One reason why Vandy's O-line is struggling

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.

Vandy quietly building a talented, deep offensive line

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not bad, huh?

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

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

Surprise! Vandy's weaknesses are still its receivers and offensive linemen

Coach Robbie Caldwell said in last night's press conference that the staff is preparing freshman receivers Jonathan Krause, Jordan Matthews and Chris Boyd to shoulder more of the receiving burden.

Caldwell said that none of the starting receivers could get open. Boy, was that the truth. Know how many receptions starters Cole, Umoh and Wimberly had against LSU?

Zero.

Only two receivers, Krause and junior Tray Herndon, caught passes. The leading receiver was junior tight end Brandon Barden.

So far, Krause is the only freshman with a reception — he's got 5 for 77 yards, but only one against LSU. Matthews has been slowed by tendinitis in his knee, and Boyd hasn't played yet but it sounds like he's getting lots of work in practice and is going to play this season.

Meanwhile, Caldwell was especially tough on his offensive line, guys he coached last season. He said he and Coach Hand thought the linemen could go one-on-one with LSU's D-linemen and block them straight up, which certainly didn't happen. He talked about how young those guys are and how little depth they have. Sounds like they're reluctant to throw the true freshmen (especially Kittredge and Stewart) into the mix, as well they should be.

Vandy fans seem shocked right now that we had trouble moving the ball against LSU. None of this should be a surprise to anybody, though. We knew we had big problems on the line and at receiver, those guys are trying to grow up in a hurry and they're struggling.

Again, it's no surprise. We told you Vandy would be 0-2 right now but we've also told you they'll win six out of their next 10. Sure, maybe that's a stretch and we'll know much more Saturday afternoon after the Ole Miss game, but right now nobody should be surprised or panicked.

Offensive line under serious construction

Saw that Chris Aaron is now working as a student assistant, meaning that he's likely not going to be suiting up this season.

Robbie Caldwell really has his work cut out for him: He's got to win at least four or five games to keep his job even though experts had predicted us to win one or two games WITH Bobby Johnson; he's got only four offensive linemen who've ever played in a college football game (Bailey, Fischer, Seymour, Welchans; Burrow did not play last season); and he's turning the offensive line coach duties over to a new guy, albeit a guy who looks like a great hire.

Here's our offensive line at Christmastime, and what's happened since then:

C: JOEY BAILEY, R-SR: STARTING CENTER
G: KYLE FISCHER, R-JR: STARTING GUARD
G: Reilly Lauer, R-SR: Left school
T: James Williams, R-JR: Left school
T: RICHARD SEYMOUR, R-SO: COMPETING TO START AT TACKLE

• CALEB WELCHANS, R-SO: COMPETING TO START AT TACKLE
• WESLEY JOHNSON, R-FR: COMPETING TO START AT TACKLE
• JABO BURROW, R-SO: STARTING GUARD
• Chris Aaron, R-SO: Season-ending injury
• Justin Cabbagestalk, R-FR: Knee injury, status uncertain
• MYLON BROWN, R-FR: LIKELY IN 7-MAN PLAYING ROTATION
• Rob Ashabranner, R-JR: Left school
• Richard Cagle, R-SO: Left school
• GRANT RAMSAY, FR: WORKING WITH SECOND TEAM AS GUARD
• LOGAN STEWART, FR: WORKING WITH SECOND TEAM AS CENTER
• CHASE WHITE, FR: WORKING WITH SECOND TEAM AS TACKLE
• JAMES KITTREDGE, FR: RECENTLY MOVED FROM DEFENSIVE LINE
• ANDREW BRIDGES, FR: MOST LIKELY TO REDSHIRT

But think about it: If Caldwell can somehow win enough games to avoid the grim reaper this season, then his talented young linemen will be experienced and ready to go in 2011 and 2012, when the rest of the team should be peaking as well.

First day of Vandy football practice and all eyes on the offensive line

A day ago, fans were lamenting that Herb Hand wasn't coming to Vanderbilt because of something they didn't see on his Twitter — or something. But there he was yesterday, coaching up the offensive line.

And he's going to need to do some serious coaching. With no full-time starters returning, the unit is now facing the loss of senior Chris Aaron, whom the official VU site says is NOT going to return from injury (he suffered a concussion in the spring), and redshirt freshman Justin Cabbagestalk, who's struggling with a knee injury.

Some people, including Chris Low of ESPN, had projected Cabbagestalk to be a starter. The shaky status of both C'Stalk and Aaron has prompted the coaches to move James Kittredge (pictured above) from D-Line to O-Line, where he is reported to have looked impressive in yesterday's shorts-and-helmet practice.

Hand doesn't seem too concerned about the lack of experience. "It won't be my first go-around with that," he told the Tennessean. "My first year (2007) at Tulsa we had to replace four starters from the previous year … we did that and we led the nation in total offense that year. I like the challenge of it."

That's exactly the MacGyver-like quality we need in our coaches — here's some bailing wire and duct tape, now win some ballgames.

Take Aaron (6-4, 295) and Cabbagestalk (6-3, 290) out of the mix, and here's what you've got:

• Joey Bailey, R-SR (6-4, 295)
• Kyle Fischer, R-JR (6-6, 310)
• Ryan Seymour, R-SO (6-4, 305)
• Caleb Welchans, R-SO (6-5, 300)
• Jabo Burrow, R-SO (6-4, 285)
• Wesley Johnson, R-FR (6-5, 280)
• Mylon Brown, R-FR (6-5, 310)
• Grant Ramsay, FR (6-5, 285)
• Logan Stewart, FR (6-5, 290)
• James Kittredge, FR (6-4, 270)
• Chase White, FR (6-5, 270)
• Andrew Bridges, FR (6-6, 240)

Only four of these guys — Bailey, Fischer, Seymour and Welchans — have ever played a college football game. (Burrow sat out last season while gaining weight and making the transition to the offensive line.)

Caldwell told a radio station last week that he plans to rotate seven linemen this season. If you take out true freshmen, you're left with seven guys — the four guys with game experience, Burrow, and the two redshirt freshmen, Johnson and Brown.

In other words, some true freshmen will need to step up, especially when the injuries start popping up. Ramsay, who's the most highly touted of the frosh linemen, has told his Facebook friends he believes he may play this season, and Stewart is also big and strong enough to get a shot. White is considered a project at tackle, and Bridges will almost certainly take off a year to get bigger and stronger.

That leaves Kittredge, a tough, confident kid who seems to have a nasty streak and despite being a little light could be a pleasant surprise for us this season.

Meanwhile, let's hope Cabbagestalk's knee allows him to get into games and be productive.

Vanderbilt offensive line loses two more players, but remaining players keep on getting bigger

The Commodores just keep getting thinner on the offensive line. At the start of the year, the team had nine offensive linemen with game experience.

Then Reilly Lauer left school.

Then James Williams was an academic casualty.

Now two more linemen are nowhere to be seen on the Commodores’ latest roster: redshirt junior Rob Ashabranner and redshirt sophomore Richard Cagle.

That leaves Vandy with just five linemen who’ve ever played in a college football game:

• Joey Bailey (6-4, 295; R-Sr)
• Chris Aaron (6-4, 295; R-Sr)
• Kyle Fischer (6-6, 310; R-Jr)
• Ryan Seymour (6-4, 305; R-So)
• Caleb Welchans (6-5, 300; R-So)

Neither Ashabranner nor Cagle was supposed to start, but now four guys with no game experience must step up:

• Wesley Johnson (6-5, 280; R-Fr)
• Jabo Burrow (6-4, 285; R-So)
• Mylon Brown (6-5, 310; R-Fr)
• Justin Cabbagestalk (6-3, 290; R-Fr)

Collectively, these nine guys have gained 134 pounds since last season. Here’s how these clean-plate club members rank:

1. Johnson +30 pounds
1. Burrow +30 pounds
3. Cabbagestalk +25 pounds
4. Seymour +11 pounds
5. Welchans +10 pounds
5. Brown +10 pounds
5. Aaron +10 pounds
8. Bailey +6 pounds
9. Fischer +2 pounds

A couple of these true freshmen, most likely Ramsay and Stewart, could get thrown into the fire too:

• Grant Ramsay (6-5, 285; Fr)
• Logan Stewart (6-5, 290; Fr)
• Chase White (6-5, 270; Fr)
• Andrew Bridges (6-6, 240; Fr)

Test your knowlege of Vanderbilt offensive linemen in our exciting new poll!

OK, OK, so you probably can't name Vandy's 15 offensive linemen right off the top of your head. (You're not cursed like we are.) But our thoughts have turned to the O-Line after the realization that Reilly Lauer, by far our most experienced lineman, has vanished from the roster.

Remember how many hundreds of games last year's offensive line had collectively played and even started? Well, that's a thing of the past — along with Lauer, we've lost Thomas Welch, Bradley Vierling, Ryan Custer and Eric Hensley. Which, by the way, was our starting lineup for most of last season.

Anyway, the results of our wide receiver poll are so interesting that we thought we'd try the same thing with the offensive line. But in the spirit of humility that befits the men in the trenches, we've placed the new O-Line poll under the wide receiver poll.

Here's a quick look at the candidates:

Guys with starting experience:
• Joey Bailey, a redshirt senior, started a few games as a sophomore but played a bunch last season and is our most experienced center.
• Kyle Fischer, a redshirt junior, made freshman All-SEC in 2008 and has started off and on at guard and tackle.
• James Williams, a redshirt junior, burst on the scene in 2009, starting at right tackle and holding his own against the LSU front until breaking his ankle.
• Ryan Seymour, a redshirt sophomore, started for the injured Thomas Welch against Florida and capably protected the Vandy quarterback against the Gators vaunted front seven. Made freshman All-SEC and is being groomed to take over at left tackle.

Guys with playing experience:
• Chris Aaron, a redshirt senior and former walk-on, played some at guard last year and has also been practicing at center.
• Caleb Welchans, a redshirt sophomore, saw substantial action at right tackle and was pushing Reilly Lauer by the end of the season.

Guys with pine time:
• Rob Ashabranner, a redshirt junior, played some quarterback in high school but the comparisons to Thomas Welch end right there.
• Richard Cagle, a redshirt sophomore, was pushed to the bench by classmates Welchans and Seymour.

The redshirt freshmen:
• Wesley Johnson was a coveted prep prospect from Nashville who arrived on campus standing 6-foot-5 but weighing 250. If he's been putting on the pounds, he'll probably crack the starting lineup this season.
• Mylon Brown is the nephew of the late All-Pro Jerome Brown and a beast at 6-foot-6 and well over 300 pounds. The Commodores stole him last year after he seriously injured his leg in high school. He appears to have recovered.
• Justin Cabbagestalk is still in school and appears ready for spring practice.

The true freshman:
• Grant Ramsay is probably the most game-ready, whatever that means, probably at guard. But Bobby Johnson hasn't played an offensive lineman as a true freshman since Hamilton Holliday in 2004. (Corrected 1/21.)
• Logan Stewart is another likely guard, but he's got some pounds to add before he plays.
• Chase White may have the best chance of the true freshman to eventually play tackle, but he's a project who'll need some time. (Chris Williams was a project who needed time.)