Theron Kadri back, says he almost made "a big mistake"; meanwhile, Vandy receivers are (mostly) still short

The Tennessean's Jeff Lockridge reports that Theron Kadri has returned to the team. That's good news. With Steven Stone out for at least a month, that means Kadri and Teriall Brannon will back starters Broderick Stewart and Tim Fugger, and they'll get help from redshirt freshmen Johnell Thomas and Josh Jelesky. It also means Walker May can get back to the chow hall and put on some more weight. We'll need you next season, buddy.

“I wasn’t sure if this was the place I needed to stay," Kadri told the Tennessean. "From talking to my teammates who have graduated from here and who are still here now and family members, they all just advised me and helped me through it. And (they) helped me make the right decision and stopped me from making a big mistake.”

The smart thing Kadri did was stay on campus and attend class during the three days he was away from the team. Johnson said Kadri was welcomed back with "open arms," adding: "I think Theron knows for him the best place is Vanderbilt. And we’re glad to have him back.”

After it was announced earlier this week that Kadri was leaving, some Vandy fans said good riddance and called Kadri's career a bust. Not so fast. The guy's only played two seasons, and it's really quite an achievement to avoid a redshirt in a Bobby Johnson program. It means you've got — or will soon get — game.

WIDE RECEIVER UPDATE: John Cole's running well and appears to be recovered from his baffling array of injuries. We really, really need him healthy. Speaking of receivers, much has been made lately of the vertical challenges our receivers face. The likely starters are the 5-11 Cole, plus 5-10 Alex Washington, and 6-0 Udom Umoh. Second teamers, at least on the preseason depth chart, are 5-9 Chris Reinert, 6-0 Tray Herndon and 6-1 Turner Wimberly.

"They’re not basketball players, no," Coach Bobby Johnson said in a video interview on Thursday night.

Actually, redshirt freshman Akeem Dunham was a high school basketball star. He's positively towering at 6-3. Of course, true freshman Brady Brown is 6-4. The other true freshman, Collin Ashley, fits the Vandy mold a little better — he's 5-11.

REINERT NOT YOUR TYPICAL WALK-ON: Nice article in the The Hustler about Chris Reinert, the walk-on receiver from California who's best known for pumping up the crowd in last year's South Carolina game as he was being carried off the field with a broken leg. (The Hustler, by the way, is the name of the Vanderbilt student paper. I must say I enjoyed coming home for Thanksgiving my freshman year and telling my relatives I was writing articles for the The Hustler.) Did you know Reinert actually had a scholarship offer from Stanford? I didn't. He now has a scholarship to play for the Commodores.

True freshman Walker May just may play this season for Vanderbilt

From the out-of-nowhere department, look who's being mentioned as a true freshman who may play right away.

And look in the right-hand column of this page at the which-freshmen-will-play poll and find the only guy who hasn't received a single vote.

Same guy. Walker May, a 6-5, 210-pound freshman from Birmingham, is getting his name in the paper now that Steven Stone's gone down with injury and Theron Kadri has left the team. The Tennessean's Jeff Lockridge and the City Paper's David Boclair are both mentioning May today, and they're getting their information from the same press conferences and practice sessions.

Seems May is the fastest defensive end on the team — he runs a 4.5 40 — and has apparently been having a good preseason and just may get on the field this season after all, even before the more highly touted Thad McHaney.

Of course, the Commodores still have starter Broderick Stewart, heir apparent Tim Fugger, part-time starter Teriall Brannon and talented redshirt freshmen Johnell Thomas and Josh Jelesky, so I'm not terribly worried. Also, they've got a boatload of linebackers — guys like John Stokes and Archibald Barnes — whose names come up from time to time as possibilities to move up and play some end.

So maybe Walker won't play this season. But he didn't come to Vanderbilt to sit on the bench for four years, and he's trying to get on the field sooner rather than later.

Vanderbilt defensive line still looking good despite losing Kadri for good and Stone for the time being

So Chris Low is bemoaning our situation at defensive line, and that was even before he heard Theron Kadri had quit the team.

I'm not worried.

Sure, Steven Stone is out for six weeks or so, and that hurts. And Kadri is gone, and maybe that smarts a little too. But consider the timing: Stone breaks his foot, the coaches start giving all the reps to the guys who'll be in the rotation, and Kadri, who perhaps considered himself to be in line to replace Stone, quits the team.

We don't know why Kadri quit, except for personal reasons, though Johnson said he gave him some information he asked for and then Kadri made the decision to leave.

I think all along Tim Fugger was going to spell Stone and start opposite Broderick Stewart. And we've got redshirt junior Teriall Brannon, who outplayed Kadri last season, and Johnell Thomas, a redshirt freshman who was an absolute beast in the spring. Oh, and Johnson mentioned last night that redshirt freshman Josh Jelesky is looking good too.

And let's not forget that a defensive line also consists of tackles, of which we return the three-man rotation — senior Greg Billinger, redshirt junior Adam Smotherman and redshirt sophomore T.J. Greenstone — that played the entire season, as well as four talented redshirt freshmen — Rob Lohr, Taylor Loftley, Colt Nichter and John Burrow.

So I'm not worried, and Chris Low shouldn't be either.

Theron Kadri one of nine VU players, all defensive, to avoid a redshirt; Zac Stacy to break drought this season

With Bobby Johnson announcing that junior Theron Kadri has left the team for personal reasons, Vandy loses one of only nine players on the roster to avoid a redshirt season and play every season he's been on campus. The others are:

• Senior cornerback Myron Lewis
• Senior linebacker Patrick Benoist
• Senior defensive tackle Greg Billinger
• Senior linebacker Brent Trice
• Senior punter Brett Upson
• Junior linebacker John Stokes
• Sophomore safety Sean Richardson
• Sophomore cornerback Casey Hayward

Not a single offensive player in the bunch, though last season receiver John Cole played as a true freshman and tight end Austin Monahan played as a true sophomore before each suffered year-ending injuries and took redshirts.

This season, Vandy fans could actually see more offensive than defensive players take the field as true freshmen. Probably every true freshman to play on defense will be a defensive back — definitely Eric Samuels, probably Trey Wilson and maybe Eddie Foster and/or Javon Marshall. (Jay Fullam had a good shot too before injurying his hand and requiring surgery.)

On offense, running back Zac Stacy will almost certainly break the drought in the season opener, and fellow tailback Warren Norman could do it too. And who knows? If the injury bug bites, Wesley Tate may get a shot carrying the ball as well. Look for Brady Brown and maybe fellow Texan Collin Ashley to get a nod at receiver, especially if the other wideouts struggle to recover from injuries or, well, to catch passes. And if one of the tight ends goes down, Mason Johnston could get called into duty.