Last updated: Saturday, Oct. 10 at 11:12 a.m. CST to include confirmation of Jerkins, Marlow and Kaufman’s absences.
Vanderbilt football will be playing shorthanded on Saturday, as head coach Derek Mason will have just 56 scholarship players active for the contest, a spokesperson for Vanderbilt athletics confirmed. Vanderbilt athletics has not provided a full list of inactives.
It remains unclear who will not suit up, but The Hustler will continue to provide updates as we are able.
During warmups, The Hustler was unable to locate leading tacklers, Dashaun Jerkins and Donovan Kaufman, leading rusher Ja’Veon Marlow and wide receiver Devin Boddie Jr. Marlow, Jerkins and Kaufman, all regular starters, were not on the field for Vanderbilt’s first offensive or defensive possessions. They are presumed to be inactive.
Vanderbilt (0-2) is slated to host South Carolina (0-2) at 11:00 a.m. CST.
Jerkins leads the team with 16 tackles, while Kaufman, a true freshman, is second with 15. Kaufman has also contributed to the Commodores’ special teams unit as a kick returner, taking a kick back for 58 yards against LSU. On Friday night, Kaufman suggested in a since-deleted tweet that he wouldn’t play on Saturday, with a subsequent reply stating he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Marlow has been the Commodores’ top running back through two contests, logging 148 yards on 33 rushing attempts. Marlow will be replaced by Jamauri Wakefield, a close second with 31 rushing attempts, and Keyon Henry-Brooks, who was held out of the past two games with an unspecified illness.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available to The Hustler.
