moody (McDonough, Ga.)
• 3-star ATH Herbert Waters (Homestead, Fla.); soft commitment to Miami
• 3-star LB Harding Harper (Montgomery, Ala.)

Note: The following VU commitments have already visited campus and may not be present this upcoming weekend:
• 3-star OT Blake Fromang (Orlando, Fla.)
• 3-star K Colby Cooke (Goochland, Va.)
• 3-star DB Paris Head (Buford, Ga.)

The following prospects are scheduled to visit campus on Jan. 27:
• 4-star WR Gabriel Marks (Los Angeles, Calif.); recently committed to Washington State and may not visit
• 3-star WR Jeremy Glinton (Oakland Park, Fla.); visits Jan. 27

'Same Old Vandy' doesn't apply to recruiting; Commodores in good shape two weeks from signing day

2012-01-14T13:01:00.004-06:00

Right now, 4-star defensive end Josh Dawson, who's been committed to Vanderbilt since June, is visiting his home state Georgia Bulldogs and loving it, according to Twitter.

Meanwhile, new Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is making a run at Brian Kimbrow, who by all accounts would fit perfectly into his spread offense.

Which has some Vanderbilt fans exclaiming "Same Old Vandy."

Don't do it. Here's when it's OK to say "Same Old Vandy": When some bizarre cosmic phenomenon occurs to the Commodores that (1) snatches defeat from the jaws of victory and (2) wouldn't happen to any other school.

For example, when your most reliable player is on the one yard line and about to give you a 15-point lead over the nation's No. 3 team late in the game but fumbles into the hands of an opposing linebacker, who runs 99 yards and, with the help of a 2-point conversion, suddenly ties the game.

Or, on the road, you take your most hated rival into overtime, get the ball first, and then lose the game on a pick-six.

Hard not to think Same Old Vanderbilt, huh?

But we often have such moments because we have weaker talent. Arkansas linebacker Jerry Franklin pulled a similar stunt against LSU, grabbing a fumble and racing for a touchdown to dramatically swing the momentum in the Razorback's favor. However, it happened in the first quarter, and minutes later LSU scored a quick three touchdowns and blew Arkansas away.

A couple of weeks from his second signing day as a Commodore, James Franklin is undoubtedly improving our talent base, which should lead to a Brand New Vandy on the playing field. And it's just plain wrong to be uttering "Same Old Vandy" right now in regards to recruiting.

In recruiting, "Same Old Vandy" means right after signing day your 4-star defensive end commitment just went to jail because his white girlfriend's dad just got him arrested (Marcus Dixon in 2003) or your 4-star running back was shot and killed by his mother's ex-boyfriend (Rajaan Bennett in 2010).

And fortunately, that sort of thing doesn't happen often but hurts awfully bad — especially in the case of Bennett — when it does.

Anyway, let's look at what's happened in the past few weeks:

• Gunner Kiel chooses LSU over Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. Did we really expect the nation's No. 1 quarterback (according to Scout) to choose us?

Look at history: Three of the last 10 Scout No. 1 quarterbacks have chosen USC, with a fourth (Mitch Mustain) transferring to USC after initially choosing Arkansas. Five of the remaining six chose football factories — Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Florida — with the sixth choosing pass-happy BYU.

Look at the stats: LSU's offensive line averages about 315 pounds, it recruits some of the nation's best skill athletes and it has one of college football's best defensive units and special teams so you can start with good field position. Oh yeah, and it plays in front of more than 92,000 crazed fans.

If I want to be an English professor, I take the scholarship to Vanderbilt. If I want to be an NFL quarterback, I go to another school. Sure, we had Jay Cutler, but he came here because the few schools interested wanted him to play safety. He had four years to develop toughness, a quick release and lots of character. If he'd gone to Oklahoma, USC or LSU, he wouldn't be in the NFL today.

The fact that Kiel chose LSU over Vanderbilt is something we should be excited about, not whining over.

• Patton Robinette commits to Vandy. The nation's No. 36 quarterback, Robinette is 6-5, 200 pounds and looks great on film, with a live arm and quick feet.

While some Vandy fans were mourning the loss of Kiel, Robinette was in Chapel Hill about to enroll at UNC and realized he wanted to be a Commodore and drove to Nashville and enrolled in school the next day.

Sure, No. 36 may seem like a far cry from No. 1, but Robinette is the highest rated quarterback who's ever signed with Vandy, according to Scout. Austyn Carta-Samuels, the junior transfer expected to compete with Jordan Rodgers for playing time, was ranked No. 37 when he signed with Wyoming in 2009.

Our highest ranked quarterbacks after that were Josh Grady in 2011 (No. 50), Mackenzi Admas in 2005 (No. 55), Jared Funk in 2006 (No. 56) and Larry Smith in 2007 (No. 60). Charlie Goro, who somehow made Parade All-American, was ranked No. 139 and is now playing defensive back for South Dakota.

• Assistant coaches Chris Beatty and Wesley McGriff jump ship. So two of our position coaches are leaving to go to arguably bigger programs (Illinois and Ole Miss, respectively) to become coordinators. Isn't that a good thing? Does anybody doubt that James Franklin can replace those guys?

• Andre McDonald threatens to follow Beatty to Illinois. Oh yeah, Beatty and McGriff were our recruiting coordinators. That hurts. But Franklin's known for his recruiting ability and set up his staff so that everybody's involved in recruiting. It was nerve-wracking when McDonald, a big receiver and 4-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals, decommitted and arranged visits to Illinois and Minnesota. He now appears to be back in the fold.

• I'tavius Mathers sticks with Ole Miss. Mathers, a skilled athlete from Murfreesboro, initially committed to Ole Miss, then showed great interest in Vandy. But on the eve of a recently scheduled visit with Franklin, Mathers committed to Ole Miss.

The next day, Mathers' father told the Tennessean that Vanderbilt was not honest with Mathers because they were recruiting other people and didn't promise him playing time. Franklin made his media rounds and blasted the Tennessean for not calling him to verify the story. If anything, he said, he's been too honest by not promising anybody playing time. In the end, Franklin came out looking pretty good.

• Wes Brown and Albert Reid commit to Maryland. Vandy was high on the lists of 4-star running backs Brown and Reid, but by the end of this week both of them, who are from the DC area, committed to the Terrapins. Again, the fact that two highly ranked players barely choose their hometown team over the Commodores shows that we're making strides.

• Brandon Barden comments on Twitter that Vandy is pulling scholarships from players. Franklin said earlier this week that any player who works hard and does what he's asked will keep his scholarship regardless of talent.

He also said that no current redshirt junior is guaranteed a fifth year on scholarship and that some of those players may not be invited to return to the team. Toward the end of last season, Zac Stacy was urging Micah Powell to reconsider his decision to pass up his fifth year of eligibility. I understand that guys don't want to lose their teammates, but we don't need to burn another scholarship year on Powell, a special teams contributor.

We also know that redshirt juniors Caleb Welchans and DeAndre Jones won't be returning either. Welchans' prospects of playing diminished as we added new O-line talent, and Jones, who could possibly have started next season at middle linebacker, is going to go ahead and start his career as an engineer.

Franklin won't give the entire list of redshirt juniors who won't be returning, but the list has to include DE Dexter Daniels and DT Taylor Loftley, who weren't on the depth chart. While we lack linebackers, Al Owens was a stop-gap for us this past season and may well be moving on. Wouldn't be surprised if WRs John Cole and Akeem Dunham are gone too. Two more guys, Austin Monahan and Tristan Strong, have started for us when they've not been injured and whether they return another year (it would be a sixth year for Monahan) may be up in the air. The team has tons of young talent at tight end, but could really use Strong at outside or even middle linebacker.

Then there are the underclassmen who aren't returning. Franklin has said that freshman Mitchell Hester and sophomore Logan Stewart are gone for undisclosed reasons. Hester was a burner who had great potential and Stewart was a two-year starter at center. Also, sophomore Andre Simmons is gone after facing criminal charges. It would be speculation to figure out who falls victim next to academics or team rules.

Franklin said some guys may transfer to get playing time. I don't have any insight, but natural candidates would be sophomore receiver Brady Brown and redshirt freshmen Grant Ramsay (OL), Trent Pruitt (WR) and Thomas Ryan (DE). But you never know, and injuries played a factor with some of these guys. Last season, Javon Marshall wasn't on the depth chart and this year he was a starter.

• Defensive end Dawson visits Georgia. This happens all the time. Lots of powerhouse football programs lose recruits at the last minute. The trick is to have other guys who can take their place. If Dawson doesn't sign with us, we've already got 4-star defensive ends Caleb Azubike and Stephen Weatherly, as well as darkhouse Tory Agee, a big agile kid who's son of former Auburn and Dallas Cowboy fullback Tommy Agee. Meanwhile, Georgia just got a commitment from John Jenkins, a 5-star defensive end, in addition to two other fine defensive end prospects. We'll see.

• Kimbrow gets an offer from Urban Meyer. I don't understand why this scares Vandy fans so much. Sure, if a kid picks Vandy over Alabama-Birmingham or Marshall and then suddenly gets an offer from Ohio State, I'm concerned. We saw this happen two years ago with Bradley Roby, who verbally committed to Vandy and then jumped ship as soon as the Buckeyes offered. (The fact that Vandy just finished a two-win season didn't help any.) But Brian Kimbrow has already chosen Vandy over legitimate offers from USC, LSU, Auburn, Notre Dame, Miami, and the list goes on.

And if Kimbrow does jump ship, then it'll sting a whole lot worse than it did with Gunner Kiel, but we'll recover. Vandy fans desperately want to pin their hopes on one player. (Last year, we wanted to pin our hopes on a coach named Gus.) But the future of our program doesn't depend on a 5-9, 165-pound athlete. Don't get me wrong, he'll help a great deal, but it won't be a death blow to our program.

• Right now, we're in strong running for OT Kevin McCoy, who has offers from Auburn and Florida, and LB Harding Harper, who apparently has an offer from Arkansas. We've already got verbals from five offensive lineman, but McCoy appears to be special and he'd be a nice get. As far as Harper goes, we badly need linebackers but we may have our eye on some sleeper candidates out there.

And for all this talk about losing kids to other schools, and for all this talk about the lack of superstars remaining on our recruiting boards, don't forget that this time last year Lafonte Thourogood had committed to Virginia Tech, Dillon van der Wal had committed to Arizona State, and Barron Dixon was heading to Mississippi State. Reports are coming out of Atlanta that Georgia Tech's top commitment, athlete Marcus Allen, who'd be great at linebacker, is considering a recruiting visit to Vandy.

Sure, some bad things can happen in the next two weeks, but this is the Brand New Vandy, where good things can happen too, especially on the recruiting trail.

Vandy's Franklin is playing to win

2011-12-31T16:26:00.003-06:00

I like the call on fourth and 3, when Zac Stacy ran toward the line and threw a jump pass to Brandon Barden who was turned the other way and missed the catch.

Cincy scored right before the half, but I still like the call. Franklin's playing to win, and we're having trouble stopping the run and moving the ball.

I look forward to seeing how we adjust. Sure, it would be nice to win and have a winning season, but our ultimate goal is not 7-6 seasons. We're building to something bigger.

Well, as long as Eric Samuels doesn't keep returning kicks. We start the second half in a huge hole after Samuels' fumble.

Go Dores.

Checking in at kickoff of the Liberty Bowl

2011-12-31T14:35:00.002-06:00

Checking back in after a long winter's nap.

Looking forward to watching Vandy play in a bowl, and expecting our offense to be much better than it was three years ago in the Music City Bowl.

While Cincy has a pretty good run defense, it shouldn't be anywhere as stout as the Boston College front line in 2008, which was anchored by B.J. Raji.

Glad we're getting to face Cincy's normal starting quarterback.

Not so concerned about this game or the matchups, but am mainly focused on the positive direction in which our program's headed.

The thing I'm most excited about is our recruiting, which is shaping up nicely. Lots of sharp prospects visiting campus in the next three weeks, and in some cases Coach Franklin and our coaches will have their pick between a couple of prospects at key positions like receiver and linebacker. Word is that Franklin's still looking to recruit a quarterback, probably somebody who's verbally committed somewhere else.

As for Gunner Keil, it's a positive that the nation's No. 1 quarterback had Vandy in his top three. Some Vandy fans thought we didn't need a quarterback, and others thought Kiel had made a bad decision by choosing the Tigers over VU, which by all accounts is academically superior.

I disagree with both positions. Vandy still needs another quarterback, and still has a long way to go with its passing game. And if my kid's a quarterback with NFL potential, I'd rather he be playing behind 330-pound linemen, and heck, it'd be fun to go watch him play in front of crowds of 100,000. And as for education, you can get a good education anywhere, even Tennessee, especially if you know what you want to study. And sure, James Franklin's a great teacher, but so is Steve Kragthorpe at LSU.

So I'm not bitter at all. I wish Kiel the best, and I look forward to seeing who we sign. I'll have more on that later.

Go Dores!

Vandy's ranked a lot lower than Cincy, but still favored to win the Liberty Bowl

2011-12-09T18:28:00.002-06:00

Vandy is a 3-point favorite over Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl, which is kind of interesting because the Bearcats are ranked No. 27 in the BCS, 21 points higher in the BCS than the No. 48 Commodores.

No other team outranked by that much is favored to win. And only seven other matchups out of the 33 other bowls features a lower ranked team that’s favored in the opening line. Here are those seven matchups:

• No. 72 Utah State favored by 3.5 over No. 64 Ohio in the Potato Bowl.
• No. 74 Florida International favored by 4.5 over No. 60 Marshall in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
• No. 55 North Carolina State favored by 1.5 over No. 38 Louisville in the Belk Bowl.
• No. 61 Illinois favored by 3 over No. 54 UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
• No. 13 Michigan favored by 1.5 over No. 11 Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.
• No. 62 Pittsburgh favored by 5.5 over No. 57 SMU in the Compass Bowl.
• No. 35 Arkansas State favored by 1 over No. 34 Northern Illinois in the GoDaddy Bowl.

Vanderbilt's Lafonte Thourogood no longer a quarterback - making room for Gunner Kiel?

2011-12-08T08:58:00.004-06:00

Lafonte Thourogood, the four-star athlete that Vandy stole from Virginia Tech on signing day, practiced last night at running back and will make the move from quarterback.

Thourogood was one of three players – Josh Grady and Kris Kentera being the others – to sign in February as a quarterback. Coach James Franklin emphatically stated on signing day that all three were quarterbacks.

That’s because he’d promised all of them the opportunity to compete for the quarterback job.

At the same time, he was telling reporters that Lafonte could change positions anytime Lafonte wanted. In other words, Lafonte came to Vanderbilt because he wanted to play quarterback, not because Vanderbilt wanted him to play quarterback.

Franklin said after last night’s practice that Thourogood came into his office and asked to change positions, but that it was something he wanted too.

“He wants an opportunity to play next year,” Franklin said, “and looking at our situation at quarterback he didn’t think that was going to happen.”

Smart kid. Jordan Rodgers grabbed the starting job this year and will only get better. Austyn Carta-Samuels, the transfer from Wyoming who was MVP of the New Mexico Bowl as a freshman and captain of the Cowboys as a sophomore, has been sharp on the scout team this year and will push Rodgers in the spring.

In fact, Grady and Kentera have been lining up at scout team receiver to catch passes from Carta-Samuels. But Grady is an impressive leader and continues to show potential to be a dual-threat quarterback in the SEC. Kentera, a wing-T quarterback in high school whose only major offer was from Vandy, is considered a project. Both will get some more time to develop as a signal-caller.

How much time?

It depends. For 2012, Vandy is set with Rodgers as its quarterback, with Carta-Samuels and Grady competing for the backup job as well as the starting job for 2013. Meanwhile, Kentera gets more time to develop as a quarterback.

But if Gunner Kiel, the nation’s No. 1 QB who by the way attended Vandy’s Liberty Bowl announcement party on Sunday night, shocks the world and signs with Vandy, then he’ll likely enroll early and play in the spring. That means everybody, even Rodgers, will feel the heat. Rodgers would likely start, but how sincere is Franklin’s sales pitch to “Come to Vanderbilt and play right away” if the nation’s No. 1 quarterback redshirts?

If Kiel did redshirt, he’d be groomed as a four-year starter, and suddenly Carta-Samuels is looking at finishing his career as a backup and Grady is switching to receiver or defensive back. Meanwhile, Kentera would likely fit whatever role – backup quarterback or maybe receiver or safety – in which he could most help the team.

Franklin is proving himself to be a shrewd collector of talent. We’ve said all along that he’s going to eventually get a blue chip quarterback to develop. It takes time to get one of those, and if he doesn’t get Kiel then Carta-Samuels and Grady will man the fort while Franklin keeps recruiting.

Neither Thourogood, Grady or Kentera was his quarterback of the future. As he said last night: “It wasn’t like we recruited three guys who could only play quarterback. We knew they’re athletic enough to play other positions and help us in other areas. You’re not gonna sign three drop-back quarterbacks where that’s the only position they can play.”

In other words, these guys can play quarterback if we don’t get our superstar drop-back passer, and they can change positions if we do.

Gunner Kiel would not be moving to wide receiver or safety. Ever.

As for Thourogood, Franklin said after practice that “he came out here and did a great job and the guys were very supportive of him and excited about watching him do some things… Instead of waiting till spring ball, I thought it was great on his part from a maturity standpoint to realize this is an opportunity to get some work in so when spring ball comes he’s further ahead.”

Now think about our running back situation for next year. We’ll have:

• Zac Stacy, senior, a 1,000-yard rusher and All-SEC performer
• Warren Norman, redshirt junior, former SEC freshman of the year who started his first two seasons ahead of Stacy
• Jerron Seymour, sophomore, who showed flashes of brilliance while rotating with Stacy
• Brian Kimbrow, freshman, the fastest man in high school football who’ll likely start his career as a return specialist and an all-purpose back for the Commodores
• Mitchell Hester, redshirt freshman, another speedster who was impressive in preseason camp
• Jaborian McKenzie, freshman, another solid recruit with speed and ball skills

Oh, and Thourogood, a big, strong athlete. And right now we’re the front-runner for Wes Brown, a big (at least by our standards) four-star running back.

Not all these guys will play running back, but they’ll play somewhere. Will Lafonte stick at quarterback? Who knows? Maybe he'll line up next year at wide receiver. Lots of folks think he'd make an outstanding outside linebacker. Can you imagine him at safety? The point is, Lafonte's position is now "not a quarterback," which means he's free to move around and find a home. He's a stud, and he's going to play somewhere.

Go back and watch Franklin’s signing day press conference and you’ll notice that he keeps repeating the word “flexible.” He wants athletes he can move around the field.

It’ll be fun to watch where all these guys play.

Vanderbilt's James Franklin records biggest first-season turnaround among current SEC football coaches

2011-12-03T11:21:00.002-06:00

So James Franklin has a new contract and he’s getting new turf, a Jumbotron, and a 120-yard indoor facility.

Awesome.

While we celebrate the fact that we’ve held on to our head coach for at least another season – do you really believe anybody pays attention to contracts anymore? – let’s also celebrate the job he’s doing this season by looking at how his first year compares to that of current SEC head coaches.

Of the 10 other coaches currently in the SEC with at least one year under their belts (still waiting on Houston Nutt’s replacement), they inherited teams with an average of six wins, and they took their teams and they were able to improve their teams’ regular season records by an average of…

Well, actually, they didn’t improve at all. They took teams with an average of six wins and they won an average of six games.

Do you realize that James Franklin’s six wins in his first season surpasses the first-year records of Dan Mullen and Bobby Petrino (five wins each), and equals the six-win first seasons of Will Muschamp, Derek Dooley and – yes – Nick Saban.

But Franklin didn’t win six games with the talent, resources and winning history of Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas or even Mississippi State. He inherited a Vanderbilt team that, as he is quick to remind us, had won two games in each of the past two seasons.

Here’s how Franklin ranks among current SEC coaches for team improvement in his first regular season:

1. James Franklin, Vanderbilt: +4 (6 wins with a two-win team)
2. Gene Chizik, Auburn: +2 (7 wins with a 5-win team)
3. Dan Mullen, Miss State: +1 (5 wins with a 4-win team)
4. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina: +1 (7 wins with a 6-win team)
5. Mark Richt, Georgia: +1 (8 wins with a 7-win team)
6. Les Miles, LSU: +1 (10 wins with a 9-win team)
7. Nick Saban, Alabama: Even (6 wins with a 6-win team)
8. Joker Phillips, Kentucky: -1 (6 wins with a 7-win team)
9. Derek Dooley, Tennessee: -1 (6 wins with a 7-win team)
10. Will Muschamp, Florida: -1 (6 wins with a 7-win team)
11. Bobby Petrino, Arkansas: -3 (5 wins with an 8-win team)

James Franklin stockpiles talent, but talent isn't everything - just ask Kevin Stallings

2011-12-03T11:06:00.003-06:00

Remember all the pleasant surprises we got the week leading up to James Franklin's first signing day? Remember all the kids who'd made commitments to places like Virginia Tech who suddenly decided to commit to Vanderbilt?

Just wait to see what happens these next two months leading up to signing day. James Franklin is on a roll. The guy gets blown out by Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and on the way home he's calling recruits to ask them if they have what it takes to beat the Tide. Then he starts going toe-to-toe with Georgia and Arkansas and beating teams he should beat (Army) and walloping teams he's supposedly dead-even with (Kentucky and Wake Forest). He even turns a potentially demoralizing loss in Knoxville into a motivational tool.

Yes, he's leaving wounds open. No, this isn't the same old Vandy. Yes, he's staying in Nashville because he's creating a winning culture here and he loves his players.

Bobby Johnson steadily improved the quality and depth of talent at Vandy, and then Franklin arrived and said it wasn't good enough and now he's competing for players we never dreamed of getting, including the No. 1 quarterback in America.

And the exciting thing is, we believe he'll know what to do with all this talent when he gets it. Yes, it takes more than talent to win. Just ask the Vanderbilt basketball team, which is loaded with four- and five-star talent and doesn't know how to finish games, rise to the occasion, make clutch plays, or beat teams they're supposed to beat.

But that's another subject. There are no moral victories in Vanderbilt basketball, just like there will soon be no moral victories in Vanderbilt football.

(Sure, James Franklin says there are no moral victories, but the day he stops talking about how his margin of loss against top teams is getting smaller is the day when there are no more moral victories in Vanderbilt football, which will also be the day we'll need to reconsider the name of our blog.)

Anyway, we've got a big-league recruiter who plays to win. Is this a great time to be a Vandy football fan or what?

James Franklin to Penn State rumors are good news for Vanderbilt

2011-12-01T10:54:00.004-06:00

If you're freaking out over rumors of James Franklin jumping ship to Penn State, just stop it right now.

We want these rumors to heat up, and we want Penn State and any other powerhouse programs with coaching vacancies to think they have a shot at Franklin — why would they think otherwise? — and to come calling.

Why? Because it puts Vanderbilt and Franklin in the national spotlight. All those four-star verbal commitments suddenly want to know if Franklin's staying, because they're not signing with the Commodores if he's not. And all the other blue chippers that Franklin's trying to woo suddenly want to know the same thing.

I bet the kids are Twittering up a storm about now. Sure, kids are saying they'll de-commit if he leaves. But at the same time, I guarantee you that kids are deciding they'll commit if he stays. It's great publicity, and we want the rumors to run wild.

That's because I believe Franklin stays. For the past year, he's been doing a lot of talking about how he's changing the culture at Vanderbilt and especially how much he loves his players. A coach who leaves after one year hasn't changed the culture and he doesn't love his players. But if James Franklin is a legitimate candidate for one of the best jobs in college football — and in his home state, no less — and he stays, then he's sending a message that:

1. He's staying in Nashville for the foreseeable future, and he believes he can win here.
2. He believes he is changing the culture at Vanderbilt.
3. He does love his players.
4. Some of the best players in America will realize that and will sign with Vandy.
5. He's the real deal.

I believe Franklin is the real deal. Of course, the administration has to pony up with an indoor practice facility, stadium improvements and a new football marketing plan to send HIM the message that they're serious about winning. I believe it will do that.

Might we be having this same discussion in four years, which happens to be the same amount of time it took Jim Harbaugh to turn Stanford into a national contender? Absolutely. I think Franklin will eventually be an NFL head coach. But if we are having this same discussion in four years, then Franklin has proven that Vanderbilt can win big, and he'll be leaving the program in good shape and in good hands.

So rest easy. And if Franklin does jump ship, then those comparisons to Lane Kiffin (young guy who'll promise you everything and then leave in the night) are justified and we didn't want him anyway.

That's not the case, as we're about to find out.

What are your thoughts on the bowl-bound Commodores?

2011-11-26T17:40:00.002-06:00

So we just destroyed Wake Forest 41-7 and are likely headed to either the Liberty Bowl or Music City Bowl.

This time last year, with two victories and no head coach and smarting from a blowout at the hands of the Demon Deacs, who'd have thought we'd be headed to a bowl.

We've got a heck of a head coach. Oh, and we've got a 1,000-yard rusher in Zac Stacy. And blue-chip recruits lining up to play for us. And we finished with an impressive road victory.

And did we mention that Tennessee is staying home?

What are your thoughts on this special season?

Donkeys fly, hell freezes over, UK beats UT and...

2011-11-26T14:46:00.004-06:00

Vanderbilt just made a field goal.

We're leading Wake Forest 3-0 after forcing a Wake fumble on the game's opening possession.

James Franklin's being saying all week that Carey Spear would be our field goal kicker this week but then Ryan Fowler appeared on the field to boot the 33-yarder.

I'm sure that really tricked the Demon Deacs. But hey, maybe the best way to take pressure off our kicker is to make him think he's not kicking.

Yep, Tennessee always beats the you-know-what out of Kentucky!

2011-11-26T14:34:00.009-06:00

Well, Derek Dooley's not celebrating today like he just won the Super Bowl. He's not saying that his team always beats the you-know-what out of Kentucky. Oh, and he's not making hotel reservations for late December in Nashville or Memphis.

Know why?

Because Mr. Orange Pants just led the Vols to their first LOSS TO KENTUCKY IN 25 YEARS.

Hahahahaha!

Vanderbilt's future's bright regardless of how the Wake Forest game turns out

2011-11-26T14:02:00.004-06:00

About 30 minutes from kickoff in Winston-Salem and I'm pulling for the Wildcats over the Vols in Lexington.

Yeah, it would be nice for the Commodores to play a bowl game in either Nashville or Memphis, and for the Vols to play in a bowl game, well, nowhere.

Of course, while the Cats just forced a punt and are trying their best to take care of business, the Commodores must take care of business too.

I'm not nervous about this one, though. I think we've got a decent chance to beat Wake Forest and I believe we'll play much better than we did last week. But I also believe that we don't need to win this game for the season to be a success. Sure, it'd be really nice to get another month of practice.

But I'm not going to freak out if we lose. Think what we've learned about this team since September:

1. We've found us an outstanding head coach.
2. We've got an offense that can find a way to move the ball and score against top-flight SEC defenses.
3. We've found a quarterback, we've developed a decent offensive line, and our receivers are making tough catches in traffic against SEC defensive backs.
4. We're getting commitments in droves from SEC-caliber players.
5. We're taking Top 5 teams to the wire.
6. We're nearly unstoppable on our home turf.
7. The future has never been brighter if you're a Commodore fan.

None of this changes if we lose today, but heck, let's top it off with a something we haven't done this season (win a road game) and do something nobody thought we could do (win six games and go to a bowl.

Let's do it!

Vandy likely bowling in Birmingham if it beats Wake Forest

2011-11-20T21:57:00.003-06:00

At last night’s press conference, James Franklin finally made reference to a bowl berth, without saying the “B” word. He said, “I love these guys and I want to play with them as long as I can, and the only way I can do this is to win this week.”

If Vandy does beat Wake Forest to become bowl eligible, he’d likely get six full weeks to prepare for a bowl game. That’s because, with the loss to UT, Vandy likely fell to No. 10 in the bowl order.

Here’s the order of bowls with SEC tie-ins by payout:

1. BCS Championship Game: Jan. 9, New Orleans, La.
2. Sugar Bowl: Jan. 3, New Orleans, La.
3. Capital One Bowl: Jan. 2, Orlando, Fla.
4. Cotton Bowl: Jan. 6, Arlington, Texas
5. Outback Bowl: Jan. 2, Tampa, Fla.
6. Chick-Fil-A Bowl: Dec. 31, Atlanta, Ga.
7. Gator Bowl: Jan. 2, Jacksonville, Fla.
8. Music City Bowl: Dec. 30, Nashville, Tenn.
9. Liberty Bowl: Dec. 31, Memphis, Tenn.
10. Compass Bowl: Jan. 7, Birmingham, Ala.

If Vandy had won Saturday, it would have bounced UT from the bowl picture, leaving nine SEC teams and lining up the Commodores for a berth in either the Music City Bowl or Liberty Bowl. And if Florida had lost next week to FSU, and Vandy had beaten Wake Forest, then at 7-5 Vandy would have likely garnered a Chick-Fil-A Bowl berth over a 6-6 Florida team.

Instead, we collapsed in Knoxville. Now if Vandy wins in Winston-Salem on Saturday, which is a shaky thing to count on, then the Commodores will likely land a bid in the Compass Bowl, which plays on Jan. 7 and gives James Franklin lots of practice time. I can think of much better places to spend the first Saturday in January than ancient Legion Field in Birmingham, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Unless Tennessee loses to Kentucky, which would likely send Vandy to replace the Vols in the Liberty Bowl.

Unless Mississippi State somehow loses to Ole Miss in Houston Nutt’s finale, which would likely send the Commodores back to the Music City Bowl.

I know, I know. We’ve got to beat Wake Forest, and that won’t be easy.

James Franklin: "Wait till we've been here two years"

2011-11-20T07:47:00.001-06:00

Listen to what James Franklin said in his postgame press conference when a reporter asked why Vandy can’t get over the hump:

“We’ve won 5 games — we’ve won 4 games in the last two years combined. Our kids fight and compete every single week. We’re recruiting better than ever. The culture’s been changed.

“We still got steps to take like everybody in the country but the culture has changed. These kids have invested, the coaches have invested, we’ve competed and played against everybody, everybody in the league, and we’ve been here 11 months.

“Wait till we’ve been here two years. You’ll see real culture change, I can guarantee you that.”

He did mention “obscure calls” from officials and injuries to the offensive line but his message was that his team played “awful” in the first half and still found a way to compete, and that he takes full responsibility and that “I’m gonna get it fixed.” When somebody asked what Tennessee did to stop his offense, he said: “They didn’t. It was us. We didn’t play well. You’ve got to run the offense, you can’t turn the ball over.”

As he left the field last night, Franklin yelled to the UT fans. “We’ll be back,” he said.

So where's James Franklin's press conference?

2011-11-19T23:29:00.003-06:00

I was particularly interested to hear Franklin's press conference after the game. But right now the official Vandy athletic site only has some postgame quotes from him.

No video, which usually pops up within an hour of the final horn.

Meanwhile, video from Dooley's entire postgame press conference is posted on the Vol's site. Plus, Houston Nutt and Joker Phillips both sat and talked about blowout losses to the Commodores while they were separated by only a flimsy wall from the Vandy locker room, which was rocking with noisy celebration, and those rather painful interviews were posted on their school's sites soon after they were taken.

Three thoughts on yet another Vandy nightmare

2011-11-19T21:30:00.005-06:00

1. We played terrible, took the lead and then found a way to lose.
2. The refs did blow the whistle to kill the play. No way a referee was going to turn on his microphone in Neyland Stadium and say the touchdown was nullified because they blew the whistle. But they did blow the whistle.
3. Same old Vanderbilt. What else can you say? A pick six to lose in overtime? It could only happen to Vanderbilt. Yeah, we've found a great coach, but we're still inventing new ways to lose.

Archibald Barnes! Archibald Barnes! Archibald Barnes!

2011-11-19T20:05:00.004-06:00

We'd be dead in the water without Archie, who has two interceptions and 128 return yards. With UT driving for another score and a 21-7 lead, Archie grabbed a Tyler Bray pass and sped 100 yards for a touchdown.

His legs were moving so fast his No. 15 looked like No. 16 and for a second I thought it was Eddie Foster, a former starting cornerback who's one of the fastest guys on the team but has been relegated to special teams.

With all the redshirt juniors screwing up for so far, Archibald's one redshirt who I guarantee you will be welcomed with open arms next season.

Let's get this win!

In the past, we've played great and then blown the game in the end. Today, we're playing terrible and we're tied with the Vols and have the moment.

We'll take it.

Brain-dead

2011-11-19T19:53:00.004-06:00

Good Lord.

With Vandy down 14-7 at the start of the second half, Jordan Rodgers hits Chris Boyd for a 72-yard pass play. Boyd's tackled on the Vol 1-yard line.

But while Chris is battling toward the goal line, Josh Jelesky is clipping a Tennessee defender. And after Jordan had made the throw.

It's one thing to miss a field goal or trip over your own feet, but it's quite another to do something that freaking stupid.

We've been giddily declaring for weeks that this isn't the Same Old Vandy. It make take a bit longer to be sure of that. In the past 15 years or so, we've finished plenty of seasons with five victories.

If we don't pull our head out, that just may happen again.

By the way, UT's about to score again.

Hey Colby Cooke, can you enroll at Vandy right away?

2011-11-19T19:43:00.004-06:00

Meet our next field goal kicker. His name’s Colby Cooke, and sure, he looks like a computer programmer, but he can’t be any worse than Carey Spear, who missed two first-half kicks against Bama and shanked a game-tying kick at the buzzer against Arkansas, or Ryan Fowler, who just missed two field goals in the first half against Tennessee.

Cooke’s supposed to grayshirt because Spear’s returning next season and Fowler will be a redshirt senior who may or may not be invited to return. Hey, might want to call Colby and tell him he can go ahead and plan to enroll in the summer of 2012 instead of spring 2013 as planned.

At halftime, we have more yards than UT (175-126), four more first downs and nearly 10 more minutes of possession.

But Jordan Rodgers looks shaky, fumbling on the first possession, throwing an interception on the second, killing a drive by falling tripping on his own feet and falling down on third down, and missing a wide-open Chris Boyd in the end zone toward the end of the half, just before Fowler hooked a 34-field goal to the left.

On the bright side, we did actually score our first touchdown in the first half of a road game this season. Before this game, we’d been outscored 45-3 in the first half on the road.

We should be winning in Knoxville right now. We shot ourselves in the foot just like we did in the first half in Gainesville. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the Vandy locker room right now.

Give ’em hell, Coach.

Don't chalk up a Vanderbilt victory over Tennessee yet

2011-11-19T09:42:00.003-06:00

You can feel everybody in Knoxville, including fans, media and especially a certain head coach fond of wearing orange pants, preparing themselves for a loss to Vandy.

The Vols, the story goes, are far less experienced than the Commodores, and thanks to the nefarious Lane Kiffin have been stripped of talent. It’ll take a couple of years at least to rebuild.

Meanwhile, James Franklin, who seems more grounded to his home planet than does Derek “Feed the Orange Dog” Dooley, has inherited an experienced and surprisingly talented team.

There’s an element of truth to all of this, and some Vandy fans are already celebrating what they think is an inevitable victory in Knoxville, and some Vols season ticket holders are planning to sit this one out.

But the truth remains that Tennessee has no business losing to Vandy. I love it when people ask James Franklin about the “rivalry” with Tennessee. After repeating his well-known philosophy about six seconds and one game at a time, he says that it may be a rivalry for Vanderbilt but it’s not much of a rivalry for Tennessee.

Think about it. Who are Tennessee’s rivals? Alabama and Florida. And they now finish their season with Kentucky, which has been much more competitive than we have over the past decade.

Would Vols fans be poor-mouthing their team if they were 1-point underdogs to Alabama or Florida? No way. They’d have started tailgating days ago.

So is Vandy more experienced than Tennessee? Yes. Vandy starters, on average, are redshirt juniors, while the Vols are redshirt sophomores. The Commodores have eight senior starters to the Vols four, while the Vols have six true freshman starters to zero for the Dores.

Now what about talent? Despite all the talent that’s either transferred from Knoxville or been removed by the long arm of the law, the Vols starters had an average of 3.3 stars from Scouts when they were being recruitied, while the Vandy starters had an average of 2.2 stars. In fact, UT has more 4 and 5 star starters than Vandy has 3 star starters.

Sure, stars don’t matter much. Just don’t try to say that Vandy has the same caliber of talent as the Vols. We’re improving our talent at a rapid rate, and yes, Franklin has a far more talented team than the one Bobby Johnson inherited in 2002. But Tennessee is still bigger, faster, stronger and has more playmakers on both sides of the ball than we do.

Just look at the offensive lines. Vandy’s O-line averages 290 pounds. UT’s averages 320 pounds.

Can we win this game? Absolutely. But as game time approaches, we need to keep things in perspective. Tennessee has far more talent than any team we’ve beaten this year, and we’re playing them on the road, where James Franklin has never won a game as a head coach.

The Vols could have a breakout game and easily win this thing. At least, that’s what a student of history would say. But it appears that Franklin’s Commodores are having the kind of year that laughs in the face of history.

My point is, it’s not a done deal. We’re going to have to wait until it happens, and hopefully it will happen tonight.

It's not even close: Franklin closes the gap at Vandy

2011-11-17T10:22:00.001-06:00

This time last year, David Williams was trying to decide whether to retain Robbie Caldwell, and we here at Moral Victory! were wondering if it mattered that Vanderbilt under Caldwell was losing every game by four or five touchdowns, compared to the days when Bobby Johnson was losing the same number of games, but losing them by one touchdown.

Of course, it did matter to Williams, who after last season’s home loss to Florida said, "There's losing and there's losing. To be down 41-0 at halftime that wasn't one of my happiest days."

Happy days are here again.

So far, James Franklin has won half his games in his first season, and his most of his losses have been close ones — painfully close.

Last year, we calculated how Vandy coaches since Watson Brown rank in winning percentage, and, just for kicks, if you spot them a field goal and a touchdown. Here are the rankings with Franklin’s results so far this year:

ACTUAL WINNING PERCENTAGE
1. Franklin: 5-5 (50%)
2. DiNardo: 19-25 (43.2%), never bowl eligible
3. Johnson: 29-66 (30.5%), bowl eligible once, one bowl victory
4. Widenhofer: 15-40 (27.3%), never bowl eligible
5. Dowhower: 4-18 (18.9%), never bowl eligible
6. Brown 10-45 (18.9%), never bowl eligible
7. Caldwell: 2-10 (16.7%), never bowl eligible

SPOT ’EM A FIELD GOAL
1. Franklin: 6-4 (60%)
2. DiNardo: 22-22 (50%), twice bowl eligible
3. Johnson: 45-50 (47.4%), bowl eligible five times
4. Widenhofer: 23-32 (41.8%), bowl eligible once
5. Brown 17-38 (30.9%), bowl eligible once
6. Caldwell: 3-9 (25%), never bowl eligible
7. Dowhower: 4-18 (18.9%), never bowl eligible

SPOT ’EM A TOUCHDOWN
1. Franklin: 8-2 (80%)
2. DiNardo: 27-17 (61.4%), four times bowl eligible (in four seasons)
3. Johnson: 56-39 (59%), six times bowl eligible (in eight seasons)
4. Widenhofer: 26-29 (47.3%), bowl eligible twice (in five seasons)
5. Brown 25-30 (45.5%), bowl eligible twice (in five seasons)
6. Dowhower: 8-14 (36.4%), never bowl eligible
7. Caldwell: 3-9 (25%), never bowl eligible

Simmons arrest has nothing to do with James Franklin's new culture of winning at Vanderbilt

2011-11-16T15:17:00.007-06:00

The Tennessean's Jeff Lockridge is reporting that sophomore safety Andre Simmons has been arrested and is being held on $100,000 after allegedly being involved in the armed robbery of $5,000 cash from a safe in another Vandy student's dorm room.

When I was a Vandy student, I always took precautions and never kept more than a couple grand in my safe. Also, I never told anybody I had a safe. Not even myself. In fact, I don't think I even had a safe.

Anyway, the Vol fan base is naturally equating the fact that the Commodores are favored to beat Tennessee (something that most Vol fans seem to believe) with the news that Vandy quite possibly has a thug on their team.

Which leads to the assumption that James Franklin has relaxed recruiting standards and is now signing players who lack the character and the intellect of past Vandy players, all in the name of winning.

But who recruited Andre Simmons?

It was Bobby Johnson, not Franklin. But even then, Simmons, a three-star player from Lorton, Va., was a member of the National Honor Society and not the kind of kid you'd expect to get into a scrape with the law.

Vols fans are talking like we're going to just sweep this under the rug. I guarantee you that Franklin kicks him off the team if he's guilty of the charges. Simmons has already been suspended indefinitely.

Sure, it's not that big of a loss. Simmons played in only one game all season, on special teams against Elon. We've got three other sophomore safeties who are better — Kenny Ladler, Javon Marshall and Karl Butler (who's currently listed as a backup linebacker). And we've got junior Eric Samuels and a bunch of promising freshmen who are redshirting — Larry Franklin, Jahmel McIntosh and Andrew Williamson.

And sure, we could use the scholarship to sign another receiver or offensive lineman.

But I believe James Franklin would boot anybody off the team who did what Simmons is alleged to have done. No question.

Sure, this is not the Same Old Vandy. But that's because we're about to win three consecutive games in November, not because we just had a kid apparently go astray, which could have happened on any past Vandy team and on any college campus in America.

Franklin will deal with it swiftly, and I don't expect this to become a trend comparable to those in other SEC football programs.

Derek Dooley prepares for Vandy by feeding his team's spirit

2011-11-14T23:33:00.001-06:00

James Franklin has his team focusing on doing the best job they can for six seconds at a time, and taking one opponent at a time. Week after week, he sounds like a broken record, but the Commodores are getting better every Saturday.

And Derek Dooley? What’s he telling the media?

Check out these quotes from Monday’s press conference:

• “We’re on the ropes — we’re not out yet.”

• “It’s so important that our team feeds their spirit with some positive thoughts.”

• He said his team needs to be “solution-oriented” not “results-focused.”

• On Vandy: “Nobody can never pull away from them.”

• On what he’ll tell his team if the Vols don’t make it to a bowl this year: “We need to stay on Vandy. We’ll get through the Vandy game and see how we perform there.”

• “This one game is not going to impact our entire program the next 3 years, I’m not approaching it that way. It’s a big game for this season. If we don’t win we don’t go to a bowl.”

Wow. Sounds like he’s preparing his fan base for a loss. He knows this is going to be a tough game against a well-prepared team that’s feeling confident.

Remember, it’s so important that his team feeds their spirit with some positive thoughts.

Still, Tennessee has the 4- and 5-star athletes and we don’t. Tennessee has the tradition and we don’t. Tennessee has 100,000 screaming fans and we don’t. I’m looking forward to Saturday and I hope we win, but I’ll have to see it to believe it.

For Vanderbilt, a slightly better offense yields dramatically different results

2011-11-14T21:08:00.002-06:00

For the first time in five years, Vanderbilt has a double-digit ranking for total offense. Right now, the Commodores are No. 99.

Here's our total offense ranking for the four previous seasons:
• 2010: No. 110
• 2009: No. 110
• 2008: No. 117
• 2007: No. 103

It's amazing to think we had a winning season in 2008 with such a terrible offense. This season, we're gaining per game about 30 more yards on the ground, 50 more yards in the air, and seven more points a game than we did in 2008.

And while we're only gaining about 35 more yards per game than we did last season, we're scoring 10 more points a game.

Here's how our stats compare to last season:
• Rushing offense: 162.2 ypg (No. 59), up from 138.8 ypg (80)in 2010
• Passing offense: 172.5 ypg (100), up from 159.4 ypg (105)
• Total offense: 334.9 ypg (99), up from 298.3 ypg (110)
• Scoring offense: 26.1 ppg (68), up from 16.9 ppg (112)

No, our offense isn't dramatically better in yards gained, but we've taken risks to break long plays (Franklin calls them "explosive plays") when we can't move the ball consistently. Lately, though, we've started moving the ball consistently, at least consistently for us. That's why we had fewer explosive plays against Kentucky in one of our most dominating offensive performances of the season.

The key to our offensive improvement has been our wide receivers. Sure, the offensive line has improved by leaps and bounds, and in Rodgers we found the quarterback we've been looking for. But the biggest difference is that we've found two legitimate receiving threats in Jordan Matthews and Chris Boyd. Since the Arkansas game, those guys have been making tough grabs in traffic. Watching the Kentucky game on Saturday, as Boyd and then Matthews made big catches to set up another big run by Zac Stacy, I thought how far we've come since last season, when our two top receiving threats were John Cole and Udom Umoh.

And this better offense has made our defense, which was already much improved, dramatically better because it's kept them off the field. Here's how our defense compares to last year's:
• Rushing defense: 122.9 ypg (No. 32), compared to 193.0 ypg (100) in 2010
• Passing defense: 204.7 ypg (39), compared to 226.3 ypg (75)
• Total defense: 327.6 ypg (22), compared to 419.2 ypg (93)
• Scoring defense: 21.6 ppg (31), compared to 31.2 ppg (94)

This year, we're scoring 10 more points a game and we're allowing 10 fewer points a game.

And we're hitting our stride. When's the last time a Vanderbilt team was better in November than it was in September or October?

This team is better. Now let's go beat the Vols in Knoxville!

Franklin expands Vandy senior day, boosts level of competition

2011-11-08T13:18:00.007-06:00

In years past, senior day at Vanderbilt has always been interesting because the redshirt juniors who are definitely graduating and leaving school are honored, and the ones who are probably staying with the team for another year are not.

James Franklin has changed this. On Saturday, every player who's on campus for his fourth year (or in the case of JC transfers like Jordan Rodgers, his second year) will be honored on senior day.

I love it. At this point, with three games remaining to be played and with the staff working on more big recruiting commitments, it would be impossible to know who's staying and who's not. Franklin said that some guys might be honored again next year "if they choose to do that," saying again that "they have the choice to do that."

I guarantee you he doesn't mean that every redshirt junior on scholarship will have the option of returning next year, though he worded it vaguely to avoid questions — and the media obliged by nodding like sheep and moving on to the next question.

This time last year, we honored only two redshirt juniors, Ryan van Rensburg and Tray Herndon, on senior day. Of the redshirt juniors not honored, only Jamie Graham eventually left the team, graduating and choosing to play out his last year of eligibility at UCLA, where he went to graduate school. The other seven (Barden, Fischer, Umoh, Marve, Fugger, Smith and Monahan) have been pillars of the team this season. Monahan, by the way, has since been granted another year of eligibility and is once again listed as a redshirt junior.

After Franklin arrived and signed his first class, we had 90 scholarships tied up, which meant we needed to part with five players. By the time preseason camp rolled around, we'd parted ways with:
• R-SR defensive back Jamie Graham, who graduated and went to UCLA.
• R-SO quarterback Charlie Goro, who transferred to South Dakota after apparently falling out of favor with Franklin who when asked about Goro's departure talked about his expectations for players on and off the field.
• R-SO offensive lineman Justin Cabbagestalk, with a career-ending injury
• SO offensive lineman James Kittredge, who was suspended and then transferred to Michigan State
• R-SO safety Jay Fullam, who transferred to the Air Force Academy to follow his dreams of becoming a fighter pilot.

Since then, two more players — redshirt freshmen Blake Southerland, a fullback, and Blake Gowder, a linebacker — have vanished from the roster. Southerland apparently suffered a career-ending injury but not sure about Gowder, other than it wasn't a good year to be named Blake and play for Vandy.

Which brings us to this year. We currently have 20 verbal commitments, if you count Wyoming transfer Austin Carta-Samuels, who's already enrolled in school. That means if nobody on our current roster left school early, we'd need to part with eight of this year's redshirt juniors.

Let's break the current class of redshirt juniors into groups to see where the eight bodies might come from:

SHOULD BE GONE
• PK Ryan Fowler: Sure, it's nice to have three scholarship kickers, but Carey Spear has hopefully worked out the kinks and can handle the kickoffs and placekicking next season. Plus, another all-purpose kicker, Colby Cooke, has verbally committed to the next signing class.
• WR John Cole: A tough player for us before his injury, if not a legitimate SEC receiver, but we'll be adding four-star Andre McDonald and local star Corey Batey to a solid rotation of Matthews/Boyd/Tate/Krause.
• RB Micah Powell: A special teams performer who'll be easily replaced.
• WR Akeem Dunham: A raw athlete who climbed to second team before injury.
• DE Dexter Daniels: Moved to end this year but has been relegated to special teams.
• DT Taylor Loftley: His fate was sealed when T.J. Greenstone was injured and the staff burned a redshirt off Barron Dixon to fill out the rotation.

SHOULD DEFINITELY STAY
• QB Jordan Rodgers: Duh
• OL Ryan Seymour: Duh
• DT Rob Lohr: Duh
• LB Archibald Barnes: A versatile linebacker who's been slow to develop, but with our shallow depth at linebacker will be needed next season.
• DT Colt Nichter: Has started every game this season.

WILL LIKELY RETURN
• DE Johnell Thomas: Even with five commitments at defensive end, many of those guys are going to take time to develop; Thomas is battle-tested and has had a solid season.
• LB Tristan Strong: A solid starter until his injury after the fourth game; will return for sure if he recovers.
• P Richard Kent: Should punt again next year, unless true frosh Colby Cooke takes his place, but there's word that Cooke may be a grayshirt.

FIGHTING FOR ANOTHER YEAR
• OL Josh Jelesky: A little used defensive end, he was a shoo-in to leave at the end of this season until a last-minute move to the O-line breathed new life into his collegiate career. Now he's a starter at guard.
• OL Caleb Welchans: The former starter has been strictly a backup this season despite a number of unforeseen openings on the offensive line. He could be replaced as a backup by a redshirt freshman like James Lewis or Jake Bernstein, though it would be ideal to keep a big body with his experience on the roster.
• LB DeAndre Jones: He could step into the middle backer job vacated by Chris Marve, especially if true freshman Jacob Sealand, who plans to enroll in January, isn't ready. Still, if you take away the injury to Tristan Strong, so far he's been the least important of the four redshirt junior linebackers.
• LB Al Owens: He started the season as the most likely redshirt junior to be four and done, but he's starting right now in place of Chase Garnham. His fate could depend on the development of true freshmen Darreon Herring and Stephen Weatherly, and whether Barnes, Jones or Strong leave early.
• TE Austin Monahan: He turns 24 at the end of this season, and next season would be his sixth in black and gold. Vandy has a bunch of tight ends (Lassing, van der Wal, Johnston, Scheu and Bryant) but nobody with Monahan's experience. It'll likely be his call.

Of course, with the way Franklin finishes strong in recruiting, we could add another five players to our recruiting class. If that happens, we'll have to cut deep into our redshirt juniors or experience some turnover among underclassmen and juniors.

Some possibilities:
• R-FR offensive lineman Grant Ramsay: He's the only one of five offensive linemen from the signing class of 2010 not to play in a game, and he's buried beneath true freshmen Pulley and Townsend on the depth chart.
• R-FR receiver Trent Pruitt: A John Cole clone, he was played special teams the first three games. Not sure if he's injured, but he doesn't look like an SEC-caliber receiver, especially compared to our latest recruits.
• R-FR defensive end Thomas Ryan: He's played in only one game this season, in mop-up duty, and it doesn't look any better with five ends planning to commit in February. He'll likely try a new position in the spring, either DT, OG or even TE.
• R-SO receiver Brady Brown: Once an impressive recruit from Texas, he's played once in three years, and that was during his redshirt year! His future doesn't look bright.

I'm not saying Franklin kicks these guys off the team. He first moves them to another position to give them another chance and then if they see no playing time in sight and want to play at a lower level, maybe they transfer.

And there's always the guys who fail out of school or suffer injuries. We won't try to predict that.

Guys with remaining eligibility also being honored on Saturday: Jabo Burrow, who suffered a career-ending injury, and three walk-ons (Jeff Gendelman, Bobby Jewell and Jamison Sackey).

It's obvious why all the redshirt juniors will be honored on Saturday: Because they're going to have to compete in the spring in order to stay another year. As Franklin said on signing day, he wants to create the most competitive environment in the nation where nobody's job is safe. He's well on his way to doing just that.

Injuries and senior day change Vandy starting lineup

2011-11-08T12:26:00.004-06:00

Here's a look at some highlights of the depth chart for the Kentucky game:

• Starting receivers are Chris Boyd or Jordan Matthews at one receiver, and Matthews or Jonathan Krause at another. Last week at Florida, Boyd and Matthews appeared together in the starting lineup for the first time. They've been listed as co-starters at the x-receiver on game week depth charts in nearly every game this season. Matthews has started seven games this season, with Boyd starting four. Krause has started five games, while Udom Umoh and Wesley Tate have started two apiece.

• Likewise, Javon Marshall and Kenny Ladler are listed as co-starters opposite Sean Richardson at safety once again this week.

• Redshirt senior Udom Umoh is listed as the third starter at wide receiver. James Franklin said he plans to start some seniors on or use them in key plays on Saturday, which is senior day, in recognition of their contributions to the team but that they wouldn't necessarily be in the main rotation for the duration of the game.

• Same for T.J. Greenstone at defensive tackle, who's listed ahead of Colt Nichter as a starter. Expect to see Greenstone start the game and play the first series and then give way to Nichter, Vince Taylor and Barron Dixon.

• Surprisingly, nobody asked if Larry Smith was going to start, though I fully expect to see Larry in the game for at least a couple of plays, hopefully not as a wide receiver. But Rodgers is clearly our quarterback, and despite the fact that we're a double-digit favorite, we could easily lose this game.

• Guard Ryan Seymour, who's started all nine games this year, is listed as a co-starter with redshirt freshman Chase White, which is Franklin's way of saying that Seymour will probably miss the game because of injury.

• Likewise, Chase Garnham is once again listed as a co-starter with Al Owens, which means that Garnham is likely not ready to return from injury.

• Guard Josh Jelesky is listed as the sole starter at right guard and barring injury appears to have won the job for the rest of the year over Mylon Brown, who will continue to see action. Franklin said he had to move a D-lineman over to offense in the preseason because of Stewart's mononucleosis, Kittredge's departure and maybe even Burrow's head injuries, which I believe started early in the preseason, and that the staff considered Walker May (too slight) and Vince Taylor (too short) before settling on Jelesky, whose development has been nothing short of remarkable considering he'd never played O-line in his life. This would be Jelesky's second start.

• Walker May is listed as the sole starter at defensive end opposite Tim Fugger, who's started all nine games this year. May's started four, with junior Johnell Thomas starting five.

• At placekicker, Ryan Fowler and Carey Spear are listed as co-starters.

Twelve players have started every game for the Commodores this season. They are:
• Zac Stacy, RB
• Ryan Seymour, OL
• Wesley Johnson, OL
• Kyle Fischer, OL
• Rob Lohr, DT
• Colt Nichter, DT
• Tim Fugger, DE
• Chris Marve, LB
• Casey Hayward, CB
• Trey Wilson, CB
• Sean Richardson, S

In addition to the above players, these guys have played in every game this season:
• QB: Jordan Rodgers
• RB: Jerron Seymour
• WR: Jordan Matthews, Jonathan Krause, Chris Boyd, Wes Tate, Udom Umoh
• TE: Austin Monahan
• FB: Fitz Lassing
• OL: Mylon Brown, Andrew Bridges, Caleb Welchans
• DT: Jared Morse
• DE: Walker May, Thad McHaney
• LB: Archibald Barnes, Al Owens, DeAndre Jones
• CB: Andre Hal, Stephen Clarke, Eddie Foster
• S: Javon Marshall, Kenny Ladler, Eric Samuels, Karl Butler
• Special teams: Carey Spear, Richard Kent, Micah Powell, Andrew East

James Franklin tallies explosive plays, Josh Jelesky makes his move, and Andrew Bridges wears a running back number

2011-10-31T19:10:00.001-05:00

It’s time once again to review some highlights from the latest Monday press conference and depth chart.

FRANKLIN’S TAKE

• Explosive plays: James Franklin said he was pleased with the offense, which had 11 explosive plays compared to its goal of eight. He said the difference in the offense this week was the ability of Vandy’s receivers to catch balls in traffic. Remember, he’s said all along that if our wideouts can’t separate from SEC DBs, he at least expects them to make tough catches while being heavily defended. Matthews and Boyd did just that on Saturday. He also praised Krause for returning to the game as a punt returner after nearly getting his head knocked off a quarter earlier.

• Defending explosive plays: Franklin said the defense held Arkansas to four explosive plays, above the team’s goal of only two. No mention of a certain 96-yard explosive play from the Razorback defense.

• Something to work on: He said he’s concerned about the defense’s inability to stop drives at the end of the half. Here, here.

• Something to feel good about: He reminded everybody that Arkansas was “the same team we lost 49-14 to last year.” But he was quick to add: “We gave it away… We got to learn to win.”

• Something else to feel good about: He pointed out that Florida is dead last in the nation in fewest penalties and is last in the SEC in worst turnover margin.

• Looking ahead to the future: Franklin said this spring he plans to meet with Commodores currently playing in the NFL to get them involved in the program and make sure they’re happy with the direction of the program.

CHANGES TO DEPTH CHART

• Receivers: As usually, Boyd and Matthews are listed as co-starters at the x-receiver, but in the latest depth chart Matthews is also listed as a co-starter with Krause at the y-receiver. So maybe we’ll see Boyd and Matthews in the game at the same time. Kind of makes sense, huh? Wesley Tate is still listed as the z-receiver, but lately we’ve been starting FB Fitz Lassing instead. So far, Matthews has started six games, Krause five, Boyd three and Tate two. Udom Umoh’s also started two games, but his playing time at receiver has diminished.

• Offensive line: Looks like redshirt junior Josh Jelesky, who moved from defensive end in the preseason, will get his first career start at any position on Saturday, beating out right guard Mylon Brown. Franklin said Brown has made huge strides since the winter, but that Jelesky, whose playing time has increased over the past two games, has passed big Mylon for now on the depth chart. He would be the ninth O-lineman to start for the Commodores this season, joining Ryan Seymour, Kyle Fischer, Wesley Johnson, Chase White, Logan Stewart, Andrew Bridges and Jabo Burrow.

• Freshmen on the depth chart: The emergence of Jelesky, the return of Stewart, and the fact that redshirt junior Caleb Welchans is now listed at both backup center and right tackle has led to the disappearance of true freshmen linemen Joe Townsend and Spencer Pulley from the depth chart. That leaves RB Jerrod Seymour and DT Barron Dixon as the only true freshmen on the depth chart. Mitchell Hester made a brief appearance as a backup punt returner a few weeks ago but has yet to enter a game. Another true frosh, Dillon van der Wal, is seeing action at tight end and on special teams.

• Mr. Versatile: Speaking of tight ends, have you noticed that Andrew Bridges, who’s 6-6, 270 pounds and who started at tackle against Army, was playing tight end and wearing No. 43 in goal line situations against Arkansas? Cool, huh? And on at least one play, guard Ryan Seymour, who’s 6-6 and 300, lined up wide at tight end in the same formation as Bridges. Now if we could just get Vince Taylor to line up in the wildcat.

• Defensive end: Walker May is listed as a starter at defensive end over Johnell Thomas who’s started five games to May’s three.

• Strongside backer: Chase Garnham, who sat out Saturday’s game with injury, is listed as a co-starter with redshirt junior Al Owen, who started the first game of his career against Arkansas. Safety Karl Butler is listed as their backup.

• Safety: Javon Marshall, who’s started five games at free safety, is listed as the sole starter though Kenny Ladler’s started three games and has been listed as the co-starter in the past.

• Kicker: Carey Spear and Ryan Fowler are both listed as the No. 1 placekicker.

November the bleakest month for Vanderbilt football

2011-10-30T13:59:00.004-05:00

James Franklin swears this isn’t the Same Old Vanderbilt. I believe him, and I understand why it makes him angry to hear people say this, and why he wants to shelter his players from the idea that Vandy is forever cursed, and why he basically ordered the media not to write or report that this was the SOV.

(Word of advice to Coach Franklin: The best way to get the media to write something is to tell them not to write it.)

But Franklin hasn’t been around for all the pain and suffering. While he considers this a different team because he wasn’t affiliated with any of the other ones, it was impossible for a longtime Vandy fan to watch Zac Stacy’s fumble or Carey Spears' botched field goal attempt and not flash back to a thousand moments when a Commodore team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Now Franklin has an incredible opportunity to prove that this isn’t the same old Vanderbilt.

He can beat Florida in the Swamp, something Vandy hasn’t done since 1949.

And he can win two SEC games in November, something Vandy hasn’t done since 1975.

Speaking of November, did you know:

• In the past 25 years, Vandy has won 31 percent of its games before November, but only 19 percent during November. It needs to win 50 percent this year to go bowling.

• In the past 25 years, Vandy has played 46 games in November against SEC teams not named Kentucky and has won only once, against Tennessee in 2005? This year in November, Vandy gets two shots, playing Florida and UT in addition to Kentucky.

• In the six times over the past 25 years that Vandy has entered November with four or more wins — including four straight years under Bobby Johnson – it has won only three times in 20 games, beating Tennessee in 2005 and Kentucky in 1994 and 2008.

• In the past 25 years, Vandy has won only seven times in 42 road games — once in Knoxville, once in Annapolis, once at West Point, and four time in Lexington — or 17 percent. (Thank God for Kentucky.) Three of Vandy’s four November games this year are on the road — against Florida in Gainesville, against Tennessee in Knoxville and against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.

Since the advent of the 12-game season, Vandy has never won more than one game during November. I believe James Franklin will eventually convince everybody that this isn’t the same old Vanderbilt, but if he wants to do it this year, he’s got to win twice in November, win on the road, and beat somebody not named Kentucky.

No, this is not the same old Vanderbilt

2011-10-29T16:02:00.004-05:00

I loved James Frankin's comments in the postgame press conference.

This team is not snakebit. This team is not still under a curse. And no, this is not the same old Vanderbilt.

We lost because we didn't play well enough, and we're working to get better. Here are some of the highlights:

• "We’re light years ahead of where we were when I arrived on this campus. This is not the same old Vanderbilt. This is not the same old Vanderbilt. I’m not going to allow anybody to write anything or report anything different. We are going to find ways real soon how to finish those games like that and we’re not going to make those mistakes much longer, I can guarantee you that."

• "I thought we played hard, I didn’t think we played smart. You can’t beat yourself."

• "I appreciate all the fans that showed up."

• "We've got to allow other teams to beat themselves, we can’t beat ourselves."

• "We’re not defeated. (The players) understand this is a step in the right direction. No one’s going to give you anything. You've got to go out and take it."

• On Carey Spear: "He's going to make kicks to win games this year and throughout his career. He’s a big-time kicker and we still believe in him."

• "You can learn lessons and win. You don’t have to lose to win lessons."

So how is this game any different from past Vandy heartbreakers?:

"We had a chance after those huge momentum plays in the other direction, and we stole it back."

Nothing we haven't seen before, huh?

2011-10-29T14:45:00.004-05:00

Even if Spear hits that kick, I find it hard to believe we'd have won in overtime. We had to score a touchdown down there, and I'm disappointed that Rodgers just chunked the ball out of bounds on third down.

This is a bitter pill to swallow, and hearkens back the ghosts of so many games past. I don't blame anybody for saying "Same old Vanderbilt" after this one. We took control of the game and then we gave it away.

Oh yeah, we hadn't beaten a Top 10 team in our stadium since the 1930s.

Right now, I'm having flashbacks to our missed kick to tie the LSU game in the late 1990s. I'm also having flashbacks to Warren Norman's goal-line fumble against Army two years ago.

Can you believe that the Arkansas offense scored only two touchdowns in the game, and none in the second half?

But can you believe that the difference in the game was a goal-line fumble by Zac Stacy that in 10 seconds led to a 15-point turnaround?

I think it's great that our field goal kicker makes tackles on kickoffs. It would also be nice if he could hit chip-shot field goals.

This team's learning how to find ways to win. We've also got to stop finding ways to lose.

Peace out.

Not same old Vandy?

2011-10-29T14:01:00.002-05:00

We fumble the ball on the Razorback 1, Arkansas returns it all the way for a touchdown.

Now instead of leading by 15, the game is tied.

Nightmare.

We either fold here like we've done for the last 40 years, or we dig deep and take it back.

ZAC STACY! ZAC STACY! ZAC STACY! ZAC STACY!

2011-10-29T13:51:00.003-05:00

Zac Stacy is a stud.

We hadn't gotten a first down on four drives in the third quarter until Jordan Matthews made a huge grab on third down to convert. On the next play, Stacy ripped off a 62-yard TD run.

Vandy 28-17.

Now let's get the ball back!

PUNK...PUNK...PUNK...PUNK...PUNK...PUNK...PUNK

2011-10-29T13:35:00.004-05:00

Let's get this straight:

Marquel Wade of Arkansas just nearly killed a defenseless Jonathan Krause with a helmet to helmet hit while Jon was fielding a punt.

Wade gets thrown out of the game, and he starts screaming and the crowd's booing and he's shaking his fists at the crowd.

Dude, get off our field.

With 7 minutes remaining in the second half, we still haven't gotten a first down.

Unfortunately, we have to play the second half

2011-10-29T13:24:00.003-05:00

Here's what's happened since the second half started:

• We throw an interception in our own territory.
• We somehow force Arkansas to kick a field goal; hanging on to a 4-point lead.
• We go three and out and punt.
• We miss a tackle on the punt returner and now the Razorbacks have great field position.

Arkansas is starting to get some swagger, like they always do in the second half. We're gonna need to grab the momentum back like we did against Georgia. The difference, of course, is that we've got a lead.

Hopefully, we can wear Tyler Wilson down. That guy's a warrior.

Archibald Barnes just dropped a pick six. That's the fourth INT we've dropped today — Hayward has three.

But now Arkansas is punting. We're hanging on.

Halftime report: Vandy looking good against Arkansas

2011-10-29T13:08:00.002-05:00

Whether we win this game or not, we've got to feel good about the rest of our season. Arkansas is by far the best opponent remaining on our schedule, and we're leading 21-14 at halftime.

Rodgers continues to improve and is definitely a keeper at QB, and we look good at O-line, D-line and pretty much all areas.

Whoops. The half just started and Stacy threw a pick on a halfback pass and now the Razorbacks are driving.

It'll still be amazing if we win this game, but we just continue to get better. If you're a Vandy fan, you've got to be excited about this team.

Now our fans need to actually attend our games.

Jordan Rodgers the lone QB, and other Vandy depth chart notes

2011-10-24T15:43:00.002-05:00

Here are some observations from the depth chart for this week’s Arkansas game, along with some other stuff:

WHAT’S NEW
• Jordan Rodgers is listed as the sole starter at quarterback.
• Caleb Welchans is now listed as the backup at both right tackle, his usual position, and center. It’s the first week that a true freshman is missing from the two-deep for the O-line. Gone are Spencer Pulley, who played Saturday, and Joe Townsend, who’s been the backup center for most of the year.
• Walker May is listed as a starting defensive end, with Johnell Thomas dropping to second team. May got his second start of the year against Army.
• Karl Butler, a safety who was pressed into duty at outside linebacker against Army, is now listed as the backup to Chase Garnham at strongside linebacker.
• Casey Hayward is now listed as a co-starter at kick.

SAME OLD SAME OLD
• Once again, Chris Boyd and Jordan Matthews are listed as co-starters at the x-receiver position. Jonathan Krause and Wesley Tate are listed as the other starters at receiver. Last week, Boyd and Matthews were in the starting lineup together for the first time, with Vandy starting the game with two tight ends.
• Javon Marshall and Kenny Ladler are co-starters at free safety. Marshall started against Army and has four starts on the season to Ladler’s three.
• For another week, Richard Kent and Ryan Fowler are listed as co-starters at punter.

DIFFERENT OFFENSIVE SETS
Here’s the different starting offensive sets that Vandy’s thrown at opponents, with Zac Stacy the lone running back:
• Elon: Two tight ends (Barden & Monahan, with WRs Umoh & Matthews
• UConn: Fullback (Lassing, with TE Barden and WRs Boyd & Krause)
• Ole Miss: Three receivers (Matthews, Tate & Krause, with TE Johnston)
• South Carolina: Fullback (Lassing, with TE Monahan and WRs Matthews & Umoh)
• Alabama: Fullback (Lassing, with TE Barden and WRs Matthews & Krause)
• Georgia: Three receivers (Matthews, Tate & Krause, with TE Barden)
• Army: Two tight ends (Barden & Monahan, with WRs Matthews & Boyd)

TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYMAKERS
Here are Commodores who’ve gained the most yards this season, including on turnovers and special teams:
1. RB Zac Stacy, JR: 640 yards (579 rush + 43 pass +18 catch), 6 TDs
2. QB Jordan Rodgers, R-JR: 612 yards (190 rush + 422 pass), 3 TDs
3. QB Larry Smith, R-SR: 463 yards (-18 rush + 481 pass), 5 TDs
4. CB/KR Andre Hal, SO: 436 yards (all kick return), 1 TD
5. RB Jerron Seymour, FR: 315 yards (207 rush + 108 catch), 4 TDs
6. WR/PR Jonathan Krause, SO: 246 yards (50 rush + 149 catch + 47 punt return)
7. WR Chris Boyd, R-FR: 218 yards (all catches), 4 TDs
8. CB/RB/PR Casey Hayward, SR: 176 yards (57 rush + 12 punt return + 96 int. return + 11 kick return), 1 TD
9. S/KR Eric Samuels, JR: 159 yards (all kick returns)
10. WR Wesley Tate, R-SO: 143 yards (23 rush + 120 catch), 1 TD

LACK OF PRODUCTION
• Tight end was supposed to be one of Vandy’s best positions, but it hasn’t generated many yards so far this season. Brandon Barden has gained 78 yards all season, followed by Fitz Lassing with 54 and Austin Monahan with 9 yards. Lassing is the only tight end to score, against Elon.
• At wide receiver, Jordan Matthews has only 117 yards receiving in seven games. Senior Udom Umoh, a returning starter, has 16 yards receiving and 34 total yards, counting a run and some returns.

Vandy fans shouldn't make bowl reservations just yet

2011-10-23T21:35:00.004-05:00

Nice game against Army.

We've got our starter at quarterback, and he thinks well on his feet and can tuck and run with the best of them. I've got some concerns about his arm strength. He threw some decent long balls but he didn't have much zip on his intermediate stuff. He's our best bet for the rest of the season, though I think we'd have blown out Army with Larry behind center too.

The O-line keeps getting better and better, Zac Stacy is the man, and Chris Boyd is emerging as our go-to receiver while Jordan Matthews look timid against Army and continues to be a disappointment.

Our depth at linebacker is a huge concern with Garnham ailing and Strong possibly out for the season, and junior Al Owens hurt too. Barnes looked confused on Saturday night, but he won't be defending the option much anymore, thank goodness. Karl Butler filled in nicely for Garnham at linebacker. We may be burning the redshirt off at least one guy who can play linebacker, which may be a true safety like Andrew Williamson or Larry Franklin or an athlete like Darien Bryant or Jimmy Stewart searching for a position.

Also, we've got to be concerned about facing a quarterback as accurate as Wilson of Arkansas. Aaron Murray and A.J. McCarron looked like All-Americans against us, and they're not.

Anyway, looking at the new BCS standings gives us a good idea about our best bets to win six games and become bowl eligible or even capture more wins.

Here's how we rank among our remaining opponents:

1. Arkansas (6-1, 2-1), No. 10 BCS
2. Florida (4-3, 2-3), No. 34
3. Wake Forest (5-2, 4-1), No. 39
4. Vanderbilt (4-3, 1-3), No. 48
5. Tennessee (3-4, 0-4), No. 57
6. Kentucky (3-4, 0-3), No. 80

Watching Arkansas struggle in Oxford last week, we may have a shot at upsetting the Razorbacks. I wouldn't bet on it, but I'm starting to get the feeling we're a much better team at home, even with our continuing problems filling our own stadium with our own fans.

If we did beat Arkansas, we'd be sky-high and might have a decent shot at running the table and going to a great bowl.

While it's nice to dream, that's unrealistic at this point. Going 6-6 would be a huge success. We should beat Kentucky, but even though we're a bit ahead of UT in the BCS standings, I never never never take the Vols for granted, especially if Bray returns.

While we've had Wake penciled in as a possible victory, and the Deacs struggled last week to beat Duke, they always play us tough, Grobe is a terrific coach, and they should be favored to beat us in Winston-Salem.

The guys at ESPN now have us tapped for the Liberty Bowl instead of the Compass Bowl. Don't know about you, but I'd much rather watch a game on New Year's Eve in Memphis than a game in Birmingham on Jan. 7.

But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

James Franklin aims to be first Vandy coach to win four non-conference games

2011-10-22T10:09:00.001-05:00

Sure, James Franklin likes to say that the most important game is the one we’re playing this week. But today’s Army game is hugely important.

Vandy fans are already talking about making bowl plans and even extending Franklin’s contract to prevent him from jumping ship. Hopefully, we’ll be doing those things soon. But let’s don’t jump to conclusions.

While we’re excited about Franklin’s recruiting abilities and his helicopter and his postgame speeches about never backing down, it’s important to remember that this team hasn’t arrived yet. At this point, Franklin hasn’t done anything on the field that hasn’t been done in the past 10 years.

Bobby Johnson improved our talent base considerably and took us to wins over Top 10 teams and a bowl victory. Franklin’s Hail Mary recruiting class of last February was nothing short of stupendous, and he’s already gotten verbal commitments from seven four-star recruits for next year’s class. So far so good.

Franklin started 3-0, beating Elon, UConn and Ole Miss. We should have beaten Elon, we expected to beat UConn and got tons of help from their weak quarterback, and then we soundly beat Ole Miss, building on what Robbie Caldwell and his staff did last year.

Then we got worn down by South Carolina (Bobby Johnson beat ranked Gamecocks teams twice) and Alabama (George MacIntyre beat the Bear and Watson Brown took Bama to the wire twice), and then dang near beat Georgia (something Johnson did in Athens and Gerry DiNardo did twice in his four years at VU).

But here’s something Franklin could do that no Vandy coach in the modern era has ever done: Go 4-0 in out-of-conference play.

We’ve played a four-game OOC schedule seven times in the last nine years as we were phasing into a 12-game schedule:

2010: Beat Eastern Michigan; lost to Northwestern, UConn and Wake Forest
2009: Beat Western Carolina and Rice; lost to Army and Georgia Tech
2008: Beat Miami-Ohio and Rice; lost to Duke and Wake Forest
2007: Beat Richmond, Eastern Michigan and Miami-Ohio; lost to Wake Forest
2006: Beat Tennessee State, Temple and Duke; lost to Michigan
2005*: Three opponents (Beat Wake Forest and Richmond; lost to MTSU)
2004*: Three opponents (Beat Eastern Kentucky; lost to Navy and Rutgers)
2003: Beat Chattanooga; lost to TCU, Georgia Tech and Navy
2002: Beat Furman and UConn; lost to Georgia Tech and MTSU

(In case you’re wondering, before the advent of the 12-game season Woody Widenhofer did go undefeated against out-of-conference opponents in 1999, beating Northern Illinois, Duke and the Citadel.)

Of course, we’re all painfully aware that we’d have gone to a bowl in 2005 if we’d beaten MTSU. That was the biggest knock on Bobby Johnson. He wanted to overpower people. When he was overpowered in 2005, he figured out a way to outsmart and outlast Wake Forest, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee and nearly Florida. In 2008, his Commodores outsmarted and outlasted South Carolina, Ole Miss, Auburn, Kentucky and even the rare scary Rice team.

But when he was favored to win, Johnson went conservative and got outsmarted and outlasted, by MTSU in 2005 and by Duke in 2008.

While wary of our past history against underdog opponents and particularly service academies, we’re excited about this Vandy team because so far it seems like Franklin plays to win instead of playing not to lose.

Our narrow loss to Georgia was not a rarity by any means, but it was unusual because of how we almost won. We didn’t take a huge lead and then blow it in the fourth quarter with a bone-headed fake punt or a fumble. No, we were getting manhandled, and Franklin somehow figured out a way to take control of the game. Though losing to UGA by five points wasn’t unusual, the difference is that Vandy fans were saying “Wow” and Georgia fans were stunned, as opposed to everybody in the stadium joining in a chorus of “Same Old Vandy.”

So we’re excited about our coach and our team. But he hasn’t done anything yet. It’ll be fun to watch him do it.

And does Franklin really have to go 4-0 against OOC opponents this year? No. Victories over Army, Kentucky and Tennessee and the resulting bowl berth would soothe the pain if we happened to lose our last game, on the road, to what’s shaping up to be another rock-solid Wake Forest team.

But right now, he absolutely must beat Army, which is no easy task. Vandy fans still feel the sting of the recent loss at West Point, and we also remember the time a quarterback who really wanted a Vanderbilt scholarship (Mike Bath at Miami-Ohio) led his team to a stunning upset in Nashville. Trent Steeleman, the Army QB who grew up in nearby Bowling Green, Ky., and otherwise known as the Man We Could Not Tackle, would like nothing more than to stick it to us tonight.

Here’s what I’d really like to see Franklin do: Make Vandy fans forget our past history. It could happen, but it’ll take some time.

Vandy picks Rodgers as starting QB, breaks in new left tackle

2011-10-20T06:22:00.004-05:00

Looks like Jordan Rodgers is our starting quarterback. He's been a step behind because of his injury. While all of Franklin's talk about Larry being our best option to win has scared Vandy fans, it's clear he's been grooming Jordan all along to have a clear shot at starting.

Because Rodgers missed spring practice because of injury, preseason was kind of like his spring, and his spot duty in the first half of the season has been like preseason. Now he's ready to take the reins and be our starter, very possibly for next season too.

With Stewart suspended for the first half against Army, Franklin said last night that Andrew Bridges will likely get the start at left tackle. That involves just one starter changing his position and it gets Bridges, a long athletic kid who is slowly putting on the weight he needs to play O-line, some prime time snaps against a lighter defense.

"He’s a big, physical guy getting bigger and stronger every day," Franklin said after last night's practice. "He moves extrememly well... This will give him an opportunity to step up — that's what this game is about, it gives us an opportunity to build some depth. It gives us an opportunity to give another guy a chance and he’s got to step up."

It's interesting that Caleb Welchans, a redshirt junior with starting experience in his first two seasons, hasn't gotten the nod yet this season though he's been a fixture on the depth chart and he's seen spot duty late in games and on special teams. That's a sign he may be four and done and not return for his redshirt senior year.

Anyway, after Army game we'll likely have had 21 guys on offense start games for us, compared to 14 on defense. Here's a breakdown:

OFFENSE
Quarterback: Smith, Rodgers
Running back: Stacy
Receiver: Krause, Matthews, Boyd, Tate, Cole, Umoh
Tight end/fullback: Barden, Monahan, Lassing, Johnston
Offensive line: Burrow, Johnson, Brown, Stewart, Fischer, Seymour, White, Bridges

DEFENSE
Defensive tackle: Lohr, Nichter
Defensive end: Fugger, Thomas, May
Linebacker: Marve, Garnham, Strong, Barnes
Cornerback: Hayward, Wilson
Safety: Richardson, Ladler, Marshall

Vandy-Georgia aftermath: No regrets for Franklin, Logan Stewart benched by SEC, 2 Dawgs suspended too

2011-10-19T12:41:00.011-05:00

Logan Stewart has been suspended for the first half of Saturday's Army game for a flagrant personal foul, according to the SEC office.

In case you were wondering, Georgia's Kwame Geathers (the guy who punched Stewart) and Shawn Williams (the infamous No. 36) have been suspended for the first half of the Oct. 30 Florida game, Geathers for fighting and Williams for a flagrant personal foul.

We all saw Geathers punch Stewart and we saw Williams slap our kicker, the pesky Carey Spear, upside the head and draw another personal foul late in the game.

If you're tempted to feel slighted by Stewart's suspension, watch this video from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Stewart, our sophomore center, is a nasty player, which of course is a good thing in an offensive lineman, but here he crossed the line. I'm anticipating a long comment stream about cut blocks and chop blocks, but surely we don't teach our offensive linemen to tackle a defensive lineman in the back of the legs after getting a 20-yard head start.

While I'm delighted that Geathers punched Stewart and we got a first down out of it, in retrospect I can't say that I blame the big fella. It was a dirty play on Stewart's part. I wonder what James Franklin will say about it.

Speaking of Franklin, at Monday's press conference he was asked if he had any regrets. This is what he said: "I’m not a guy that has a whole lot of regrets. I’m pretty calculated, and I’m pretty well thought out with the things that I do for the most part. I am an emotional guy as you guys know as well. I would have liked the game to end differently. I would have liked to have won the game."

I'm not going to break this down, because it's a pretty unsatisfactory answer and I hope never to hear it again from him, in any situation. I do realize that he's not giving this explanation to his wife or his pastor, he's giving it to a bunch of sports writers, whom he doesn't particularly respect or feel like he needs to answer to. But if you don't think you did anything wrong, then just say so. That was the question. But don't say you don't have any regrets in life because you think everything through even though you're also an emotional person.

I really don't think he would have responded the same way if he had game-planned for that situation. His actions were fueled totally by emotion, which is understandable. He really, really wanted to win. Shawn Williams really, really acted like an ass. Franklin's a take-charge guy and he wanted to take-charge of the situation.

But after viewing several videoclips, it appears that Franklin sought out Grantham, who blew his stack and almost instigated a riot, then he found Richt, who wasn't far away to begin with, and quivering with anger he told Richt about Williams' inappropriate gestures and his exchange with Grantham, punctuating his explanation with a few choice words. Richt put his hand on Franklin's shoulder and nodded with understanding and then apologized. After Richt left, another Georgia assistant approached Franklin and shook his hand and Franklin took the opportunity to again complain about Williams and Grantham.

Why didn't Franklin just tell Richt? Why did he have to tell Grantham, a notorious hothead, first? And why did he keep complaining about it to another assistant after he talked to Richt?

Because he's human. Williams got under his skin, which is exactly what Williams was trying to do. Franklin let his emotions get the best of him, just like we all do. But in doing so, he let his players know he cared about them, and a few minutes later he gave his rousing "we will never back down ever because those days are over" speech.

These things happen in football. That was Franklin's sixth game as a head coach. You can bet he's going to learn from it, whether he admits it to the ink-stained wretches or not, and he's going to make the Bulldogs pay for it someday soon.

Back to Stewart, I hope Vandy starts Joe Townsend at center and leaves the rest of our lineup intact, instead of doing a fruit-basket turnover again and moving Wesley Johnson to center and Seymour to tackle and White or Jelesky to guard, and then moving everybody back when Stewart enters the game.

In review, here's our offensive line before and after Stewart's return from mono:

BEFORE
LT: Ryan Seymour, R-Jr
LG: Chase White, R-Fr
C: Wesley Johnson, R-So
RG: Mylon Brown, R-So
RT: Kyle Fischer, R-Sr

AFTER
LT: Wesley Johnson, R-So
LG: Ryan Seymour, R-Jr
C: Logan Stewart, So
RG: Mylon Brown, R-So
RT: Kyle Fischer, R-Sr

It will be interesting to see the difference Stewart makes in our offensive line when he enters the game in the second half, if Franklin does put him in the game.

Jordan Rodgers and Larry Smith still co-starters and other developments on the Vandy-Army depth chart

2011-10-17T21:35:00.005-05:00

Let's take our weekly look at changes to the depth chart.

OK, WHAT'S UP AT QUARTERBACK?

• Jordan Rodgers and Larry Smith are listed as co-starters at quarterback for the second straight week. Franklin said in his press conference today that he would prefer to play one quarterback. That bodes well for Rodgers, who has played in every game this season, seeing his playing time gradually increase.

WHAT'S NEW?

• Redshirt freshman Vince Taylor and true freshman Barron Dixon are listed as backups to Colt Nichter at defensive tackle, forming a five-man rotation with Nichter, fellow starter Rob Lohr and sophomore Jared Morse. Dixon played in his first game against Georgia, replacing the injured T.J. Greenstone in the rotation. Taylor has been in the rotation since sitting out the opener against Elon, but this is his first week to be listed on the depth chart.

• Ryan Fowler is now listed as a co-starter at punter with fellow redshirt junior Richard Kent. Kent has started all season but was benched after dropping a snap that led to a Bulldog touchdown and was replaced by Fowler, who threw a long first-down strike to snapper Andrew East on a fourth down fake punt, but didn't appear to have Kent's power or hang time. Expect to see Kent return — Franklin has been calling him "Comeback Kent" in meetings.

• Cornerback Casey Hayward is listed as a backup to punt returner Jonathan Krause. The Commodores have struggled to break anything off a punt return, and Hayward could be just what the doctor ordered.

• Mylon Brown is listed as the sole starter at right guard, after being listed last week as a co-starter with redshirt junior Josh Jelesky, who's still learning the ropes since moving to offense late in the summer. Brown started against Georgia, and has started in every game so far this year.

WHAT'S THE SAME?

• Five offensive players (running back Zac Stacy and linemen Ryan Seymour, Wesley Johnson, Kyle Fischer and Brown) and eight defensive players (end Tim Fugger, tackles Lohr and Nichter, linebackers Chris Marve and Chase Garnham, cornerbacks Hayward and Trey Wilson and safety Sean Richardson) are set to start their seventh game of the season.

• Jordan Matthews and Chris Boyd continue to be listed as co-starters at wide receiver, but Matthews has gotten the nod over Boyd in five out of six games so far. Jonathan Krause, who had his bell rung in a dirty play by Georgia, is listed as the other starter, and Wesley Tate is listed as the third starter if Vandy goes with a three-receiver lineup, which it's done twice this season.

• Junior Al Owens is listed as the backup at both strongside and weakside linebacker but hasn't been seeing much big-game action at either position. With the injury to Tristan Strong, Vandy has serious problems with depth here. Also, I notice that redshirt freshman Blake Gowder is no longer on the roster. That frees up another scholarship. With the verbal commitment of mammoth Texas tackle Adam Butler, we've got one solid scholarship left but I expect us to clear out another 2-4 scholarships by the end of the season.

• For the second straight week, Kenny Ladler is listed as the solo starter at free safety after losing his starting position to redshirt sophomore Javon Marshall in preseason camp. Ladler and Marshall have each started three games this season.

Vandy's future bright, Mark Richt's is cloudy after Georgia victory

2011-10-16T21:52:00.004-05:00

Did Saturday's game feel like 2007 all over again or what? Remember in 2007, when Georgia was coming off a whipping in Knoxville and fans were screaming for Richt's head? Vandy had taken the lead over the Dawgs in Nashville and were driving for the touchdown that would put it away.

But Georgia recovered a fumble, drove into field goal range and then booted the game winner. The night ended with the Bulldogs dancing on the Vandy star in the middle of the field, Bobby Johnson showing his displeasure, and Richt grabbing his players and telling them to show the Commodores some respect.

The Bulldogs had a bye week and then headed down to the World's Largest Cocktail Party where they showed Florida some disrespect after their first touchdown when the entire Georgia team rushed the field and celebrated, drawing a penalty and firing up the team.

In other words, don't disrespect a team that you're supposed to beat handily but it's fine to disrespect the defending national champions. Anyway, Georgia ran the table after the Vandy win and looked like the best football team in America. If Vanderbilt had beaten Tennessee, Georgia would have gone to the SEC championship to play eventual national champion LSU, and I believe the Bulldogs, with a red-hot Matthew Stafford, plus Knowshon Moreno and A.J. Green and a ton of other talent, would have won and then beaten Ohio State in the BCS Championship.

But Vandy squandered a lead in Knoxville, crumbling under the pressure of delivering a sixth win and becoming bowl-eligible, something they would finally — and barely — manage to do the following year after starting the season 5-0.

Georgia got another chance the following week, needing Kentucky — the same Wildcat team that beat No. 1 LSU — to beat Tennessee to send the Bulldogs to the Georgia Dome for the SEC title game.

Didn't happen. Fulmer's Vols beat Kentucky in about a thousand overtimes, tying the Bulldogs for the SEC East title but going to Atlanta because they won head-to-head. LSU won, and a two-loss Bayou Bengal team faced the two-loss Ohio State Buckeyes in the BCS title game, leaving a two-loss Georgia team at No. 3.

Georgia began the following season at No. 1, but were destroyed by Alabama in Athens after Saban took Richt to school in the first half.

The Bulldogs haven't been the same since, raking in top talent but failing to meet the resulting high expectations on the field.

On Saturday, Mark Richt needed to beat Vanderbilt worse than he's ever needed to win a football game. Losing to Vandy has sealed the fate of many an SEC coach — one of Richt's predecessors, Ray Goff, among them — and he would have lost his job if Udom Umoh or Kenny Ladler could have evaded the Georgia punter and taken the ball into the end zone ("the football is not perfectly shaped," Coach James Franklin pointed out after the game) or if Chris Boyd could have hauled in the pass from Jordan Rodgers.

It didn't happen and the Bulldogs got their swag back. If Richt was canned, his jackass of a defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, would have gotten canned too, and when Coach Franklin crossed paths with Grantham while looking for Richt, who had mysteriously disappeared, Grantham in the euphoria of maintaining steady employment went nuts with self-righteous anger and all his players gathered round and appeared to have their swag back.

I was surprised they didn't run over and stomp on the star. In the press conference, Richt lamented that everybody couldn't have just shaken hands like gentlemen, and he confessed that he'd uttered some "choice words" during the game himself.

Yeah, those Dawgs were really blessed to win, gosh-darnit.

Did you see how much more talent Georgia has than we do? It was ridiculous. Jordan Rodgers played a gutsy game, but he lacks the arm strength to gun the ball in there — though Larry wouldn't have gotten rid of the ball or eluded the rush like Jordan did. Our offensive line played well, but was outmanned by Georgia's huge D-tackles. The big problem remains our wide receivers, who can't consistently make catches in traffic.

I take three things from our losses to SC, Bama and UGA:

1) Their receivers made tough catches in traffic on third down — or in the end zone — and ours didn't.

2) Their quarterbacks looked like All-Americans against our vaunted secondary, and that's because we couldn't put pressure on them. We've got a scrappy, technically sound defensive line but these guys are not prototypical SEC players and couldn't get by the mammoth O-lines of the Gamecocks, Tide or Bulldogs.

3) You can't defend the pass successfully when your only hope to score a touchdown is to get an interception and take it to the house. That's what was happening in the third quarter when Hayward was taking chances and trying to figure out where the ball was going and was out of position on almost every play.

But back to Georgia. They've got the athletes, but right now they lack the character, the coaching and the team chemistry to be an elite team. We lack the athletes, but Saturday we had the character, the coaching and the chemistry to hang with them, even when we were making a ton of mistakes. We should have lost that game by four touchdowns but our guys wouldn't let that happen.

That's the difference between this team and the one that lost to UGA in the final seconds in 2007. That team was playing not to lose, and all the fans left the stadium saying, "Same old Vanderbilt."

This team had no business being in the game, but they nearly pulled off a stunning upset. Did you see Georgia's fans after the game, their eyes dazed and their mouths agape as if they'd lost the game? These are the same fans who'd commented online earlier in the week that they expected to make short work of Vandy so they could watch the Bulldogs' second- and third-string quarterbacks play. I bet not many folks said, "Same old Vanderbilt" after the game.

If I'm one of the recruits from Georgia who were visiting the game or watching it on TV, and I was the kind of kid who likes to work and has a head on his shoulders, I'd be seriously considering the Commodores right now. Sure, I'd be concerned about all those red-clad fans in the stands. But I'd also want to play with a team that's doing something special, that's trying to make history, and that's not afraid to stand and fight when things aren't going their way.

Add to that the uncertainty surrounding Georgia's head coach, who had a bad feeling about this game like he always does when he goes up to Nashville, and whose only hope at the end was to pray for deliverance.

As Coach Franklin says, "there are no moral victories." But the future is brighter than I can remember it.

Larry Smith vs. Jordan Rodgers? It's not that simple

2011-10-13T13:51:00.004-05:00

After James Franklin stated in Monday’s press conference that Larry Smith was injured but could have returned against Alabama if needed and that there would be a competition this week, Vandy reporters and bloggers (not us) began to salivate over the possibility that Franklin was going to bench Larry in favor of Jordan Rodgers. It’s not that simple.

First of all, Franklin talks about players competing all the time. After last night’s practice, somebody asked Franklin who was getting the most reps at quarterback, thinking that the guy playing the most in practice would be winning the quarterback competition that everybody got so excited about on Monday.

Franklin said this:

• Larry’s not practicing much because he’s still injured though not as much as he was on Sunday. He said he thinks Larry will be “ready to go” on Saturday because on game day “you can do some things with medicine” to get a guy ready to play. In other words, Larry may not practice at all and still start against Georgia.

• The “competition” Franklin was talking about could have been Rodgers competing against himself to improve. “Has he done anything this week to help his situation in terms of the depth chart?” Franklin said of Rodgers last night. “I’m not ready to say that.” Franklin has maintained that a healthy Smith still gives us the best chance to win.

• The “competition” Franklin was talking about could have been Rodgers competing against true freshman Josh Grady. He said he continues to be impressed with Grady and has told him to get ready to play.

• The decision could be made by “gut feeling.” And when will he make it? “It could be Saturday running out on the field he said.” And who might it be? “It could be Larry to Josh Grady.”

All this reminds me a little bit of our quarterback situation in 2008 at this exact point in the season: Fans were screaming for Mackenzie Adams to get the start against Mississippi State after he’d relieved an injured Chris Nickson early in the Auburn game.

Of course, Nickson started and Adams tried to bail us out of a bitter loss in Starkville. Then Bobby Johnson benched Nickson in the next game against Duke and started Adams, who along with the rest of the offense performed miserably in a demoralizing homecoming loss.

It was musical chairs for the rest of the season while both guys battled injury and ineptitude. Nickson got the nod against Kentucky and led us to a rousing victory to become bowl eligible, then both guys were hurt at the end of the season and we were forced to take the wraps off redshirt frosh Larry Smith, who showed flashes of brilliance against Wake Forest and then started against Boston College in the Music City Bowl.

I don’t think our current situation is nearly as dramatic. For one thing, Jordan Rodgers isn’t coming off a heroic performance in a dramatic upset of a ranked team from Alabama like Adams was, and Rodgers doesn’t have a Top 10 upset under his belt like Adams did (in South Carolina the year earlier).

And Smith, while certainly a threat to tuck and run, doesn’t pose the same dangerous running threat that Nickson did.

Oh, and we’re not 5-0.

Meanwhile, many of our fans are acting like we’re going to walk all over Georgia. Folks, Georgia has an enormous defensive line and freakish athletes just like South Carolina and Alabama did. Arkansas and Florida do too.

In other words, with our current offensive line and wide receivers, we might as well go ahead and throw Josh Grady’s name into the mix as well. The odds just keep getting better that he’ll be on the field before the season’s over.

Vanderbilt's James Franklin calls 12 recruits after loss to Alabama

2011-10-10T16:33:00.004-05:00

So you're a hotshot high school football player considering Vanderbilt, and you watch the Commodores lose 34-0 to Alabama. You have questions. You have concerns. About an hour after the game, you're kicking back, chilling. Your phone rings.

It's Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin. He's on the bus back to Nashville. He wants to know what you thought of the game. He also wants to tell you how you would improve his roster and make the kind of impact he needs to do something really special at Vanderbilt, which by the way is located in the best city and has by far the best academics in the SEC, which of course is the best conference in college football.

During today's press conference, Franklin said he talked to 12 recruits during Saturday night's three-hour bus trip. That's one recruit every 15 minutes.

And further evidence that nobody's going to outwork, outplan, outthink or — yes — outtalk James Franklin.

I hope he was talking to a quarterback — hey, let's steal Chad Voytik from Pitt or Patton Robinette from North Carolina! — and also a couple of wide receivers and a bunch of offensive linemen.

Larry Smith and Jordan Rodgers listed as co-starters for Georgia, and other notes from the latest depth chart

2011-10-10T16:00:00.006-05:00

Listened to Franklin’s weekly press conference and looked at the depth chart for the Georgia game. Here are some highlights:

1. Larry Smith and Jordan Rodgers are listed as co-starters at quarterback on the depth chart, which was released after Franklin fielded numerous questions about whether Smith would remain as a starter.

Franklin has repeatedly said that Larry gives the team the best chance to win – which of course drives a certain percentage of our fan base crazy – and he also likes to keep opponents in the dark as to the status of injured players. Today he said two or three times that nothing has changed. He said something about competition determining the starter this week and also something about injuries being announced on Wednesday and something again about nothing changing. Franklin said Rodgers played “extremely well” in the first half but that he wasn’t pleased with his performance in the second half.

Everybody's wondering who the starter will be and acting like there's a big controversy. I think it plays itself out without much drama. If Larry's healthy enough to play this week, he'll be the starter. If he's not, Jordan Rodgers will get the nod. But if Larry's reasonably healthy, I think he'll start until Rodgers proves himself without a doubt our best option at quarterback. Franklin's not going to bench Larry just for a change of pace, but he is going to continue to increase Rodger's playing time.

In case you were wondering, Franklin tends to list injured starters as co-starters. For example, he listed Brandon Barden the past two weeks as a co-starter with Austin Monahan. Barden missed the South Carolina game with injury, played in the Alabama game, and is now listed once again as the sole starter at tight end.

2. Carey Spear, who missed two field goals in the first half against Bama, is still listed as the starting kicker. Franklin said he had “no concerns” about Spear and likened a kicker’s mechanics to a golfer’s swing.

3. For yet another week, Jordan Matthews is listed as a co-starter with Chris Boyd at the X-receiver position.

Matthews has started five games this season to Boyd’s one. When asked about Matthew’s struggles at receiver – he has five catches for 63 yards in five games – Franklin said it was a combination of poor play from the offensive line, the plays being called, and the fact the quarterbacks were throwing for a high percentage. He said he expects Matthews to start making some big plays soon and he said the challenge now was keeping him from listening to family members, friends and the media saying that he wasn’t getting enough touches.

4. Archibald Barnes remains a starter at outside linebacker, where he’s filling in for the injured Tristan Strong, whom Franklin actually said he hopes to get back “soon.” DeAndre Jones, listed as Marve’s backup in the middle, is still getting snaps in both halves of every game, and Al Owens, who had a tackle for loss against Bama, is listed as the backup at both outside positions.

5. Redshirt junior Josh Jelesky, who moved to the offensive line from defensive end in the preseason, is listed as a co-starter at guard along with Mylon Brown, who’s started every game this season. Franklin said he wanted Brown to face some competition. He's the most inexperienced of the current starters.

6. Sophomore Logan Stewart will start his second game of the season at center after taking several months to recuperate and gain the weight he lost while battling mononucleosis over the summer. He started the last half of last season. To accommodate Stewart, Wesley Johnson moved back to left tackle, Ryan Seymour moved from left tackle to left guard, and Ryan Fischer remains at right tackle.

7. Chase White has returned to second team, where he’s listed as a backup guard. Other reserves include tackles Caleb Welchans and Andrew Bridges and true freshman center Joe Townsend. True freshman guard Spencer Pulley has dropped off the depth chart after being listed at second team since the Elon game.

8.Another player who’s dropped off the depth chart this week is tight end/fullback Mason Johnston, who was injured against Bama. He's replaced by walk-on fullback Marc Panu. Another walk-on, receiver Jamison Sackey, returns to the depth chart for the second straight week as a backup.

9. Warren Norman, who’s been listed at second team since the start of the season, has been finally removed from the depth chart. It appears likely he will redshirt.

10. True freshman Mitchell Hester, who made his debut on the depth chart last week as a punt returner, did not play against Alabama and is still eligible to redshirt. He’s been replaced this week by Eric Samuels, who’s now listed as a punt returner backing up Jonathan Krause. Sophomore Steven Clarke is now listed as a co-starter at kick returner with Andre Hall, replacing Samuels in that role.

11. Junior Johnell Thomas is still listed as a starter at defensive end after suffering an injury against Bama.

12. Kenny Ladler is now listed as the sole starter at free safety, after being listed as a co-starter with Javon Marshall on every pregame depth chart before today. He’s started two games this season while Marshall has started three.

For James Franklin, getting better at Vanderbilt means getting better players to come to Vanderbilt

2011-10-09T12:40:00.005-05:00

What did James Franklin say after last night’s 34-0 loss to Alabama?

He said: “We’re gonna get this fixed, I can guarantee you that.”

What’s he doing to fix Vanderbilt? Sure, he’s installing his system, which includes working hard and believing in yourself and trying to execute as well as you can and all that. That’s not incredibly different from the kinds of things past Vandy coaches have said.

But the biggest thing he’s doing is recruiting. Unlike other coaches, who seemed to believe they were limited by the types of athletes they could attract to Nashville, Franklin believes he can stockpile authentic SEC athletes. The way he closed on last year’s class was a minor miracle – or looked that way to Vandy fans – and the way he’s piled up verbal commitments in the last six months have been nothing short of spectacular by VU standards.

Some Vanderbilt fans are starting to complain that Franklin’s offense is no more productive than, say, Bobby Johnson’s. And the team's biggest problem, they believe, is that the wrong guy on our roster is playing quarterback.

Listen to what Nick Saban said about Vanderbilt last night after the game:

“They are doing a good job with their team. They play hard and create a lot of problems for you on offense and do a lot of things to take advantage and play well with the guys they have.”

Play well with the guys they have. That’s what Franklin’s doing. He’ll tell you that he loves the players he has, and we believe him, but the players he’ll be loving in four years are going to be better than the ones he’s loving today. That’s what he’s guaranteeing us, and I for one believe him.

Listen to what Franklin said after the game about his receiving corps:

“We’re not in a situation right now where we’ve got guys creating a lot of separation. That’s fine. That’s the world we’re living in right now. We’ve got to be able to make the catch with the guy hanging all over you.”

That’s the world we’re living in right now. In a couple of years, the world we’re living in will have receivers who can separate from SEC defensive backs or at least make tough catches.

Last night Alabama receivers made four touchdown receptions with our DBs draped all over them.

James Franklin plans to go get a whole team full of players who can compete with Alabama and South Carolina and Georgia.

Yes, Georgia. Get yourself ready, folks. The Bulldogs aren’t as well-coached as Alabama but they’ve got the same caliber of athletes, even on the defensive side of the ball.

The future of Franklin’s Commodores does not depend on Vandy going to a bowl this season. Army and Kentucky look extremely beatable. Tennessee appears to be having another down year, but they’ve still got better athletes than we do on both sides of the ball. And the other team we’ve been chalking up as a victory since summer, Wake Forest, just embarrassed Florida State and is undefeated in the ACC.

Don’t get your hopes up.

This is not about going to a bowl this season, though it's certainly possible and would be awfully nice. This is about getting the kind of players we need to compete – and who can compete academically at Vanderbilt. Those guys are out there, and James Franklin’s going to find them.

And once he does, the product he puts on the field will sell itself. For now, he's got to sell what's going to happen.

Can Vanderbilt fans handle the truth about their team?

2011-10-06T11:37:00.004-05:00

Jess Nicholas (not to be confused with Col. Nathan Jessup) over at TideFans.com has an interesting preview of Vandy. I think it’s important to read what educated fans at other schools say about us. Sure, many Vandy fans would agree that Larry Smith is not a legitimate SEC quarterback. But how many of us would say that Zac Stacy is slower than other SEC running backs or that our defensive backs lack the athleticism of those in an elite program?

And yet, if we dare to fantasize about competing in the SEC we must objectively compare our players with those on other SEC teams (and not just Kentucky and Ole Miss.)

We ask this question every now and then: How many of our players would even get playing time at another SEC school?

I’m not bashing our players. This question is on James Franklin’s mind when he says things like “We have good players here, just not enough of them.”

Yesterday, a reporter asked Franklin what he was doing to improve the offense and he replied that he was recruiting. A few minutes later, he said that Vandy was going to have to run trick plays and take risks in order to compete. Implying, of course, that he won’t have to do this as much when he gets the players he wants. Oh, and if you're wondering why we don't just run a trick play on every down, he was quick to add that you have to wait for the right circumstances to run a trick play even if you're desperate.

I’m starting to see some similarities between Franklin and Nick Saban – apart from Franklin’s superior people skills. Saban said a couple of days ago that Vanderbilt is doing some nice things with the players they have.

Maybe some Vandy fans would be offended by that. James Franklin wouldn’t be.

Anyway, here’s some highlights of what Nicholas had to say about our team. If you find yourself boiling over with anger at his assessment, take a deep breath and realize that he’s comparing us to the team he studies every day, which is getting the kind of results that we can only dream of.

How many matchups does he have us winning against the Tide? Zero. Fair enough.

OFFENSE

Overall observations:
• Ranks 116th in passing offense.
• Ranks 117th in total offense.
• Ranks 116th in sacks allowed.
• Wide receivers remain a weakness.
• If Bama contains Chris Boyd, it should have “no problems” containing our passing game.
• The offensive line is “pretty offensive.” (Ha, ha. The truth hurts.) The interior line “is a question mark.” Vandy doesn’t “protect the passer” and run blocking is “scattershot.” D-line “strongly wins” the battle with our O-line. (Duh.)

Notes on players:
• Larry Smith: Not a legitimate SEC quarterback; mobile enough but lacking in arm strength.
• Jordan Rodgers: Has “showed flashes in limited work.”
• Zac Stacy: “Clearly lacking in speed compared to other SEC starters.”
• Jerron Seymour: “Oddly built” but has been a “capable backup so far.”
• Brandon Barden: Likely a “scratch for this game thanks to an ankle injury.”
• Austin Monahan: “Almost as good as Barden” but without Barden our two tight end set is “a lot less effective.”
• Chris Boyd: “Has some homerun ability.”
• Kyle Fischer and Ryan Seymour: “Decent tackles.”

DEFENSE

Overall observations:
• Ranks 4th in pass efficiency defense.
• Ranks 11th in total defense.
• Ranks 15th in scoring defense.
• Ranks 25th in rushing defense.
• Has 14 interceptions and ranks 5th in turnover margin.
• No glaring weakness on defense for “the first time since the Woody Widenhofer days.”
• Stout rush defense, which could lead to more passing this week from Alabama.
• Good depth on defensive line. The Tide O-line shouldn’t have “much of an edge” over the Vandy D-line.
• Secondary is “deep” and “opportunistic” but with the “possible exception” of Casey Hayward “lacks the top-gear athleticism” of Alabama’s DBs.

Notes on players:
• Rob Lohr, Colt Nichter, T.J. Greenstone: “Good-sized players.”
• Tim Fugger: One of the SEC’s “most underrated and unknown ends.”
• Johnell Thomas: A “matchup problem” for offensive tackles who “lack good footwork.”
• Chris Marve: “Would easily start for Alabama.”
• Sean Richardson and Kenny Ladler: “Among the league’s biggest” safeties.
• Casey Hayward and Trey Wilson: Have “good size” and “can run.”

SPECIAL TEAMS
• Ranks a “respectable” 27th in net punting.
• Punt and kickoff returns are “middle of the pack or worse.”
• Kickoff coverage ranks in middle of pack in SEC but higher than Bama’s.
• Carey Spear even with Bama’s field goal kicker and Richard Kent is the better punter, but Vandy will struggle to contain Bama’s return game, which is among “the tops in the nation” in both kickoff and punt returns.

Warren Norman may redshirt and Jordan Rodgers will continue to take snaps every week

2011-10-05T22:57:00.002-05:00

Coach James Franklin was in a generous mood today and actually talked about plans to play certain players.

As for facing Bama, he said, “It’s a tremendous challenge and an even bigger opportunity.”

LOGAN STEWART
He said Logan Stewart had mononucleosis this summer and lost a bunch of weight and “is now back at the weight he needs to be to play in this league.” Expect to see Stewart back in the starting lineup, maybe as early as Saturday. Chase White has been starting since Jabo Burrow ended his playing career with concussion concerns.

JORDAN RODGERS
Larry Smith is rested and ready to smart, he said, but Jordan Rodgers will continue to get some snaps. “Our plan is to play Jordan each week,” he said.

WARREN NORMAN
He said Norman’s role is “Emergency No. 3” and that the junior may redshirt. “There’s a possibility to redshirt him,” he said. “It’s the best option for everybody if he’s not ready and we don’t need him. But if we have an injury he’s ready to go and we’re gonna play him.”

JOHN COLE
He said he expects Cole to return this season. That could be another way to say that, regardless of Cole’s playing status, you’ll see him being honored on senior day and not returning for a fifth year. Just a hunch.

Vandy freshman Mitchell Hester may play against Bama

2011-10-03T17:15:00.002-05:00

Here are some observations from the new depth chart and game notes, released today:

THE NEXT TRUE FRESHMAN TO PLAY?
• Freshman Mitchell Hester, who is yet to play this season, is listed at second-team punt returner.

WHERE’S WARREN
• Junior Warren Norman, who’s been injured and has yet to play this season, is still listed along with freshman Jerron Seymour as the backup to Zac Stacy.

SHARING DUTY
• Sophomore Logan Stewart, who’s returning from injury, is now listed as a co-starter at left guard along with redshirt freshman Chase White, who’s started the last two games there. It’s Stewart’s first appearance on the depth chart this season.
• Jordan Matthews and Chris Boyd are still listed as co-starters at X-receiver.
• Johnell Thomas is still listed as a starter at defensive end, despite seeing Walker May, who’s listed on second team, start in his place against South Carolina.
• Brandon Barden and Austin Monahan are still listed as co-starters at tight end. Barden missed the last two games with injury.
• Sophomore Andre Hal is now listed as a co-starter to Eric Samuels at kickoff returner.
• Kenny Ladler and Javon Marshall are still listed as co-starters at free safety.

ADDING AND SUBTRACTING
• Walk-on junior Jameson Sackey is listed on the depth chart for the first time in his career, at wide receiver, in place of redshirt junior Akeem Dunham.
• With the season-ending injury to starting outside linebacker Tristan Strong, redshirt junior Archibald Barnes is now the starter, and redshirt junior Al Owens is listed as the backup at both outside slots.
• Sophomore safety Andre Simmons has dropped off the depth chart for the first time this season.

THE FOLLOWING PLAYERS HAVE STARTED EVERY GAME THIS SEASON:

Offense:
• QB Larry Smith, RSr
• RB Zac Stacy, Jr
• C Wesley Johnson, RSo
• OG Mylon Brown, RSo
• OT Kyle Fischer, RSr
• OT Ryan Seymour, RJr

Defense:
• DT Rob Lohr, RJr
• DT Colt Nichter, RJr
• DE Tim Fugger, RSr
• LB Chris Marve, RSr
• LB Chase Garnham, So
• LB Tristan Strong, RJr (season-ending injury against South Carolina)
• CB Casey Hayward, Sr
• CB Trey Wilson, Jr
• SS Sean Richardson, Sr

ESPN boots Vandy-Bama to the U — I don't blame them

2011-10-02T14:21:00.004-05:00

ESPN was waiting to see the results of Saturday’s games before announcing its prime time lineup for Oct. 8.

It was going to match its three 6 p.m. CST games – on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU – with the following offerings:

• Auburn at Arkansas
• Georgia at Tennessee
• Vanderbilt at Alabama

Well, the results are in. Auburn upset South Carolina and Arkansas outgunned Texas A&M, so those teams get the top slot on ESPN.

Georgia whipped Mississippi State and Tennessee took care of Buffalo as expected. That should be a good matchup.

Meanwhile, Alabama got behind Florida early in a hostile environment but quickly recovered to systematically destroy the Gators.

Um, which game would you rather watch if you weren’t rooting for Bama or Vandy?

Right. Georgia-Tennessee is on ESPN2, while Bama-Vandy plays on the U.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the Vandy kids, especially our young offensive linemen, respond to playing one of the best football teams in America in one of the most hostile – and exciting – sports venues around. For all those folks who want to see Jordan Rodgers play more than one series or to see Josh Grady burn his redshirt, well, this could be just the moment you've dreamed of.

It’ll be character-building to say the least.

Probably not terribly interesting for the rest of America, but pretty darn interesting to us Vandy fans. Right?

Taking stock in Vandy players: Who's up, who's down?

2011-10-01T12:39:00.000-05:00

With our regular season a third of the way finished, here’s a look at the current stock of Vandy players. Who’s up and who’s down?

UP
1. Javon Marshall, S, RSo.
2. Jerron Seymour, RB, Fr.
3. Mylon Brown, OG, RSo.
4. Chase Garnham, LB, So.
5. Thad McHaney, DE, RSo.
6. Trey Wilson, CB, Jr.
7. Andre Hal, CB, So.
8. Colt Nichter, DT, RJr.
9. Joe Townsend, OL, Fr.
10. Johnell Thomas, DE, RJr.

Honorable mention:
• Karl Butler, S, So.
• Rob Lohr, DT, RJr.
• Spencer Pulley, OL, Fr.
• Fitz Lassing, FB/TE, So.
• Chris Boyd, WR, RFr.
• Tim Fugger, DE, RSr.

DOWN
1. Warren Norman (injury)
2. Eddie Foster, CB, Jr.
3. Logan Stewart, OL, So. (injury)
4. Jordan Matthews, WR, So.
5. T.J. Greenstone, DT, RSr.

Honorable mention:
• Udom Umoh, WR, RSr.
• Brandon Barden, TE, RSr. (injury)
• John Cole, WR, RJr. (injury)
• Caleb Welchans, OL, RJr.

One reason why Vandy's O-line is struggling

2011-09-26T17:15:00.004-05:00

Wondering why Vandy’s offensive line has been struggling? One reason: the Commodores have lost a whopping seven players in the past year or so. Here’s the list, with their class if they’d stayed in school:

• James Williams, RSr (academic casualty in summer of 2010)
• Rob Ashabranner, RSr (left school in summer of 2010)
• Jabo Burrow, RJr (still on roster; career-ending injury in second game of 2011)
• Michael Bryant, RJr (transferred to Tennessee-Martin in 2009)
• Richard Cagle, RJr (transferred to Abilene Christian in summer of 2010)
• Justin Cabbagestalk, RSo (left team in 2010 due to career-ending injury)
• James Kittredge, So (suspended, transferred to Michigan State in spring of 2011)

Most Commodore fans will agree that Williams was a huge loss. We watched him blast huge holes for Zac Stacy against LSU before breaking his leg; he returned for spring practice and then left school, reportedly an academic casualty.

And nearly everybody will agree that we'd be better off right now with Jabo Burrow, whose career ended in the UConn game after a concussion, instead of Chase White, who was a weak link against South Carolina and game way to Logan Stewart.

While few fans are mourning the loss — or would even recognize — Ashabranner, Bryant or Cagle, we could definitely use more upperclassmen. Right now, we should have at least nine upperclassmen on our depth chart. But thanks to the loss of Williams, Ashabranner, Bryant, Cagle and now Burrow, we have four upperclassmen, and one of them, Josh Jelesky, converted a couple of weeks ago from defensive end.

So the bad news is we've got no experience.

The good news? We've got lots of young guys, who'll one day be veterans, if they can just stay in school and injury-free.

South Carolina D finds its ideal opponent in Vandy

2011-09-24T21:40:00.003-05:00

Here's cause for concern:

SOUTH CAROLINA DEFENSE 2011

• East Carolina: 345 total yards, 85 rushing yards
• Georgia: 436 total yards, 188 rushing yards
• Navy: 335 total yards, 274 rushing yards
• Vanderbilt: 77 total yards, 4 rushing yards

Our next game is against Alabama.

Hey, our defense can compete in the SEC. Our offense, especially our line, cannot.

We need to get out of Tuscaloosa without losing any more players to injury, and then we need to compete in the games we're supposed to compete in.

Folks, SC has far more talent than UConn or Ole Miss. Remember how our problem has been that we choke in the games in which we're supposed to have a chance? We haven't done that yet this season. We didn't match up well with SC. We couldn't move the ball. It happens sometimes.

I expect James Franklin to respond with the same energy, fire and enthusiasm he's had over the past few months, and for the players to continue to believe. If not, then we've got a big problem.

Step back for a moment and look at our record. We're 3-1 and just lost to the defending SEC East champs. Sure, it would have been nice to have converted at least once on third down before the end of the game. But I expect the staff to make adjustments and I look forward to seeing what we do.

James Franklin's right: Vandy has a long way to go

2011-09-24T20:41:00.003-05:00

We've got a long way to go. James Franklin's been saying this after every victory. Vandy fans don't want to believe it, but now that we're playing a team with premiere talent, we realize that having a good coach and a can-do attitude and even playing as a team isn't good enough when:

1. Your offensive line is still developing.

2. The other team's defensive line is quicker and faster than your running backs.

3. The other team has the best running back in college football.

4. The other team has the best wide receiver in college football.

5. And the other team, which has the above talent, isn't beating themselves, and is getting some favorable calls from the officials too.

There are no short cuts. All week, my friends from Auburn and Alabama and Georgia have been congratulating me for Vandy's great start. But if any other team in college football goes 3-0 by beating Elon and two unranked teams, people don't congratulate their fans. They say, "When are you going to play somebody?"

Right now, we're playing somebody.

Let's keep it in perspective and keep pulling for these Dores.

Vanderbilt will get no help from Marcus Lattimore

2011-09-23T10:21:00.003-05:00

I like Marcus Lattimore. We all know he's a spectacular running back and will be playing on Sundays in a couple of years. But he's also a good kid who works hard, plays hard, does what he's told and is more concerned with winning than looking good.

Oh, and he's taking Vanderbilt seriously.

“I saw they beat Ole Miss. It’s a new Vandy,” Lattimore told the Tennessean. “You can’t roll over them. It’s always tough when we play them.

“They’ve got a real good defense and we’ve got to step up to the challenge. I feel like they don’t care who you are. They don’t care where you’re ranked. They’re going to play hard and play hard the whole game.”

Remember after Vandy's 2007 win over the Gamecocks in Columbia, when the Gamecocks whined to reporters after the game that they were better than Vanderbilt and should never have lost to them?

Remember after Vandy's 2008 win over the Gamecocks in Nashville, when the Commodores were hanging on to a slim margin late in the game and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn lost his cool and racked up a couple of personal fouls in a row that helped seal a victory for us?

I wish Marcus Lattimore wasn't such a good kid. I wish he thought he could just show up on Saturday and whip Vandy all by himself. I wish he was laughing at Vandy right now and getting his swagger on.

I wish he was a punk like Captain Munnerlyn.

Oh well. Maybe some of the other Gamecocks can help us out.

You listening, Stephen Garcia?

Don't forget, Vandy already knows how to win

2011-09-22T12:24:00.002-05:00

If all these national stories about The Little Vanderbilt That Could are sounding familiar, that’s because… THE SAME THING HAPPENED THREE YEARS AGO!

I found it unbelievable that a sportswriter from Tennessee, Roy Exum of Chattanooga, wrote after the Ole Miss victory that Vanderbilt was 3-0 for the first time since World War II.

Um, Roy, remember 2008? Vandy started 5-0? Hosted GameDay? Was ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation? Won its first bowl game since the Eisenhower administration?

It’s a shame that so many folks have already forgotten how remarkable it was that Bobby Johnson led Vandy to a winning record and a bowl victory in 2008. It was a huge step for this program. Clearly, Johnson and his staff weren’t the right people to take us to the next step, but they’re the ones who accomplished the thankless task of getting a group of kids to believe in themselves when the rest of the world believed they were cursed to be losers forever.

This current Vanderbilt team is nowhere near the band of losers that Bobby Johnson inherited in 2002. Now James Franklin and his merry band of coaches are picking up where Johnson and his staff left off.

Consider this:

Of our current players:
• Four started in the Music City Bowl as freshmen.
• Five played in the Music City Bowl as freshmen.
• Two played but had season-ending injuries during the winning 2008 season.
• 17 redshirted and watched the Music City Bowl from the sidelines.
• Six committed before the winning 2008 season.
• Two committed after the regular season but before the bowl victory.
• Five committed after the Music City Bowl victory, signing in 2009.
• 14 committed after the bowl victory, kept their commitment after the losing 2009 season and signed in 2010.

In other words, 55 of our 85 current scholarship players either played in the Music City Bowl, watched from the sidelines as official team members or committed to a defending bowl champion.

These guys considered themselves a part of that Music City championship team before the losing season of 2009. In other words, these guys were winners and thought they were joining a winner.

Here’s a complete breakdown of our current roster:

BOWL STARTERS
Current Vandy players who played in the Music City Bowl:
• LB Chris Marve: Redshirt freshman started every game at middle linebacker and was a freshman All-American; led the team in bowl with 10 tackles
• TE Brandon Barden: Redshirt freshman started last nine games of season and was a major offensive weapon, scoring winning TD against Auburn; one reception in bowl
• QB Larry Smith: Redshirt freshman got his first start in bowl, opened with two long passes to Sean Walker; 10-17 for 121 yards and no interceptions.
• OG/OT Kyle Fischer: Redshirt freshman started last half of season, playing guard against Boston College’s hulking front in bowl.
• WR Udom Umoh: Redshirt freshman played in every game in 2008, in bowl led team in receptions (3) and tackles in special teams coverage (4)
• DT T.J. Greenstone: One of only three defensive tackles to play in 2008; started two games as redshirt freshman, recorded four tackles in bowl game, one for loss.
• DE Tim Fugger: Worked himself into regular rotation as redshirt freshman, had a tackle in bowl.
• CB Casey Hayward: Special teams coverage ace as true freshman, and played shut-down coverage in bowl after D.J. Moore was injured.
• S Sean Richardson: True freshman played special teams and scored team’s only touchdown in bowl by recovering fumbled punt.

MAJOR BOWL CONTRIBUTORS
Current Vandy players who saw playing time in winning 2008 season before getting injured:
• TE Austin Monahan: Four-game starter as true sophomore before season-ending injury against Ole Miss.
• WR John Cole: Returned punts as true freshman in opener against Miami-Ohio, but suffered season-ending injury in that game.

BOWL TEAM MEMBERS
Current Vandy players who redshirted in 2008 and were on sidelines at Music City Bowl:
• DT Rob Lohr (Listed as second team during 2008 but three-man rotation stayed healthy and he never played)
• DT Colt Nichter (Also traveled with team and was prepared to play but wasn’t needed)
• DE/OL Ryan Seymour
• DE Johnell Thomas
• LB Tristan Strong
• LB Archibald Barnes
• LB DeAndre Jones
• OL Caleb Welchans
• P Richard Kent (Walk-on who became starter after bowl MVP Brett Upson graduated)
• WR Akeem Dunham
• S/LB Al Owens
• S/LB/RB Micah Powell
• PK Ryan Fowler
• DE/OL Josh Jelesky
• LB/DE Dexter Daniels
• DT Taylor Loftley
• DE/OL Jabo Burrow (Suffered career-ending injury this season but still part of team)

EARLY COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who verbally committed before the 2008 season, kept their commitment and signed about a month after the Music City Bowl victory:
• CB/RB/S Eric Samuels (Our first commitment in the recruiting class of 2009)
• RB Zac Stacy
• RB Warren Norman
• TE Mason Johnston
• DE Walker May
• WR Brady Brown

POST-REGULAR SEASON COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who committed to Vanderbilt after the 2008 season and before the Music City Bowl:
• OT/OG Mylon Brown
• OT/C Wesley Johnson

POST-BOWL COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who committed to Vanderbilt after the Music City Bowl:
• CB Trey Wilson
• CB/S Javon Marshall
• CB Eddie Foster
• DE Thad McHaney
• RB/WR Wesley Tate

PRE-LOSING COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who committed to Vandy’s 2010 signing class after the Music City Bowl and – unlike Davis Dudchock and Bradley Roby, who jumped ship to Stanford and Ohio State, respectively – kept their word and stayed with the Commodores after the miserable 2-10 season of 2009:

• DE Thomas Ryan (First verbal commitment)
• S Kenny Ladler
• S Karl Butler
• WR Jonathan Krause
• WR Chris Boyd
• OG/C Logan Stewart
• OT/OG Chase White
• OG Grant Ramsay
• DT Jared Morse
• DT Vince Taylor
• DE Kyle Woestmann
• CB Andre Hal
• WR Trent Pruitt
• S Andre Simmons (Committed after Vandy’s encouraging early-season loss to LSU in Death Valley)

POST-2009 COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who committed to Vanderbilt after the miserable season of 2009 was over:
• QB Jordan Rodgers (JUCO transfer)
• WR Jordan Matthews
• TE/FB Fitz Lassing
• OT Andrew Bridges
• CB Steven Clarke
• PK Carey Spear
• LB Chase Garnham
• LB Blake Gowder
• LB/SN Andrew East (Signed late after death of commitment Rajaan Bennett)

POST-2009/PRE-2010 COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who committed before the miserable 2-10 season of 2010:
• OT James Lewis (First commitment)
• OG Jake Bernstein
• DE/DT Conor Hart

POST-2010/PRE-FRANKLIN COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who committed during the miserable 2-10 season of 2010:
• OG Spencer Pulley
• OT/C Jose Valedon
• CB Derek King

POST-FRANKLIN HIRING COMMITMENTS
Current Vandy players who committed after the hiring of James Franklin:
• CB/WR Jacquese Kirk
• S Jahmel McIntosh (de-committed from Memphis)
• S Andrew Williamson
• S Larry Franklin
• TE Dillon van der Wal (de-committed from Arizona State)
• TE Steven Scheu
• DT Barron Dixon (de-committed from Mississippi State)
• QB Lafonte Thourogood (de-committed from Virginia Tech)
• RB Jerron Seymour
• TE/DE Darien Bryant
• LB/DE Jimmy Stewart
• QB Josh Grady
• QB Kris Kentera
• DT/C Joe Townsend (de-committed from MTSU)

THE DEPARTED
Players who would still be on the roster if they hadn’t left the team early:
• OT James Williams (left school)
• DT/OG Rob Ashabranner (left school)
• OT Michael Bryant (left school)
• OT Richard Cagle (left school)
• DT/OG/C James Kittredge (suspended; transferred to Michigan State)
• OL Justin Cabbagestalk (career-ending injury)
• RB Jermaine Doster (left school)
• WR/CB/S Jamie Graham (graduated, transferred to UCLA for last year of eligibility)
• WR Collin Ashley (left school)
• S Jay Fullam (transferred to Air Force Academy)
• QB Charlie Goro (left school)
• LB/FB Blake Southerland (career-ending injury)

Vandy starts 10 different pass-catchers in first 3 games

2011-09-20T11:44:00.005-05:00

With the release of the latest depth chart, we thought this would be a good time to point out how many different pass-catchers have started games for Vanderbilt.

In three games, we've started one quarterback (Larry Smith), one running back (Zac Stacy) and six offensive linemen (center Wesley Johnson, tackles Ryan Seymour and Kyle Fischer and guards Mylon Brown Jabo Burrow and Chase White, who replaced Burrow after a career-ending injury.

Though nobody doubts that James Franklin would pull a guy who's under performing, it also appears that he and his staff are trying to build continuity. Larry's struggled at times and Rodgers has gotten reps, but Larry's undoubtedly the starter. Zac was being stuffed repeatedly for no gain in the first three quarters against UConn while true freshman Jerron Seymour looked quicker and more effective but we've continued to play both and started Stacy against Ole Miss, and that turned out pretty good, huh?

As for the O-line, the only opening day starter not starting now is Burrow, whose playing days are over. Chase White started in his place against UConn and struggled a bit, but Franklin said he was sticking with him. Logan Stewart, who started the last half of last season at center, is returning from injury and played in mop-up duty Saturday but is not listed on the latest two-deep.

So Franklin and his staff have stuck with all the starters except the guys in pass-catching roles, where 10 different guys have filled the remaining four positions in the starting lineup.

ELON STARTERS
• WR: Jordan Matthews, 6-3, 202, So.
• WR: Udom Umoh, 6-0, 180, R-Sr.
• TE: Brandon Barden, 6-5, 246, R-Sr.
• TE: Austin Monahan, 6-6, 242, R-Jr.

UCONN STARTERS
• WR: Chris Boyd, 6-3, 208, R-Fr.
• WR: John Cole, 5-11, 184, R-Jr.
• FB: Fitz Lassing, 6-3, 240, So.
• TE: Brandon Barden, 6-5, 246, R-Sr.

OLE MISS STARTERS
• WR: Jordan Matthews, 6-3, 202, So.
• WR: Jonathan Krause, 5-11, 184, So.
• WR: Wesley Tate, 6-1, 224, R-So.
• TE: Mason Johnston, 6-4, 242, R-So.

Barden was replaced by Johnston in the starting lineup against Ole Miss because of injury, and is now listed as a co-starter on the South Carolina depth chart with Austin Monahan, who started with Barden in a two tight end set in the Elon game.

Fullback Fitz Lassing, who plays like an H-back and is also an effective tight end, started against UConn.

At wide receiver, Matthews, the rage of spring and preseason practice, started the first game and then was replaced by Chris Boyd, who was Elon's daddy. Meanwhile, Udom Umoh and John Cole, the veterans of many an offensive debacle, took turns starting in the first two games.

We waited until the Ole Miss game to start with a three wide receiver lineup, going with Matthews; Krause, who became a fixture last year as a starter and has already carried the ball seven times this season on reverses; and Wesley Tate, the converted running back with the Golden bloodlines who's shown flashes of brilliance while learning the ropes.

As far as substitutes go, Akeem Dunham is listed as a second team receiver, while Trent Pruitt has played in every game on special teams. Walk-on Jamison Sackey has played in two games. Cole is currently injured and is not listed on the depth chart. Other possibilities include true freshman Jacquese Kirk, who's listed as a DB/WR; third-string quarterback Josh Grady; and fourth- or fifth-string quarterback Lafonte Thourogood; as well as sophomore Brady Brown, who's now sporting a cool Jesus haircut but has been apparently injured since the summer. None of those guys has played yet.

True freshman tight end Dillon van der Wal and walk-on fullback Marc Panu have each played in two games, with van der Wal getting some significant playing time spelling Barden after he got injured against UConn. Two other possibilities who haven't played yet include two true freshmen, Steven Scheu, who hasn't played this season but is an exciting prospect and a clone of Barden, and Darien Bryant, a touted prospect at tight end who's been working mostly at defensive end.

This week's depth chart lists the following:

WR: Matthews or Boyd
WR: Krause (Umoh second team)
WR: Tate (Dunham second team)
TE: Barden or Monahan (Johnston second team)
FB: Lassing (Johnston second team)

Of course, we can't start all five of these guys, so it'll depend on what set we open with. Continue to see Matthews and Boyd sharing the featured X-receiver role, with Krause settling into the Y-position and Tate becoming a permanent fixture in the Z/slot. Now that we're in SEC play, we need a big strong receiver in the slot who can run after the catch. John Cole is a tough little guy but now that we're entering SEC play, it's likely he may never start again even if he does return from injury.

While we're talking starters, Vandy has started 12 guys on defense this year, swapping only Javon Marshall for Kenny Ladler against Ole Miss, but those guys have been listed as co-starters every game this season.

Red-hot Commodores soar to No. 37 in nation

2011-09-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

Vandy received votes today for both the AP and USA Today polls, which means we’re in position to crack the Top 25 if we somehow beat South Carolina.

We’re the eighth highest ranked SEC team in the AP poll, if you place any stock on how many votes each team received, and we’re the seventh highest ranked SEC team in the USA Today poll, ahead of Miss State.

In both polls, we’re ahead of Ole Miss, who we just shellacked, and three upcoming opponents, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

LSU (3-0, 1-0): No. 2 AP/No. 3 USA Today; ESPN bowl projection: Sugar or BCS
Alabama (3-0, 0-0): 3/2; BCS or Sugar
South Carolina (3-0, 1-0): 12/10; Cotton, Outback or Capital One
Arkansas (3-0, 2-0): 14/12; Outback or Cotton
Florida (3-0, 1-0): 15/15; Capital One or Outback
Auburn (2-1, 1-0): 27/36; Gator, Chick-Fil-A or Compass
Miss State (1-2, 0-2): 34/40; Liberty or Music City
Vanderbilt (3-0, 1-0): 37/39; Compass or Liberty
Georgia (1-2, 0-1): 39/unranked; Chick-Fil-A or Gator
Tennessee (2-1, 0-1): 43/41; Music City, Liberty or Gator
Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1): Unranked; No bowl
Kentucky (2-1, 0-0): Unranked; No bowl

We think these are our toughest games remaining on the schedule:

1. At Alabama (3-0) on Oct. 8
2. At South Carolina (3-0) on Sept. 24
3. At Florida (3-0) on Nov. 5
4. Arkansas (3-0) on Oct. 29
5. Georgia (1-2) on Oct. 15
6. At Tennessee (2-1) on Nov. 19
7. At Wake Forest (2-1) on Nov. 26
8. Kentucky (2-1) on Nov. 12
9. Army (1-2) on Oct. 22

Vandy boots Houston Nutt out of frying pan, into fire

2011-09-18T12:41:00.003-05:00

Want to see something funny but also kind of sad? Check out this video clip from scout.com of Houston Nutt trying to explain his team’s loss to Vanderbilt while the Commodores are whooping, hollering and banging on the walls of the locker room next door.

It had to have been his worst nightmare. For a coach in the SEC, and especially one with a lifetime 2-4 record against Vandy, it just doesn’t get any worse than this. That sound you hear is the moving van headed toward Nutt’s house.

In fact, the sign that Vandy's arrived as a team will be when an SEC coach doesn’t automatically get fired after losing to us.

During the postgame press conference, Nutt lamented that he always catches Vandy “right there at the top, very healthy and feeling good.” And this from the same guy who once lamented that, as head coach at Arkansas, he didn’t get to face the Commodores every year.

But does anybody really think that we have better athletes than Ole Miss?

The difference was coaching. As we commented during yesterday’s game, James Franklin took Nutt to school. And Nutt practically said as much in his press conference:

“I’ve never felt that way on the sideline. It was just not right. Just didn’t have the confidence we’re gonna make first downs and move the ball like I usually do. That was a first. That was a first.”

So he’d met his match. Then he said:

“It’s been one guy or the other,” meaning somebody always making a mistake on offense. “You’ve got to have 11 on offense to make one play go; we’re not getting that.”

So he didn’t have his guys ready to play. He said he faces a “gut check” “because of the world we’re in. It’ll be negative. My guys, I got to let them know we believe in them.”

A reporter asked Nutt if he thought it was hard for an Ole Miss fan to watch the Vandy game and not be negative. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, it is. I understand.”

It’s huge for Vandy and James Franklin to start the season 3-0 – or, as Frankin would say, going 1-0 for three straight weeks. It’s huge to chalk up our biggest whipping of an SEC opponent in 40 years. As Franklin says, “There’s no way to build success like having success.”

But don’t forget that this Ole Miss team has won just one of its last 10 SEC games. South Carolina is a whole different ballgame.

For Vandy, talk of making Top 25 is premature

2011-09-17T23:17:00.001-05:00

Wondering if Vandy will crack the Top 25 this week? It’s not gonna happen.

Don’t forget that the Commodores didn’t crack the Top 25 in 2008 until they went 4-0. They played Auburn the following week, won, and jumped up to No. 13. Incidentally, that's when the bottom fell out.

There are 33 teams in college football that are currently undefeated. Five teams in the Top 25 lost today. Florida State will definitely stay ranked, but Michigan State, Ohio State, Auburn and Miss State may all drop out when the votes are tallied Sunday evening.

So who will take their places?

Here’s a look at the remaining undefeated teams:

• Already in the Top 25: Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, Boise State, Stanford, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Florida, West Virginia, Baylor, South Florida and Texas

• Receiving votes: Michigan, Houston, Georgia Tech, USC, Clemson, North Carolina, Iowa State, San Diego State, California

• Not receiving votes: Kansas State, Texas Tech, Illinois, Ohio, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Florida International

As you can see, voters will likely not reward us for beating Elon and two teams with losing records. If we really want to crack the Top 25, we could just beat South Carolina.

That should do it.

Franklin compliments Ole Miss... sort of

2011-09-17T22:32:00.003-05:00

Well, Joe Fisher asked James Franklin all the right questions today, including a softball about Ole Miss' gigantic offensive line that Franklin knocked out of the park.

Here was his response:

"They’ve got a big, good-looking team. I was impressed looking at their bodies and length and those kinds of things but what you can’t measure is heart and our kids have got heart. They’ve got the right attitude, they’re well coached, they’re disciplined — that’s what really matters, all those things. The 40 times, the heights, the weights are good for combines but in the end you’ve got to get on the field, one man against another man, who wants it more. Our players are hungry right now, so are our coaches.

And you know what Houston Nutt was probably thinking? Those Vanderbilt players are even faster and tougher than they were last year.

Vanderbilt beats Ole Miss for biggest SEC win in 40 years

2011-09-17T14:46:00.003-05:00

So when's the last time Vanderbilt beat an SEC team by 23 or more points?

It was 1971, when Vanderbilt beat Mississippi State 49-19.

That's right, James Franklin just led Vandy to its most decisive SEC victory in 40 years.

2011 Vanderbilt indeed.

In fact, before today's 30-7 victory over Ole Miss, Vandy has beaten an SEC opponent by 14 points or more only 10 times in the past 40 years. Here are those 10 times, in reverse chronological order:

2010 - Vanderbilt 28, Ole Miss 14
2007 - Vanderbilt 31, Ole Miss 17
2004 - Vanderbilt 31, Miss State 13
1994 - Vanderbilt 24, Kentucky 6
1992 - Vanderbilt 31, Ole Miss 9
1988 - Vanderbilt 24, Florida 9
1984 - Vanderbilt 37, Ole Miss 20
1974 - Vanderbilt 24, Florida 10
1971 - Vanderbilt 49, Miss State 19

Just call Vanderbilt "The Pick-Six Factory"

2011-09-17T12:40:00.005-05:00

Troy Wilson just picked off an Ole Miss pass and raced 52 yards for a touchdown. It's his second pick-six of the season.

So far, we've got SEVEN interceptions, 188 return yards, and three touchdowns off those interceptions in two and a half games.

Wow.

And we just scored another touchdown to take a 21-0 lead late in the first half. We're seven for seven in the red zone for the season.

Go Dores.

Whoops, Wilson just got another pick and ripped off a 30-yard return. So you revise our interception stats for the season to:

• Eight interceptions
• 218 return yards
• Three touchdowns

We're dominating Ole Miss on both sides of the ball, and the rookie coach, James Franklin, is taking Mr. Nutt to school. Ole Miss has to do something to get back in the game fast, which could mean even more interceptions for us.

Looking good.

James Franklin knows how to make adjustments on offense

2011-09-17T12:23:00.003-05:00

Ah, what a difference a year makes. Remember how, year after year, Vandy just keeps grinding out the same tired old plays with the same old coaches who lacked innovation. The year we went to a bowl, we ran the same tired old plays and waited for our defense or special teams to save the day.

Know how we said a few minutes ago that we looked forward to seeing James Franklin make some adjustments on offense after Ole Miss players were pinning back their ears and coming after Larry?

Well, my middle school sons were just saying that Vandy needed to take advantage of Ole Miss' overpursuit of Larry. Their entire defensive line and a couple of linebackers are getting into our backfield on every play, so why not take advantage of that. A couple of plays later, with the majority of Ole Miss defenders bearing down on Larry, he executes a perfect Statue of Liberty play to Zac Seymour, who rips off a huge run and then a couple of plays later Larry bolts for a 20-yard TD run.

In past years, we'd be setting up a punt so that we could go into the locker room tied 0-0.

And it sure doesn't hurt that our defense is playing smarter and faster and hitting harder than Ole Miss.

Thank you, Ole Miss

2011-09-17T12:01:00.003-05:00

So we're struggling a bit early, but Ole Miss just keeps shooting themselves in the foot. Fitz Lassing drops a pass that would have picked up a first down, but Ole Miss has a penalty to give us the first down anyway.

On fourth and one, they just jumped offsides.

Meanwhile, Houston Nutt is sniping at the officials for not realizing that he has a bunch of undisciplined junior college kids.

Can we catch a pass?

And I realize Franklin likes to go for it on fourth down and all, but maybe we'd like Kent to kick Ole Miss into a hole. He just saved our bacon with a 60-something-yard punt. As evidenced by the BYU game, Ole Miss is the kind of team that'll hand you the game at the end if you hang with them. Franklin said he tried to strike fast and get a lead on UConn early last week because UConn wasn't that kind of team.

So what's Vandy's problem on offense?

2011-09-17T11:47:00.004-05:00

Actually, after watching another play blow up in Larry's face, I think it has more to do with our blocking schemes than our lack of experience or talent on the line. I'm not much of an offensive line tactician, but Larry's been tackled twice for loss when right guard Mylon Brown pulled and nobody else picked up the guy lined up in front of him.

Just went for it on fourth and 10 and Larry has no time again and throws laterally to Tate, who maybe gets one yard.

We're really struggling on offense. Is that because:

A) Our line can't block.
B) Larry's not making the right reads or getting rid of the ball fast enough.
C) Our receivers aren't getting open so Larry has nobody to throw to.

Same old same old, huh? But I'm not saying same old Vandy. James Franklin would start running up and down the sidelines yelling, "This is the 2011 Vanderbilt! This is the 2011 Vanderbilt!"

I look forward to seeing what Franklin does here to get us rolling on offense.

Our running game seems to be working pretty well.

Early reaction on the Ole Miss game

2011-09-17T11:35:00.003-05:00

Not to second-guess our playcalling or anything, BUT WHY IN HEAVEN'S NAME IS LARRY DROPPING BACK TO PASS THREE PLAYS IN A ROW WHEN OLE MISS IS BLITZING AND OUR LINE COULDN'T STOP MY GRANDMOTHER?

OK, I feel better now.

Franklin said the Rebel Black Bears or whatever the hell they are would smell blood in the water after watching the UConn film and would send everybody after Larry.

But the D looks great and is taken Ole Miss to the woodshed so we have the ball back, which is of course good and bad.

Go Dores.

Who'll fill the offensive skill positions today for Vandy?

2011-09-17T10:58:00.004-05:00

It'll be interesting to see who starts for the Commodores today at offensive positions other than quarterback and offensive line.

The offensive line seems to be set. Coach James Franklin has said he plans to stick with the five guys who started against UConn — Johnson at center, Seymour and Fischer at tackle, and Brown and White at guard — and hopes they develop into a cohesive unit as the season progresses. Six guys have started there this season, but only because Jabo Burrow's career was shortened by concussion issues and he was replaced by White.

Larry Smith is, of course, our quarterback, Zac Stacy our running back, and Brandon Barden our tight end, if he's bounced back from injury.

Those positions — as well as every defensive position — have featured the same lineup every game.

But our receiving corps is another story, where seven different people have started in those remaining three positions. They are receivers Jordan Matthews, Jonathan Krause, Chris Boyd, Udom Umoh and John Cole, fullback (which we employ more as an H-back) Fitz Lassing and second tight end Austin Monahan.

We could have one of the following starting lineups today:
• Three of the wide receivers, likely Boyd and Matthews and maybe Krause.
• Two receivers and fullback Lassing.
• Two receivers and second tight end of Lassing, Monahan or Mason Johnston.
• Two receivers and a second running back, Jerron Seymour or Warren Norman if he's ready to go, which is still uncertain.

Should be a good game. Go Dores!

Vandy should prolong body bag games as long as possible

2011-09-16T13:52:00.002-05:00

What did our last two schedules, both of which ended in 2-10 records, have in common?

We played LSU in the second game of the season.

I have a friend whose alma mater is Troy University and he calls games in which a team is overmatched physically “body bag games.” For us, LSU has always been a body bag game. We just don’t have the athletes, especially the waves of linemen on both sides of the ball, that the Bayou Bengals do.

Last year, we played LSU coming off a heartbreaking loss to Northwestern. We played them close enough for three quarters and then they just wore us down and won 27-3.

The year before, we played LSU coming off an easy opening victory to Western Carolina. It was a close game, but we lost tackle James Williams to injury, he never played for us again, and Larry Smith has been running for his life ever since.

As I’ve said earlier, our current schedule starts easy and gets progressively tougher. Elon was easy, UConn was tough but winnable, Ole Miss also tough but winnable, and then there’s South Carolina, a powerful team that values skilled players and finesse over hulking linemen and physical domination.

That doesn’t mean we won’t get hammered by the Gamecocks or that Larry won’t be running for his life with Jadaveon Clowney hot on his heels, but I wouldn’t call it a body bag game.

On the other hand, Alabama, our fifth opponent, is a body bag game. This is a deep, physically dominating team that could break us physically and psychologically, and we’re playing them in Tuscaloosa.

Remember how we put up a better fight against winnable teams early in the season, and we always seem to fall apart against the likes of Kentucky and Wake Forest — and even the worst Tennessee teams in decades — late in the year?

That’s because we lack depth – as Coach Franklin likes to say, “We’ve got players but just not enough of them – and that weakness is exposed in these body bag games and it just gets weaker and weaker as the season progresses.

Franklin’s already getting replacements ready. Josh Grady, for example, is taking snaps at wide receiver. We absolutely can’t afford to lose offensive linemen, where Franklin plans to play the same five guys (Fischer, Seymour, Johnson, Brown and White) and build some cohesion.

If it were a perfect world, we’d play our schedule in this order:

1. Elon: A team we should always beat.
2. Army: Another team we should beat, though we’d darn better take them seriously.
3. Wake Forest: Should be a winnable game, but our tank is always empty when we play these guys in November.
4. UConn: Another winnable game — as proven by last week’s victory — but also a physically tough game we should get out of the way in the first half of the season.
5. Kentucky: The SEC team closest to us in talent, but we always play them late in the year when we’re depleted.
6. Ole Miss: A team with good athletes but another winnable game for us.
7. Tennessee: The Vols now consider Kentucky a bigger rival, so why do we have to play them last? We’re the walking wounded by the time we play these guys in November.
8. Florida: A wildly talented team, but also a young team. We usually play them about this time anyway.
9. Georgia: It’s probably better for us to play Georgia earlier because they’re a physically superior team that takes a while to get on track, but we haven’t had much success against them lately anyway.
10. South Carolina: A freakishly talented team that’s far superior to the squads we beat in 2007 and 2008.
11. Arkansas: We’ve historically had some success against the Razorbacks, but this is an unusually powerful Arkansas team, and it’s not coached by Houston Nutt.
12. Alabama: I just don’t see what good can come from going to Tuscaloosa, and I wish we’d play this game dead last.

Vandy stockpiles defensive ends and trades up on a WR

2011-09-15T13:46:00.004-05:00

You've probably heard that we've traded wide receivers and added yet another defensive end.

By traded receivers, I mean that verbal commitment Jaydrick Declouet jumped ship to Houston but then we quickly got a verbal from Andre McDonald of Minnesota.

Declouet is 5-10, 175, a consensus three-star recruit with his best offer from Pittsburgh. McDonald is 6-3, 210, with four stars from Rivals and ESPN and his best offer from Ohio State.

Um, we'll take McDonald.

As for getting a verbal commitment from a sixth defensive end, we're not that disappointed. Sure, we really need another offensive lineman or two in this class, but I love the idea of getting Tommy Agee's son. Agee, you may remember, was the fullback in an Auburn wishbone attack that featured three future NFL running backs: Agee, who played for the Cowboys; Lionel "Little Train" James who had a long career with the Chargers and gained a bazillion all-purpose yards; and some guy named Bo Jackson.

Anyway, Agee's son Torey is 6-4, 250 pounds and could end up playing defensive tackle. And really, why should we not be stockpiling a bunch of long athletes who could end up playing everything from linebacker to defensive or even offensive tackle?

Here's how our six defensive ends stack up:

1. JOSH DAWSON
Hgt/Wgt: 6-4, 225
SEC offers: Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Miss State
BCS offers: Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Michigan State, NC State, South Florida, Illinois, Purdue, Wake Forest, Virginia, Duke
Others: Central Florida
ESPN: Three stars (79 rating); No. 43 defensive end
Rivals: Three stars (5.7 rating); No. 33 defensive end
Scout: Four stars; No. 28 defensive end

2. CALEB AZUBIKE
Hgt/Wgt: 6-5, 240
SEC offers: Miss State, Kentucky
BCS offers: Miami, UCLA, Northwestern, Boston College, Louisville
Others: Memphis, Marshall, MTSU, Arkansas State
ESPN: Three stars (76 rating); No. 110 defensive end
Rivals: Four stars (5.8 rating); No. 18 defensive end
Scout: Three stars; No. 115 defensive end

3. STEPHEN WEATHERLY
Hgt/Wgt: 6-5, 197
SEC offers: Ole Miss, Kentucky
BCS offers: NC State, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Illinois, Purdue
Others: Memphis, Western Kentucky
ESPN: Four stars (79 rating); No. 22 defensive end
Rivals: Three stars (5.6 rating); unranked linebacker
Scout: Two stars; No. 150 defensive end

4. TOREY AGEE
Hgt/Wgt: 6-4, 250
SEC offers: None
BCS offers: Stanford, Louisville, Duke
Others: Southern Miss, Western Kentucky, South Alabama
ESPN: Three stars (77 rating); No. 95 defensive end
Rivals: Three stars (5.5 rating); unrated defensive end
Scout: Two stars; No. 134 defensive end

5. LADARIUS BANKS
Hgt/Wgt: 6-2, 265
SEC offers: None
BCS offers: Illinois, Cincinnati
Others: Southern Miss, Troy, Florida International, UAB
ESPN: Three stars (75 rating); No. 140 defensive end
Rivals: Three stars (5.5 rating); unranked defensive tackle
Scout: Two stars; No. 163 defensive end

6. TRE GRIFFIN
Hgt/Wgt: 6-2, 235
SEC offers: None (committed in April)
Other offers: None
ESPN: Three stars (77 rating); No. 87 defensive end
Rivals: Two stars (5.4 rating); unranked defensive end
Scout: Two stars; No. 156 defensive end

Academically, Vanderbilt ranks No. 4 in the nation among BCS universities, no other SEC school even close

2011-09-13T22:36:00.003-05:00

Just checking out the latest U.S. News & World Report ratings for the best universities in the nation. Folks, Vanderbilt is the fourth-best academic programs in the nation among FBS football teams. Here’s the Top 25:

1. Stanford (overall No. 5)
2. Duke (10)
3. Northwestern (12)
4. Vanderbilt (17)
4. Rice (17)
6. Notre Dame (19)
7. California (21)
8. USC (23)
9. UCLA (25)
9. Virginia (25)
9. Wake Forest (25)
12. Michigan (28)
13. North Carolina (29)
14. Boston College (31)
15. Georgia Tech (36)
16. Miami (38)
17. Washington (42)
17. Wisconsin (42)
19. Penn State (45)
19. Illinois (45)
19. Texas (45)
22. Tulane (50)
23. Ohio State (55)
23. Maryland (55)
25. Texas A&M (58)
25. Connecticut (58)
25. Florida (58)
25. Pittsburgh (58)

Now, just for kicks, let’s take a look at the SEC rankings:

1. Vanderbilt (17)
2. Florida (58)
3. Georgia (62)
4. Alabama (75)
5. Auburn (82)
6. Tennessee (101)
7. South Carolina (111)
8. Kentucky (124)
9. LSU (128)
10. Arkansas (132)
11. Ole Miss (143)
12. Miss State (157)

Vandy depth chart highlights troubles with offense

2011-09-13T11:02:00.005-05:00

There are only a few changes to the depth chart for the Ole Miss game. You know how our main concerns going into this season were quarterback, receivers and offensive line? We felt good about all three of these after the opener against Elon, and now... not so good, huh? And these concerns are apparent from the latest depth chart.

Of course, not many concerns about the defense, where the same guys have started every game, and we've got former starters like Greenstone and Ladler providing depth. The biggest weakness on the D was supposedly outside linebacker (i.e. anybody not named Marve) but Chase Garnham and Tristan Strong are really flying around and looking sharp, and so is Archibald Barnes.

In our regular rotation, we're playing 10 defensive linemen (starters Lohr, Nichter, Greenstone, Fugger and Thomas, and reserves Morse, Taylor, Woestmann, May, McHaney), five linebackers (Marve, Garnham, Strong, Barnes and Jones) and 11 defensive backs (starters Hayward, Wilson, Richardson and Marshall, and reserves Ladler (listed as a co-starter), Butler, Clarke, Foster, Hal, Samuels and Simmons).

Not quite as set in stone on offense, where five wide receivers (Boyd, Cole, Krause, Matthews and Umoh) have started so far this season. Matthews, supposedly one of our best overall players, has struggled a bit. Maybe that's because he's been the target of opposing defenses or Larry can't get him the ball because he doesn't have protection from his offensive line or he just can't hit the broad side of a barn or he doesn't have the mental fortitude to perform under pressure or see any Vanderbilt chat board for more reasons. (By the way, you may notice that we at MV! don't spend a lot of time whining about Larry Smith and calling for his ouster. We like Larry, right now he's the best quarterback we've got, we've been pulling for him since he committed out of Prattville, Ala., and we'll continue to pull for him.)

But any way you look at it, the offense is a huge concern. Larry's still the starter and Rodgers the backup, so no changes to the QB depth chart at this time, but Franklin's got to be concerned about (1) the line's ability to protect the quarterback and (2) the quarterback's ability to make plays when everything breaks down and especially (3) the quarterback's ability to stay alive after taking such a beating game after game. I think we're gonna see Josh Grady before the SEC season is very old.

We've had six starters so far on the offensive line, with redshirt freshman Chase White replacing redshirt junior Jabo Burrow, whose career ended with an injury sustained in the Elon game. Franklin said in yesterday's press conference that he was pleased with Chase as a human being for accepting the challenge and playing his best, but that he's not satisfied with the way he played. In other words, Chase is going to continue to get better — and fast — or somebody else is going to be playing in his place. Other candidates include:

• Redshirt junior Caleb Welchans, who's been playing and starting occasionally for three years now
• Redshirt freshman Andrew Bridges, who's being groomed to play tackle
• Redshirt junior Josh Jelesky, a recent convert from the defensive line who hasn't played yet this season but is the newest addition to the depth chart at backup right guard
• True freshmen Spencer Pulley and Joe Townsend, who both played against Elon. Other possibilities include redshirt freshman Grant Ramsay and true freshmen Jake Bernstein, James Lewis and Jose Valedon.

In other depth chart news, Akeem Dunham remains listed at second team though he didn't play against UConn; Warren Norman continues to be listed at second team and Franklin insists he's ready to play when we need him; Mason Johnston is now listed at both fullback and tight end as a backup.

Speaking of tight end, we'll be seeing more of Dillon van der Wal, who got his first action on Saturday against UConn, especially if Barden can't return right away from injury. Also, Vince Taylor was the other player who saw his first action against UConn; I think Vince will be a real standout by the end of the season.

James Franklin shows Voice of Commodores who's boss

2011-09-11T12:14:00.008-05:00

Coach Franklin is quick to correct somebody he thinks is wrong, especially somebody involved in his football program. One example is how he lit up Josh Grady last week about his "Hey, I'm redshirting" Twitter. Another example is when he sprinted down the field and lit up players who were celebrating Vandy's second touchdown.

And then there's Joe Fisher, the Voice of the Commodores.

Last week after the game, Fisher asked Franklin about "the Larry Smith situation."

"I don't know what you're talking about, 'the Larry Smith situation,'" Franklin snapped. "I don't know what that means."

Joe said he was only referring to the injury Larry suffered toward the end of the game. Franklin said Larry was going to play in the next game.

It gets better. On Saturday, in his interview with Franklin after Vandy's big win, Fisher asked this question:

"What happened in the second half, coach? You’ve got the lead 14-3 and then UConn sort of begins to assert itself a little bit more and takes control of the game and they scored to come back and take the lead?"

I was wondering if Fisher saw the same game I did when Franklin replied in the same exasperated tone he used when referring to "the Larry Smith situation":

"They didn’t 'assert themselves' and they didn’t 'take control of the game. We just made some mistakes and didn’t play the way we’re capable of playing. The blocked punt obviously was a big play and we gotta get that cleaned up. But they didn't 'assert themselves,' and I want to make sure we’re clear on that... We just gotta play smarter. We didn’t protect the ball this week, but this will be a great opportunity for growth for us."

About a minute later, Fisher, giving it the old college try, asked this: "When you get into conference play, that puts another edge on a game, doesn’t it?"

To which Franklin replied, "No. It’s the same old deal, it’s the most important game on our schedule is the next one. They’re all important, every single one of them. We’re going to take them one game at a time. Not one game we play is any more important than the next one."

Franklin doesn't answer reporters with that same tone of voice. Fisher's not a journalist, he's employed by Vanderbilt University. And Franklin's message in every interview with Fisher seems to be "you work for me."

Can't wait to hear Joe ask one of those questions after a loss.

Jabo Burrow's career over; Vandy loses another lineman

2011-09-10T23:00:00.004-05:00

James Franklin just said in the postgame press conference that redshirt junior Jabo Burrow, a returning starter at guard, has had a career-ending injury.

Burrow collapsed during preseason practice and returned in time to start last week's game, which he left with injury. He did not play tonight, though our friends who keep the game participation chart listed him as playing.

Redshirt freshman Chase White started in place of Burrow and played most if not all of the game after seeing his first ever college action last week in mop-up duty against Elon.

We wish Jabo the best.

Franklin's Commodores hit the wall and then knock it down

2011-09-10T22:11:00.004-05:00

We were talking this morning about hitting the wall. Well, after leading 14-3 at halftime, we sure hit the wall, didn't we?

Our defense held tough and didn't surrender a touchdown all night. But a blocked punt made it 14-13 and then a Husky picks up a Larry Smith fumble and runs 64 yards for a touchdown for a 21-14 lead. At that point, midway through the fourth quarter, our offense had zero first downs in the second half.

Talk about hitting the wall. There was no way we could move the ball. No way we could win.

But then Casey Hayward, one of the playmakers that James Franklin is always talking about, breaks on the ball, gets the pick and darts and weaves 50 yards for the touchdown to tie the game. Wow.

And then when we get the ball back, Zac Stacy, who'd been held in check all night, rips off a 48-yard run to set up the game-winning field goal. We win 24-21.

Our defense was fantastic, with five sacks and more than a dozen tackles for losses. Only 193 total yards of offense, four turnovers including three interceptions, and converting three of 15 times on third down. Chris Marve had "only" seven tackles, because running backs weren't getting past the defensive line. Big Rob Lohr played a great game.

Sure, we've got some things to clean up. The offense broke down in the second half. The line wasn't giving Larry time and Larry was struggling back there. He had three turnovers. Franklin talks about making explosive plays, which he defines as runs of 12 yards or more and passes of 16 yards or more. We had four explosive runs (Seymour 40-yard TD and 18-yards, Krause 24 yards on a reverse and Stacy with the big 48-yarder late) and three explosive pass plays (Larry to Boyd for 42-yard TD, to Cole for 31 and to Krause for 16). Larry hit eight different receivers but our supposedly best receiver, Jordan Matthews, had zero catches.

So we have some things to work on for sure. But it was a big victory, and it feels good to win two in a row.

Vanderbilt winning 14-3 at halftime

2011-09-10T20:14:00.004-05:00

The play of the game so far was when Coach Franklin sprinted down the field to grab Jerron Seymour, who was celebrating his 40-yard touchdown run, escort him off the field and then give him an earful.

That gave us a 14-3 lead that stands at halftime. After giving up a bunch of long runs and a field goal to UConn on the opening drive, we started swarming on defense. Good to see Vince Taylor flying around out there in his first game, and good to see Javon Marshall grab a big drive-killing pick at the end of the half. Other highlights:

• Chris Boyd grabbed a 42-yard touchdown pass on the first drive, his third in two games.
• Seymour looked great with 65 yards on four carries.
• We outgained UConn 162-137 yards.
• Chris Marve is a stud, of course.
• Tristan Strong also excelled in the first half.
• We played a bunch of defensive linemen, who all played well and look interchangeable.
• We're winning the turnover battle, two to one.

Some things to be concerned about:
• Our offense had the ball for only 11:55 of the first half, so our defense, as usual, was on the field for a long time.
• Larry Smith is running for his life out there.
• Richard Kent has had a couple of band punts.

But hey, we're winning 14-3.

What will James Franklin do when Vandy hits the wall?

2011-09-10T09:59:00.005-05:00

The test of this Vandy team and especially Franklin and his staff will come when the Commodores hit the wall.

It will happen. I promise. Franklin knows it will happen.

Remember in 2008 when we were 5-0 and on a roll? I went to the next game, in Starkville, with the Bulldogs having already hit rock-bottom with a loss to Louisiana Tech. Miss State was a bad team, Croom was an idiot, etc. But the Bulldogs had better athletes, especially on defense, and we couldn't move the ball. We lost and had to listen to cowbells.

Then we started losing again: Georgia and Florida could be expected, but Duke was a bummer. We looked terrible, our offense looked terrible.

Meanwhile, Bobby Johnson and Ted Cain and friends just kept doing the same thing on offense and expecting our luck to change. Johnson, if you recall, kept talking about execution. (Which brings to mind what the old Tampa Bay Coach John McKay said when somebody asked him about the execution of his players and he said, "I'm in favor of it.")

I would submit that we won a bowl that season because fate intervened and Johnson was forced to make decisions that he should have been making anyway.

Remember what got us over the hump? Beating Kentucky in Lexington to become bowl eligible. Why did we beat Kentucky? Because D.J. Moore made two spectacular touchdown catches in the first half. Why was D.J. Moore playing wide receiver? Because Jamie Graham was hurt and didn't make the trip. Sure, D.J. had played offense before but in spot duty.

Remember how we couldn't move the ball against Boston College in the Music City Bowl because of B.J. Raji and that other gigantic defensive tackle? But we won because of special teams magic and a whole lot of luck, right? But why were we in the position to win in the first place? Because we caught the Eagles off guard with two long passes in the first quarter to set up two field goals and post a 6-0 lead. Why were we able to throw those two long passes, which were both right on the money? Because Johnson took the wraps off redshirt freshman Larry Smith, playing him in the last game of the season and then in the bowl game. Why did he take the wraps off Larry? Because Nickson and Adams were hurt and he had no choice.

So Johnson led us to the promised land in 2008 because he made some key personnel and strategic decisions — he thought outside the box, if you will — when we hit the wall and had no hope.

But he was forced to make those decisions, because he was loyal to his players and he valued the ability to execute the game plan over the ability to make plays.

I don't think James Franklin will make key changes or shake things up only after being forced by injuries or acts of God to do so.

Franklin wants to score now. He's an offensive-minded guy. If we hit the wall and can't generate points, he's going to do something about it, and sooner rather than later.

Why is he continuously defending Larry? Because Larry hasn't failed him yet. If he does, then Franklin will try something else, if it's for one play or the rest of the game or the rest of the season.

Franklin talks all the time about playmakers. He's starting the season with his most experienced guys, but don't think he won't burn the redshirt off a kid in a heartbeat who can make plays. Sure, conventional wisdom and Twitter say Josh Grady will redshirt. James Franklin won't hesitate to use Josh if he thinks he can play better than Larry or Aaron Rodgers.

This is about much more than playing freshmen, of course. This is about taking a chance before it's too late. It's not about being content with three-and-outs and hoping your defense and special teams can put you in a position to win at the end. It's about trying to figure out right now how to score on the other guy, even when he's shutting you down.

You know, even when we've hit the wall. Which could happen to the Commodores at any time. Like around 6:40 tonight.

And I'll be interested to see what Franklin does when we hit the wall. To me, at this point, it's more important for this team to move the ball consistently and handle adversity with confidence, creativity and aggression than it is for us to get lucky and win.

You know how Vandy's luck always seems to run out, especially toward the end of the season? Well, Franklin's working toward building a team that isn't so dependent on blind luck. For starters, he's recruiting more playmakers, which takes confidence, creativity and aggression. Whether we win or lose tonight, and this echoes what VandyGal said in a recent comment, I think we're headed in the right direction.

Vandy’s odds getting smaller on paper, but still steep

2011-09-08T23:43:00.000-05:00

It’s been about three years since Vandy has won back-to-back games. The last time was in 2008 when we beat Ole Miss in Oxford and then Auburn at home on GameDay.

Our last back-to-back home wins came earlier that same season when we beat South Carolina and then Rice.

Lots of folks think we’ll get it done. We opened as 5.5-point underdogs to Connecticut and have now dropped — or climbed, I guess — to 1-point underdogs, with an over/under of 44 points.

This is going to be a tough, tough game, folks. We can win, but don’t expect us to crush the Huskies. Up front, they’re huge on both sides of the ball. It will be a particularly big challenge for our O-line. They return nine starters on defense and have some big cornerbacks.

It’ll be a big, big test for our offense.

UConn is the kind of team that, historically, we as fans expect to beat because it’s not a big-name team, and it’s the kind of team that, historically, cleans our clock. They beat us when they’d been in Division I for just a year, and now they’re a BCS team (albeit in the worst of all the conferences with an automatic bid.

Oh, and if we do end up being favored in Saturday’s game, don’t forget that historically we seem to perform better as underdogs.

I’m saying this so that (1) we’ll appreciate what we’ve done if we do win and (2) we want all go jump off a bridge if we don’t.

But clearly, this is a team we need to beat if we have hopes of going to a bowl. Should we even have our hopes set so high? I say sure, as long as we don’t go hatin’ on the players and staff if we don’t win this game and our bowl hopes are dashed around midseason.

Vandy gets verbal commitment from 6-foot-8 lineman

2011-09-06T12:33:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend, Vandy landed a verbal commitment from Blake Fromang, a 6-foot-8, 280-pound offensive tackle from Orlando. Fromang was also considering South Florida – are the Bulls sorry they lost Josh Grady or what?

Anyway, James Franklin says that recruiting offensive tackles is a priority for him, as opposed to just stockpiling big multi-purpose linemen. Fromang is a real offensive tackle with the long arms, flexible hips, nimble feet and all-around athleticism you look for in a tackle. He’ll join Barrett Gouger, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound tackle from Chattanooga.

I’m reluctant to even mention how many stars Fromang got, considering that we’re currently playing a couple of two-star true freshmen (Spencer Pulley and Joe Townsend) over a bunch of three-star guys (Grant Ramsay, Jake Bernstein, James Lewis).

But what the heck. Both Fromang and Gouger are consensus three-star recruits, according to Rivals, Scout and ESPN.

Here’s how our recruiting class is shaking out:

• One consensus four-star player: RB Brian Kimbrow

• Five more players with at least one 4-star rating: LBs Darreon Herring and Jacob Sealand and Des Stephen Weatherly, Josh Dawson and Caleb Azubike.

• Five consensus three-star players: WR Jaydrick Declouet, DB Paris Head, ATH Brandon Banks and OLs Fromang and Gouger.

• Four more players who received at least one 3-star rating: DL Ladarius Banks, ATH Jaborian McKenzie, DE Tre Griffin and WR Cory Batey.

• A two-star player: K Colby Cooke

Sure, it won’t mean anything when they hit the field, but at least we’re getting better raw talent than we’ve gotten in the past.

Josh Grady's Twitter post draws the wrath of Franklin

2011-09-05T14:22:00.006-05:00

Coach James Franklin was not pleased with the Tweet that freshman quarterback Josh Grady sent out last week saying he was going to redshirt.

"Thirty seconds after that Tweet, Josh was in my office," he said during today's press conference. "We don't put information out like that. I know he has a big following on his Twitter page, but there's no way he can say that. I don't understand why he'd do that. That was an opportunity for growth and learning for him and for the entire team."

Franklin said Grady could still be called upon to play, especially in the event of injury, and needed to be ready to go.

Grady's by all accounts a smart kid and a good kid, and also a leader who never shies away from the spotlight. But come on dude, let's wait till you actually play to start making headlines.

Speaking of talking with players about redshirting, Franklin said he had a similar conversation with freshman tight end Dillon van der Wal about whether he could contribute to the team now or should sit out a year.

A lot of people on chat boards think van der Wal played on Saturday. He did not. Some people, starting with the folks who keep our own stats, need to learn our roster.

I tell you, I think van der Wal redshirts and I think he's going to be an offensive lineman before he leaves Nashville.

Freshmen compose 80 percent of Vandy's second-team offensive line

2011-09-05T08:04:00.010-05:00

NOTE: This is a work in progress, because no one keeping statistics for Vanderbilt could accurately report who played and who didn't. We're piecing it together using Twitter and lots of eye-witness accounts from you guys. Let us know if this report needs to be updated further. We're getting CSS this week and will be able to watch the game. Many thanks.

So Joe Townsend played in Saturday's game. Know how I know? Because I went on this blog and asked you guys, and AJ replied that Townsend had posted on Twitter that he'd played, so I went to JTownislegend (offensive lineman, vanderbilt mommas boy), where Joe wrote, "Good game! Got some PT! Ready to get better!!"

Ah, so the code has been cracked. Joe did play. Way to go, Joe.

Of course, this would have been easier if the folks who compile the player participation list had noticed Townsend entering the game.

Also, some astute MV! readers noticed that Andrew Bridges also played in the game. The player participation list in the box score listed Bridges and Pulley as the only linemen to play in their first college game. Meanwhile, the game notes released with the box score listed Pulley and Townsend as the only linemen to play in their first game.

Other folks thought they saw Chase White enter the game, but he's not listed on the updated participation chart released today with the rest of the UConn Game Day package. He is still lasted at second team guard.

Good grief. Couldn't somebody get some Vandy math majors to handle this? The folks at Dudley Field have been screwing this stuff up for years, and the only guys who ever get shafted are the offensive linemen.

Vanderbilt has recruited five offensive linemen in each of the past two years. Of those 10 linemen, it appears that only three of them — two true freshmen and one redshirt freshmen — played on Saturday. Logan Stewart, who started half of last season as a true freshman, was injured and did not play.

Townsend, by the way, was by far the lowest rated of any of the 16 linemen on the Vanderbilt roster coming out of high school. In fact, he was headed to MTSU and was offered a scholarship at the last minute when massive lineman Larry Mazyck wasn't able to sign with the Commodores.

Further proof that recruiting ratings aren't everything, and that you can't measure heart. Remember who got a last-minute scholarship in 2010? Fitz Lassing, whose only other offer was I think from Harvard. And he scored the first touchdown of this season.

Anyway, here's a look at all 10 of the linemen from our last two classes, in order of their recruiting rankings based on a compilation of ratings from ESPN, Rivals and Scout:

1. James Lewis, FR: Did not play.

2. Jake Bernstein, FR: Did not play.

3. Grant Ramsay, R-FR: Did not play.

4. James Kittredge, SO: Did not play. Played as true freshman; transferred to Michigan State.

5. Logan Stewart, SO: Did not play. Played as true freshman; currently injured.

6. SPENCER PULLEY, FR: PLAYED AGAINST ELON. Second team guard.

7. Jose Valedon, FR: Did not play.

8. ANDREW BRIDGES, R-FR: PLAYED AGAINST ELON. Second team tackle.

9. Chase White, R-FR: Did not play. Second team guard.

10. JOE TOWNSEND, FR: PLAYED AGAINST ELON. Second team center.

How Vandy's future opponents fared this weekend

2011-09-04T16:27:00.001-05:00

Which of Vandy’s future opponents would we least like to face next week? Probably Alabama, which dispatched Kent State with frightening efficiency. But we’d also have trouble matching up with the freakish collection of athletes from South Carolina, not to mention a bunch of angry Bulldogs from Georgia, a talented team that was taken to school by a supposedly weaker Boise State team that also happened to be No. 5 in the nation.

Teams we wouldn’t mind facing next week? How about Ole Miss, which choked against BYU, lost its top two running backs and has hit rock-bottom? We face the Rebels week after next. Or you could also go with Army, which got throttled by Northern Illinois, or a Kentucky team that looked inept for most of its snoozefest with Western Kentucky.

Here’s how all of Vandy’s future opponents fared:

Sept. 10 — CONNECTICUT (Unranked; 1-0): Won at home 35-3 over Fordham.
Sept. 17 — OLE MISS (Unranked; 0-1): Lost 14-13 at home to BYU.
Sept. 24 — at SOUTH CAROLINA (No. 12; 1-0): Defeated East Carolina 56-37 in Charlotte.
Oct. 8 — at ALABAMA (No. 2, 1-0): Won at home 48-7 over Kent State.
Oct. 15 — GEORGIA (No. 19; 0-1): Lost 35-21 to No. 5 Boise State in Atlanta.
Oct. 22 — ARMY (Unranked; 0-1): Lost 49-26 at Northern Illinois.
Oct. 29 — ARKANSAS (1-0): Won at home 51-7 over Missouri State.
Nov. 5 — at FLORIDA (No. 22; 1-0): Won at home 41-3 over Florida Atlantic.
Nov. 12 — KENTUCKY (Unranked; 1-0): Defeated Western Kentucky 14-3 in Nashville.
Nov. 19 — at TENNESSEE (Unranked; 1-0): Won at home 42-16 over Montana.
Nov. 26 — at WAKE FOREST (Unranked; 0-1): Lost 36-29 in overtime at Syracuse.

Jerron Seymour and Spencer Pulley burn redshirts — Did Joe Townsend? Did Andrew Bridges play?

2011-09-04T15:27:00.004-05:00

Last year, Robbie Caldwell apparently decided to burn everybody’s redshirt trying to land the full-time head coaching job. In all, he played 12 true freshmen, including guys like Fitz Lassing and Chase Garnham who saw little action other than special teams. Before Caldwell, Bobby Johnson redshirted nearly everybody. That’s why this year’s roster has seven redshirt seniors, all of whom are starters or who’ve started in the past.

Though he talked on signing day about not believing in redshirting, James Franklin apparently meant he didn’t believe in telling hotshot new recruits that he believed in redshirting.

The only true freshman to see any significant playing time on Saturday was Jerron Seymour, who spelled a gimpy Zac Stacy and touched the ball six times for a total of 42 yards, with his longest plays being a 21-yard reception and a 14-yard run.

Spencer Pulley also jumped into some action at guard, when starter Jabo Burrow missed a play, and I think saw some mop-up duty later.

I confess to not seeing the game. I’m changing cable providers and getting CSS before the Vandy-UConn, so I’ll have both of the unofficial Vandy networks, CSS and ESPNU. It ticks me off how unreliable the final report is on the official Vanderbilt athletic site. The http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/090311aae.html say that true freshman Joe Townsend also played in the game but redshirt freshman Andrew Bridges did not, but the list of game participants in the box score lists Bridges but not Townsend.

Let me know if you saw Townsend and/or Bridges in the game, and if you saw any other true freshmen playing.

We know Seymour and Pulley played – two true freshmen at the least – and maybe Townsend too for a total of three. If Townsend played and Bridges didn’t then none of the offensive linemen in the 2010 signing class – Bridges, Chase White, Grant Ramsay and the injured Logan Stewart – played against Elon while we burned the redshirts off Pulley and Townsend. That’s disappointing.

The other guys who saw their very first NCAA action on Saturday were:
• Redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Rodgers
• Three walk-ons: cornerback Reggie Ford and linebackers Kellen Williams and Robby Barbieri
• Five redshirt freshmen: receivers Trent Pruitt and Chris Boyd, defensive ends Kyle Woestmann and Thomas Ryan and linebacker/snapper Andrew East – or six if Andrew Bridges actually played.

Other scholarship players, not counting true freshmen, who haven’t played yet are
White, Ramsay, DT Vince Taylor and LB Blake Gowder.

Guys with playing experience who aren’t listed as playing last night include sophomores Logan Stewart, who’s injured, and safety Andre Simmons. Not sure what’s up with him.

James Franklin says the Vanderbilt-Elon game was closer than it looked — that's just the way we like it

2011-09-04T12:44:00.007-05:00

You know what I liked best about Coach James Franklin's post-game comments? One of the first things he said was this: "The game was a lot closer than the score indicated."

The purpose of a game like Elon should be to get better and to prepare yourself for the rest of the season, not to enjoy whipping another team and to strut around like you're a big deal.

While some of our fans wanted to win 100-0, Franklin wanted to win the game and be in a position to win more games. After the game he said we need to work on these things:

• Getting more three-and-outs on defense.
• Having less three-and-outs on offense.
• Making more big plays on special teams.
• Improving our third-down conversion rate.
• Maintaining the level of aggressiveness in play-calling.

This last one will be tough when we start playing the Alabamas and Floridas of the world. It's one thing to go for it on fourth down against Elon; it's entirely another to run Micah Powell off tackle on fourth down against an SEC defense.

The other thing Franklin said that I liked was that "we've got a lot of work to do."

Really, last night's victory was no different than 2008's win over Western Carolina or 2009's win over Eastern Michigan, both of which constituted half our victories for an entire season.

I do like that we got the ball to young guys like Boyd, Tate, Lassing and Jerron Seymour, but we did that in the 2008 opener too. I like that we took some risks, but we did that in the 2009 opener too. I liked that we didn't burn the redshirts off a bunch of kids, but Bobby Johnson had the same strategy in every opener he coached.

As Vandy fans, we've counted a lot of chickens before they've hatched. We sorely wanted to do that when the Malzahn rumors were flying around, and Franklin's hiring prevented us from doing that and left us trying to figure out who this guy was. We had no choice but to wait and see what happens with Franklin and our team. In the past nine months, we've seen a lot of stuff to get excited about, but the chickens haven't hatched yet.

All we can do is sit back and watch it happen. I feel good about it, but I'm not going to say we've arrived yet, and Franklin certainly isn't either.

One final note: I really like how our schedule is set up this year:

1. It started with an FCS team that has never beaten an FBS team.
2. Next up is a solid bowl team that, like last year's Northwestern team, we're capable of beating.
3. Then an SEC team, Ole Miss, that poses a serious challenge for both our offensive and defensive lines, but is also a team that we've beaten before and can beat again.
4. Then SEC East champion South Carolina.
5. Then an open date followed by a date with the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide.

It gets progressively tougher, and we'd be wise not to gloat over any victories before we face South Carolina in Columbia on Sept. 24. You think we had trouble stopping Aaron Mellette? Um, ever heard of Alshon Jeffery?

Let's play ’em one game at a time and see what happens.

Vandy leading by only a TD early in third quarter

2011-09-03T20:22:00.002-05:00

Not exactly what we'd hoped.

Early in the third quarter, we're leading Elon 21-14 and have given up about 270 yards to the Phoenix while gaining much less than that.

Zac Stacy appears to have multiple injuries. Micah Powell and Jerron Seymour appeared in the backfield a few minutes ago, but no Warren Norman yet. Seymour looks sharp.

Larry looks confident and had two big fourth down plays including a 16-yard touchdown.

It is distressing how many yards we've allowed through the air considering our secondary is supposedly the strength of our team.

True freshman Spencer Pulley replaced Jabo Burrow for a play.

Just some random thoughts. I think we'll win this one, but it's not pretty. Thanks goodness we're not playing Utah State right now.

Jerron Seymour will play as a true freshman — but who'll join him?

2011-09-02T19:30:00.004-05:00

Why, on the eve of the season opener, does Josh Grady know he’s redshirting? Because we’re playing our weakest opponent first.

Last year, Vandy opened with Northwestern, a polished FBS team coming off an overtime bowl loss to Auburn. We figured that game would go down to the wire, which meant we were only going to play our starters, top backups, and the guys we planned to use all season on special teams.

Tomorrow, though, a good number of players will likely see their only playing time of the year. This will include little-used upperclassmen and a merry band of walk-ons.

It won’t include true freshmen. That’s because the coaching staff is not about to deploy a promising young talent like Josh Grady whom they don’t plan to play against the remaining teams on our schedule. That would just waste a year of eligibility.

It’ll be interesting to see which true freshmen play against Elon, because those will be the guys who fit into our plans for the season. And the freshmen who don’t play? They’ll likely see the field only in the event of injuries to players ahead of them on the depth chart.

We think the guys with the best bet to play this season are skill players who can help immediately on special teams and be playmakers for us on either side of the ball. Franklin has said from the beginning of camp that he hopes to redshirt all the offensive linemen, and he’s talked about our defensive ends “growing into the position” and our tight ends gaining weight and becoming dominating blockers. That takes time.

Anyway, here’s our best guess as to which true freshmen will definitely burn their redshirts this season:

1. Jerron Seymour, RB: We need this guy on the field, regardless of whether Warren Norman is healthy or not. Hopefully he’s healed from whatever kept him out of practice last week. Remember how Auburn put a fresh Michael Dyer into games late to wear down opponents? Seymour’s short, sure, but he’s a real weapon.

2. Derek King, CB: We haven’t had a cornerback redshirt since, well, forever. King’s got the body and the skills to play right away. The depth chart is filled for the time being with Hayward, Wilson, Hal, Foster and Clarke, but we think King starts the season knocking heads on special teams and works up from there.

3. Lafonte Thourogood, ATH: Sure, he’s our fourth or fifth string quarterback. But he’s also one of our best athletes, and he came to Vandy so he could get on the field and play. What message does it send to recruits to park a flashy young signee like Thourogood on the bench (unless the kid is really serious about investing a couple of years into becoming an SEC quarterback)? He’s missed a lot of practice time in camp, but I have a hunch that by the time we reach the heart of the SEC schedule we will have figured out a way to get him on the field and get him the ball.

4. Mitchell Hester, RB: Remember that by the end of last season Stacy and Norman were injured and DB Eric Samuels was carrying the ball. Franklin knows he needs a stable of running backs in the SEC, and Hester would be an asset on special teams too.

5. Andrew Williamson, S: Just a hunch, but Williamson set himself apart from the other two freshmen safeties. He’s a hard hitter who can start out on special teams and help out at linebacker in a pinch.

6. Jacquese Kirk, CB/WR: Another hunch. He’s been quiet in camp, but he’s way more athletic than receivers Umoh and Cole. His best position is probably corner, and he’d be an asset on special team coverage units.

7. Jimmy Franklin, S: We’ve got a whopping six safeties jammed into our two-deep depth chart, but Franklin’s a fast, strong kid who could help immediately on special teams.

Here’s what it would take for these other guys to get on the field:

1. Spencer Pulley, OL: If Logan Stewart can’t return from injury, Josh Jelesky can’t adapt to his new position, or at least one of the redshirt freshmen (White, Bridges, Ramsay) struggle.
2. Joe Townsend, OL: If Logan Stewart can’t return from injury and then Wesley Johnson is injured. Townsend is currently listed as second team center, but Stewart would replace him there if he can return from his mystery injury.
3. Barron Dixon, DT: If a couple of the five tackles ahead of him get injured or struggle, or if he proves to already be significantly better than one of the other guys in the rotation.
4. Josh Grady, QB: If both quarterbacks ahead of him are injured.
5. Darien Bryant, DE: If Walker May can’t return from injury and if he proves to be significantly better than sophomore Thad McHaney.
6. Steven Scheu, TE: If either Barden and Monahan are injured, or maybe both. We could go with van der Wal, but Scheu seems to be more game-ready as a pass-catching tight end.

Will definitely redshirt:
• Jahmel McIntosh, S: Could land a spot on special teams, but there are two true freshman safeties ahead of him.
• Jake Bernstein, OL: If we have a spate of injuries, he could be ready to go at guard, but Pulley and Townsend are ahead of him right now.
• James Lewis, OL: This guy will be special at tackle, but already has gotten off to a slow start by being injured.
• Dillon van der Wal, TE: An enormous athlete who needs some time to develop and find the right position.
• Jose Valedon, OL: Seems to be at the bottom of the freshman linemen for the time being.
• Jimmy Stewart, DE: Needs to put on some weight. Similar to Walker May a couple of years ago.
• Kris Kentera, QB: A project who’s going to need some time.
• Conor Hart, DT: A fast, good-looking lineman who just needs to put on weight.

Is Josh Grady really redshirting? And what does this mean for Lafonte Thourogood?

2011-09-02T10:34:00.009-05:00

Our pals over at Anchor of Gold noticed that Josh Grady told his legion of Twitter followers today that he's redshirting — or 'redshirtin" — but don't mock this kid's grammar because he'll probably be a brain surgeon one day.

Anyway, does this mean Grady is really redshirting? What it means, I think, is that Grady won't play against Elon — in hopes that he'll be able to redshirt and become a four-year starter — but he'll also travel with the team as the No. 3 quarterback and will be available if Smith and Rodgers go down.

Vandy does this every year. In the Music City Bowl season, true freshmen Rob Lohr and Colt Nichter were the fourth and fifth defensive tackles on the team. That's not fourth and fifth string, that's second team for Lohr and third team for Nichter. In other words, if just one person in the three man rotation — of Greg Billinger, Adam Smotherman and T.J. Greenstone — had gone down with injury, then Lohr would have burned his redshirt. And if another guy had been injured or unavailable to play, then Nichter would have burned his.

Remarkably, we won our first bowl game in 53 years with a team that played only three defensive tackles all year, and Lohr and Nichter were redshirted after all.

But last season, we planned to redshirt Logan Stewart and James Kittredge. Then Joey Bailey was injured and Kittredge took his place and burned his redshirt, but we needed another option at center so Logan Stewart burned his redshirt too and held down the position for the second half of the season.

No, Josh Grady won't be taking meaningless snaps in mop-up duty tomorrow night. If we're taking Elon to the woodshed late in the fourth quarter and Jordan Rodgers has already seen a good bit of action, you may see walk-on John Townsley get some snaps.

But you never know. Remember Tennessee's No. 3 quarterback in the Vols' season opener with UCLA in 1994? The starter was fifth-year senior Jerry Colquitt, the backup was a junior by the name of Todd Helton, and the third stringer was a true freshman named...

...Yes, Peyton Manning. And the No. 4 QB was another blue-chip true freshman named Branndon Stewart.

In that game, Colquitt went down early with a career-ending injury and was replaced by Helton, who quickly demonstrated why he was wise to concentrate on baseball. Then Coach Phil Fulmer burned the redshirt off Manning, which was no huge surprise, but then he also burned the redshirt off Stewart.

So by halftime of the season opener, Fulmer had played four quarterbacks and burned the redshirts off two of them.

Off course, Manning quickly emerged as the starter, Helton quit to hone his skills for the MLB draft, and Stewart transferred to Texas A&M, where he quarterbacked the Aggies to an upset over undefeated Kansas State in the 1998 Big 12 Championship Game, which paved the way for Tee Martin and the Vols (Peyton had graduated and was playing for the Colts) to face a lame-duck Florida State team in the national championship game.

But we digress. Grady will redshirt for now. He's the most game-ready of our three freshmen quarterbacks. Kris Kentera, a project who needs at least another year learning to be a passing quarterback, will almost certainly redshirt.

But what about Lafonte Thourogood? I noticed a Tweet from a Virginia Tech fan saying he wanted the Hokies to join the SEC just so they could make Vandy pay for stealing Thourogood from them on signing day.

To become an SEC quarterback, Thourogood needs a redshirt year more than Grady does. But by most accounts Thourogood would have a bigger impact as a true freshman playing wide receiver or running the wildcat than Grady would.

Franklin has made it clear that the ball's in Thourogood's court when it comes to playing other positions. He gave him his word that Lafonte would have a legitimate shot at quarterback, which is going to take longer than a preseason camp and will require his total concentration. But Franklin's also said that Lafonte's too good an athlete to keep off the field.

Which leaves us these options:

1. Thourogood redshirts. He's missed most of preseason camp and hasn't had time to learn the ropes at quarterback. You let him and Grady redshirt and compete against each other in practice, Grady getting some reps with the second and third teams and Thourogood running the scout team. Then in spring practice you have a showdown to determine who sticks at QB and who moves to another position.

2. Thourogood multi-tasks. He's getting healthy and getting adjusted to college life, but you go ahead and start working him into the game plan and figuring out how to get him some touches. If Rodgers and Smith are both injured, you preserve Grady's redshirt and play Thourogood, especially if it's late in the season and nothing's on the line.

3. Thourogood moves. Is there any doubt that Thourogood, a four-star receiver, would be playing against Elon if he weren't a quarterback? Everybody's fallen in love with the idea of Josh Grady as the future leader of the team, and he's surprised everybody with his arm strength, so who's to say Thourogood hasn't seen the writing on the wall and has already pulled the plug on his little experiment at quarterback?

I don't think we'll know for a while which option will be employed. Even if we see Thourogood enter the game at receiver tomorrow, we still won't know his future plans. Unfortunately, Thourogood isn't quite as transparent as Grady — or as chatty on the Internet.

UPDATE: MV! prediction: Vandy wins five games in 2011

2011-09-01T22:09:00.006-05:00

***UPDATE: So you wanted scores to go along with our game predictions. Not a problem. We can make ups some scores. DKH***

I’ve picked us to win six regular season games in each of the last three years. This looked brilliant in 2008, and utterly stupid in 2009 and 2010. Not gonna do it again this year.

I think we win four or five games this season. The best we could do is seven, the worst is the all-too-familiar two victories.

Let’s go with five. Here's how:

• Elon: WIN 31-10. A workman-like victory over the Phoenix.
• UConn: WIN 24-23. A hard-hitting game similar to last year’s Northwestern opener except we win.
• Ole Miss: LOSE 21-17. Most Vandy fans have already chalked this one up as a victory, but the Rebels still have more overall talent, especially on the lines, and we may drop this one.
• At South Carolina: LOSE 31-21. Pretty close, but the Gamecocks have too many playmakers.
• At Alabama: LOSE 31-3. We have trouble moving the ball as can be expected against the Tide D.
• Georgia: LOSE 24-10. We usually play the Dawgs close at home and this year’s no exception, but they have too many athletes in the end, especially on the defensive line.
• Army: WIN 27-17. A fun game and a solid win, especially after a string of demoralizing conference losses.
• Arkansas: LOSE 34-17. The Razorbacks are too loaded.
• At Florida: LOSE 26-10. We had our chance last season and got smoked. Expect the Gators to be much improved this season.
• Kentucky: WIN 28-24. A rare and encouraging late-season victory.
• At Tennessee: LOSE 17-14. As much as we like to think the Vols have slipped to our level, they still have lots of talent and will be tough to beat in Knoxville.
• At Wake Forest: WIN 31-25. This will be tougher than you think. Let’s say we squeak this one out.

Calm down, people: Let's just beat Elon and move on

2011-09-01T12:36:00.004-05:00

Apparently, Elon coach Jason Swepson told a North Carolina television station that "the good thing is that Elon knows how win games and Vanderbilt is still trying to figure that out."

I've read some online comments from Vanderbilt fans who've responded with incredulity ("How dare they say we don't know how to win!"), insults ("Have you seen how unathletic the Elon players look on film?") and plans of vengeance ("No score is too high, let's make them pay!").

Good grief. If our team needs a little bulletin board material, so be it. But our experience as perennial underdogs should teach our fans to be gracious to other underdogs, before and after we whip them. True, Vandy has struggled to win, and yes, Elon has a nice FCS program. We are an SEC team and SEC teams are always expected to beat FCS programs. I applaud the Phoenix or the Fighting Christians or whatever they are these days for believing they can win.

We prove absolutely nothing by beating Elon by 10 touchdowns. Hammering those guys won't make games with Ole Miss or UConn or any of our remaining opponents any easier.

Two years ago, we destroyed Western Carolina in our season opener. Remember that? We had two true freshmen, Warren Norman and Zac Stacy, who rushed for more than 100 yards and another true freshman, Eric Samuels, looked like a superstar. We won 1 of our next 11 games.

Oh, and last year, remember the Eastern Michigan game? We destroyed another FBS team. John Cole looked like Jerry Rice. We didn't win another game for the rest of the year, and finished with yet another 2-win season.

Yes, I want our starters to play well, put the game away early in the second half, and get our young guys some experience. Franklin has said himself that he hopes he can play a lot of freshmen in this game because he believes it'll help them next season when they're full-time players.

That's why I want to jump on Elon early. Not so I can gloat about a victory over somebody we should beat handily.

What does it say about a team that beats a team with considerably less talent and then jumps around like they've just won the Super Bowl? I don't want to root for a team like that.

We're an SEC team. SEC teams take care of business against FCS teams, and then they move on to the really challenging opponents on their schedule.

Do we really need motivation to play Elon?

You could see Vanderbilt play Tennessee — or Elon, UConn and Army — for $20 through an online broker

2011-08-31T13:30:00.006-05:00

Impressed that the Vandy ticket office has lowered prices for Elon tickets to $12? Don't be. You could get them right now on StubHub for $3, and that's the highest they've been all summer.

While we were on the ticket broker website, we checked on prices for all the other Vandy games this season. Here are all the prices (fees and taxes not included), from least to most expensive:

1. Elon: Nashville. $3
2. Wake Forest: Winston Salem, N.C. $4
3. Connecticut: Nashville. $6
4. Army: Nashville. $10
5. Tennessee: Knoxville. $20
6. Kentucky: Nashville. $23
7. Ole Miss: Nashville. $25
8. Arkansas: Nashville. $35
9. Alabama: Tuscaloosa, Ala. $35
10. South Carolina: Columbia, S.C. $39
11. Georgia: Nashville. $49
12. Florida: Gainesville, Fla. $54

Just two freshmen on the depth chart is a good thing

2011-08-30T18:05:00.004-05:00

So is it a good thing or a bad thing that we have only two true freshmen (center Joe Townsend and guard Spencer Pulley) on our depth chart for the opening game against Elon?

Well, last season we had a whopping eight true freshmen on our depth chart for the opening game against Northwestern, and we went 2-10.

In 2009, we had five true freshmen on our depth chart for the opening game against Western Carolina, and we went 2-10.

And in 2008, we had zero true freshmen on our depth chart for the opening game against Miami-Ohio, and we of course went 7-6 and beat Boston College to win the Music City Bowl.

Our only touchdown in that game, by the way, was scored by true freshman Sean Richardson, who was on the punt coverage team.

So maybe it's a good thing that we're not relying on a bunch of true freshmen to carry us in the first game.

Here's how many true freshmen played in each of those seasons:

• 2010: Thirteen — WR Jordan Matthews, WR Jonathan Krause, OL James Kittredge, OL Logan Stewart, S Kenny Ladler, S Andre Simmons, K Carey Spear, LB Chase Garnham, CB Andre Hal, CB Steven Clarke, S Karl Butler, DT Jared Morse and TE Fitz Lassing.

• 2009: Seven — RB Zac Stacy, RB Warren Norman, CB Eddie Foster, CB Trey Wilson, CB Eric Samuels, WR Collin Ashley, WR Brady Brown.

• 2008: Two — CB Casey Hayward and S Sean Richardson.

Being on the opening day roster doesn't ensure that a true freshman will play. Last season, Chase White was listed as a second-team tackle on opening day and through much of the season, but he never played and was redshirted. Meanwhile, the other two true freshmen offensive linemen on the roster, James Kittredge and Logan Stewart, both burned their redshirts playing center after starter Joey Bailey went down. Kittredge was thrown into the fire first, struggled, and was replaced by Stewart, who finished out the season.

Brandon Barden and Barron Dixon are MV! fan favorites

2011-08-30T04:18:00.002-05:00

I know you’ve been wondering what happened to our exciting poll. Well, we’ve tallied all the numbers and come up with the first annual MV! TOP 25 VU PLAYERS and the first annual MV! TOP 10 VU FRESHMEN. That means the 25 players and 10 freshmen you think will see the most meaningful playing time at their respective positions.

Here goes:

MV! FAN TOP 25
1. Brandon Barden, TE, R-SR (97 percent)
2. Casey Hayward, CB, SR (96 percent)
3. Chris Marve, LB, R-SR (94 percent)
4. Warren Norman, RB, JR (94 percent)
5. Wesley Tate, ATH, R-SO (94 percent)
6. Sean Richardson, S, SR (92 percent)
7. Zac Stacy, RB, JR (92 percent)
8. Tim Fugger, DE, R-SR (92 percent)
9. T.J. Greenstone, DT, R-SR (91 percent)
10. Kenny Ladler, S, SO (88 percent)
11. Jordan Matthews, WR, SO (88 percent)
12. Rob Lohr, DT, R-JR (88 percent)
13. Walker May, DE, R-SO (88 percent)
14. Kyle Fischer, OL, R-SR (86 percent)
15. Jonathan Krause, WR, SO (86 percent)
16. Ryan Seymour, OL, R-JR (86 percent)
17. Javon Marshall, S, R-SO (85 percent)
18. Kyle Woestmann, DE, R-FR (84 percent)
19. Wesley Johnson, OL, R-SO (81 percent)
20. Eddie Foster, CB, JR (80 percent)
21. Larry Smith, QB, R-SR (78 percent)
22. Colt Nichter, DT, R-JR (77 percent)
23. Chase Garnham, LB, SO (75 percent)
24. Austin Monahan, TE, R-JR (71 percent)
25. Trey Wilson, CB, JR (70 percent)

MV! FAN TOP 25: THE FRESHMEN
1. Barron Dixon, DT (42 percent)
2. Derek King, CB (36 percent)
3. Jacquese Kirk, ATH (33 percent)
4. Dillon van der Wal, TE (33 percent)
5. Lafonte Thourogood, ATH (25 percent)
6. Darien Bryant, DE (23 percent)
7. Jerron Seymour, RB (22 percent)
8. Spencer Pulley, OL (21 percent)
9. Jake Bernstein, OL (18 percent)
10. Josh Grady, QB (16 percent)

Feel free to disagree, but remember that these are not the official picks of the MV! staff. These are fan picks. We’ll share our own thoughts, especially our annual look at which freshmen have the best shot at playing this season, in a day or two.

Only two true freshmen on Vanderbilt depth chart

2011-08-29T15:36:00.004-05:00

Coach James Franklin released his depth chart today, without a ton of surprises. Only two true freshman, offensive linemen Joe Townsend and Spencer Pulley, are on the depth chart, but Franklin says he plans to play as many guys as he possibly can against Elon, to include true freshmen.

The differences between the sneak-peek starting lineup that Jeff Lockridge gave fans last week and the real deal are these:

• Wide receiver: Jonathan Krause and Udom Umoh are listed as starters ahead of John Cole.
• Defensive end: Johnell Thomas, instead of Kyle Woestmann, is starting opposite Tim Fugger.
• Safety: Kenny Ladler hangs onto his starting free safety job, instead of losing it to Javon Marshall.

Here’s a breakdown, position by position:

QUARTERBACK
Who’s on first? R-SR Larry Smith
Who’s on second? R-JR Jordan Rodgers
Who’s not mentioned? FR Josh Grady, FR Kris Kentera, FR Lafonte Thourogood
Any surprises? No. Smith has all the physical tools Franklin is looking for. Rodgers, limited in practice, may yet show he has the intangibles. Grady is the clear No. 3.

RUNNING BACK
Who’s on first? JR Zac Stacy
Who’s on second? JR Warren Norman and R-JR Micah Powell
Who’s not mentioned? FR Jerron Seymour and FR Mitchell Hester
Any surprises? Only that Powell, strictly a role player, is ahead of the freshmen. Stacy looks as sharp as ever while Norman hasn’t completely returned from injury. Seymour, who’s been hobbled lately, could be a star as early as this season.

FULLBACK
Who’s on first? SO Fitz Lassing
Who’s on second? R-SO Mason Johnston
Who’s not mentioned? R-SO Marc Panu
Any surprises? Only that Johnston, who lined up in the backfield some last year, is now listed at fullback, though he’s certainly capable there.

WIDE RECEIVER
Who’s on first? SO Jordan Matthews, SO Jonathan Krause and R-SR Udom Umoh
Who’s on second? R-JR Akeem Dunham, R-FR Chris Boyd, R-JR John Cole and R-SO Wesley Tate
Who’s not mentioned? R-FR Trent Pruitt, R-SO Brady Brown, FR Jacquese Kirk
Any surprises? Umoh, who’s had trouble catching the ball in practice, is listed ahead of Cole as the third receiver in the event the team doesn’t open with a fullback. Boyd is apparently returning from injury and Tate is learning the ropes.

TIGHT END
Who’s on first? R-SR Brandon Barden
Who’s on second? R-JR Austin Monahan
Who’s not mentioned? FR Dillon van der Wal and FR Steven Scheu
Any surprises? No. Expect to see Lassing and Johnston line up here as well.

CENTER
Who’s on first? R-SO Wesley Johnson
Who’s on second? FR Joe Townsend
Who’s not mentioned? SO Logan Stewart and FR Jose Valedon
Any surprises? No. Stewart, who started the second half of last year, wore a red jersey throughout camp, while Johnson proved himself a natural here. Townsend, recruited as a defensive lineman, has jumped ahead of fellow frosh Valedon for the time being.

OFFENSIVE GUARD
Who’s on first? R-JR Jabo Burrow (left) and R-SO Mylon Brown (right)
Who’s on second? FR Spencer Pulley and R-FR Chase White
Who’s not mentioned? R-JR Josh Jelesky and R-FR Grant Ramsay
Any surprises? Only that Jelesky, who moved from defense in preseason, has dropped below two freshmen on the depth chart. He’s a work in progress.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE
Who’s on first? R-JR Ryan Seymour (left) and R-SR Kyle Fischer (right)
Who’s on second? R-FR Andrew Bridges and R-JR Caleb Welchans
Who’s not mentioned? FR James Lewis and FR Jake Bernstein
Any surprises? No. Bernstein could play guard this season, while the highly regarded Lewis has been injured.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Who’s on first? R-JR Rob Lohr and R-JR Colt Nichter
Who’s on second? SO Jared Morse and R-SR T.J. Greenstone
Who’s not mentioned? R-FR Vince Taylor, FR Barron Dixon and FR Conor Hart
Any surprises? Not really. Nichter had a spectacular preseason, beating out Greenstone. Expect to hear from Taylor and maybe even Dixon before season’s end.

DEFENSIVE END
Who’s on first? R-SR Tim Fugger and R-JR Johnell Thomas
Who’s on second? R-FR Kyle Woestmann, R-SO Thad McHaney and R-SO Walker May
Who’s not mentioned? R-JR Dexter Daniels, R-FR Thomas Ryan, FR Darien Bryant and FR Jimmy Stewart
Any surprises? Yeah. Woestmann has been penciled in as a starter since spring but now Thomas, who’s surprised coaches with his athleticism, appears to be the opening day starter.

LINEBACKER
Who’s on first? R-SR Chris Marve (middle), SO Chase Garnham (strongside), R-JR Tristan Strong (weakside)
Who’s on second? R-JR Archibald Barnes, R-JR DeAndre Jones, R-JR Al Owens
Who’s not mentioned? R-FR Andrew East and R-FR Blake Gowder
Any surprises? No. Garnham’s had a great camp, and Strong reportedly had an edge over Barnes. Expect to see safeties enter the game instead of Jones and Owens.

CORNERBACK
Who’s on first? SR Casey Hayward and JR Trey Wilson
Who’s on second? SO Andre Hal, JR Eddie Foster and SO Steven Clarke
Who’s not mentioned? FR Derek King
Any surprises? No. Coaches have raved about the development of Wilson. King will likely begin as a special teams star.

SAFETY
Who’s on first? SR Sean Richardson (strong) and SO Kenny Ladler (free)
Who’s on second? R-SO Javon Marshall, JR Eric Samuels, SO Karl Butler, SO Andre Simmons
Who’s not mentioned? FR Andrew Williamson, FR Larry Franklin and FR Jahmel McIntosh
Any surprises? Not really, though Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean got us all excited talking about Javon Marshall starting ahead of Ladler. We think Marshall could still start, at nickel back. Expect to see all six of these guys playing in big games, though maybe not at the same time.

KICKER
Who’s on first? SO Carey Spear (kickoffs, placekicking)
Who’s on second? R-JR Ryan Fowler
Any surprises? No. Spear, a football player who likes to run down the field and clobber people, has been named special teams captain. Don’t expect Fowler to return for a fifth year.

PUNTER
Who’s on first? R-JR Richard Kent
Who’s on second? R-JR Ryan Fowler
Any surprises? None whatsoever. Kent is the man, and anybody else is an emergency backup.

SNAPPER
Who’s on first? R-FR Andrew East (short and long)
Who’s on second? R-JR Rob Lohr (short) and R-SR Brandon Barden (long)
Any surprises? Nope. East, the rare blue-chip long snapper, gets to show his stuff.

RETURNERS
Who’s on first? R-JR John Cole and SO Jonathan Krause (punt) and JR Eric Samuels (kick)
Who’s on second? R-SO Wesley Tate (kick)
Who’s not mentioned? JR Zac Stacy (punt), JR Warren Norman and SO Andre Hal (kick)
Any surprises? We don’t think Cole and Samuels will be our top returners by season’s end. Norman is a no-brainer if healthy and we’d love to see what Mitchell Hester could do.

The 12 players Vandy can least afford to lose

2011-08-28T13:29:00.002-05:00

Just thinking about the players we can least afford to lose this season. Some superstitious fans hate this kind of talk. If you prefer to call it our most valuable players, that’s great.

You’ll notice some glaring omissions, including guys like Zac Stacy who could make all-conference or surrender his starting position to another veteran (Warren Norman) or even a true freshman (Jerron Seymour). Or a guy like Larry Smith, who’s won a starting job at a critical position but could lose it after one poor performance.

Here’s our list of vital players:

1. LB Chris Marve, R-SR: The heart and soul of our team. If anybody can will us to win, it’s Marve.
2. CB Casey Hayward, SR: A future NFL cornerback and the kind of weapon you need to compete in the SEC.
3. OL Wesley Johnson, R-SO : Our best offensive lineman who can play anywhere on the line.
4. WR Jordan Matthews, SO: The legitimate SEC receiver we’ve been looking for since Earl Bennett left a year early for the NFL.
5. OL Ryan Seymour, R-JR: With Johnson moving to center, he’s by far the best option to play left tackle.
6. TE Brandon Barden, R-SR: A future NFL tight end who’s a versatile weapon capable of making huge plays in big games.
7. S Sean Richardson, SR: A tough hitter and defensive leader. We’ve got a lot of young talent at safety, but we need this guy on the field more than any of them.
8. P Richard Kent, R-JR: No, his leg didn’t fall off last season. He’s rested and booming the ball higher than ever. Could be our unsung hero this year.
9. CB Trey Wilson, JR: Has steadily gotten better every year and is now ready for the action he’ll see when teams throw away from Hayward’s side of the field.
10. WR Jonathan Krause, SO: Lots of questions at receiver, but he and Matthews aren’t among them.
11. OL Kyle Fischer, R-SR: One of our three sure-fire starters on the O-line, he’s one of our largest players, and a seasoned veteran and leader.
12. DE Tim Fugger, R-SR: We’ve got some young talent at end, but Fugger has by far the most experience to go with his speed on the edge.

Cornerbacks grab the attention of Vandy beat writers

2011-08-26T10:03:00.005-05:00

Brandon Barca, the web guy over at the VU athletic department, has a great feature on the official site in which he asked four Vandy writers covering preseason camp to name the players who’ve stood out to them over the past few week.

The names that kept popping up were WR Jordan Matthews, RBs Zac Stacy and freshman Jerron Seymour, DT Colt Nichter, FS Javon Marshall, K Carey Spear and three cornerbacks – SR Casey Hayward, JR Trey Wilson and SO Andre Hal.

CORNERBACKS

Yes, the writers considered Hayward and Wilson to be among the very best players on the team, and Hal to be one of Vandy’s best defensive players.

So here’s what we have returning at cornerback: A preseason All-SEC pick and All-American candidate (Hayward), a returning starter (Eddie Foster, who received no mention from the writers), one of the best players on the entire team (Wilson), and a young guy who’s suddenly become one of our very best defenders (Hal).

Yes, I’d say cornerback’s definitely a team strength.

SAFETIES

Or you could point to the whole secondary, where at safety we have a legitimate All-SEC candidate (Sean Richardson) and a returning starter (Kenny Ladler) but also, according to the writers, another guy who’s suddenly become one of our very best defenders (Marshall) and another young guy who’s been the surprise player of camp (Karl Butler).

DEFENSIVE LINE

The writers also consider defensive line to be a team strength, with Colt Nichter emerging as one of the team’s signature defenders, redshirt freshmen Vince Taylor and Kyle Woestmann showing dramatic improvement, and true freshman Barron Dixon also looking surprisingly sharp. And that doesn’t include returning starters T.J. Greenstone, Rob Lohr and Tim Fugger, or guys like Walker May, Jared Morse and Johnell Thomas.

LINEBACKER

At linebacker, Chase Garnham often looked like one of the defense’s top players, and Tristan Strong also was a surprise.

KICKERS

On special teams, Carey Spear appears to have grabbed the full-time placekicking duties from Ryan Fowler, and Richard Kent has a rested leg – at least for now – and is booming punts.

OFFENSIVE PLAYMAKERS

On offense, Jordan Matthews and Zac Stacy seem head and shoulders above everybody else – literally in Matthews’ case and figuratively in the case of Z.

Among the freshmen playmakers, RB Jerron Seymour had the entire team buzzing about his ability to accelerate and to cut and make tacklers miss. Fellow RB Mitchell Hester and QB Josh Grady also look like keepers. The Tennessean’s Jeff Lockridge says Grady had good arm strength, which was something recruiting sites have been questioning over the past year or so.

Oh, and redshirt junior running back Micah Powell also got a mention for stepping in capably when Warren Norman got injured. With all the little backs we have, Micah may very well be needed to get some tough inside yards or throw some blocks.

OFFENSIVE LINE

On the line, Wesley Johnson and Kyle Fischer look much improved, and Mylon Brown, whom the Tennessean’s Jeff Lockridge says was slow, fat and lazy last year, looks like a powerhouse as a starting guard. And Josh Jelesky, who moved over from defensive tackle, was also a huge surprise. Jesse Johnson of VandySports.com says Jelesky still looks a little light in the lower body (he’s listed at 265) but he’s got great hand technique and is catching on fast. Of the true freshmen, Spencer Pulley turned in the best performance in camp and just may play this year.

WHERE'S MARVE?

Keep in mind that these ink-stained wretches — or tech geeks, take your pick — are trying to show their expertise and originality by mentioning some names they think the other writers won’t mention. Where’s the excitement in naming Chris Marve as one of the team’s top players?

Many veterans who’ve already grabbed starting positions – TE Brandon Barden, QB Larry Smith, OT Ryan Seymour, DE Tim Fugger and yes, Marve – weren’t mentioned by the writers. That’s nothing to be concerned about. Do we really want Chris Marve leaving it all on the practice field? No.

After opening kickoff, it'll be a whole new ballgame.

What are the youngest positions for Vandy football?

2011-08-25T11:05:00.005-05:00

You know how our roster has three true freshmen scholarship quarterbacks? Well, that has us wondering which of our positions are the youngest, and which are the oldest. And no, it’s not always a good thing to be old, as in the case of our linebacking corps. Our youngest position, safety, has nearly as much playing experience as our oldest, linebacker.

Anyway, here’s a ranking from youngest to oldest, with playing experience also listed:

1. SAFETY
Average age: Sophomore
Average years experience: 1.0
Average age of starters: Junior
Our youngest position with only two upperclassmen in a stable of nine players. And the talent is impressive, with four sophomores and three true freshmen with the ability to start in the SEC. Expect some of these guys to play some linebacker this season.

2. OFFENSIVE LINE
Average age: Sophomore
Average years experience: 0.75
Average age of starters: Redshirt junior
Of our 16 offensive linemen, half of them have never played in a college football game, and one redshirt junior has never played the position before.

3. QUARTERBACK
Average age: Sophomore
Average years experience: 0.6
Age of starter: Redshirt senior
Sure, Larry Smith is a redshirt senior, but after that, nobody’s ever played in a college game.

4. RUNNING BACK
Average age: Redshirt sophomore
Average years experience: 1.0
Average age of starters: Junior
Norman and Stacy are veterans, Powell’s played sparingly and then there’s the two true freshmen

5. DEFENSIVE END
Average age: Redshirt sophomore
Average years experience: 0.8
Average age of starters: Junior
A nice mix of youth and age, at least on paper, but next year the influx of 3-4 true freshmen will create some thinning of the herd here.

6. TIGHT END/FULLBACK
Average age: Redshirt sophomore
Average years experience: 1.2
Average age of starters: Redshirt junior
From Barden and Monahan to van der Wal and Scheu, a nice mix of experience and youth.

7. WIDE RECEIVER
Average age: Redshirt sophomore
Average years experience: 0.9
Average age of starters: Sophomore
Our shakiest players are the oldest and our most promising are just getting started.

8. CORNERBACK
Average age: Redshirt sophomore
Average years experience: 1.5
Average age of starters: Junior
Three upperclassmen and three underclassmen. Not a single redshirt in the bunch.

9. DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Average age: Redshirt sophomore
Average years experience: 1.1
Average age of starters: Redshirt junior
Four are upperclassmen and four are underclassmen.

10. LINEBACKER
Average age: Junior
Average years experience: 1.1
Average age of starters: Redshirt junior
By far our oldest position, but after Marve, also our shakiest. And the age is deceptive. Half of our linebackers are redshirt juniors, but they have one start among them. Next year, Marve’s loss will hurt, but the arrival of talented true freshmen will create an overall upgrade.

MV! voters like Eddie Foster starting opposite Hayward

2011-08-25T06:15:00.004-05:00

We've got some talented cornerbacks, and your voting in the MV! Significant Playing Time Poll reflects that. And the winners are...

1. SR Casey Hayward: 96 percent
2. JR Eddie Foster: 80 percent
3. JR Trey Wilson: 70 percent
4. SO Andre Hal: 63 percent
5. SO Steven Clarke: 46 percent
6. FR Derek King: 36 percent
7. FR Jacquese Kirk: 0 percent
7. SO Reggie Ford: 0 percent

Now it's time to vote for safety.