Reports from various media outlets following Vanderbilt Football’s two scrimmages this month were that the defense has the edge over the offense. Between an influx of transfer portal talent and plenty of veteran returning players, head coach and defensive play-caller Clark Lea has had lots of talent to work with on the defensive end. The offense, which lost its top three quarterbacks, top three receivers and a handful of other pieces, has been more of a work in progress.
At practice on Wednesday morning, this development seemed to remain the case. While playmakers have emerged on both sides of the line of scrimmage, the defense seems to have achieved a level of cohesion that the offense is still striving towards. However, that isn’t to say that the defense hasn’t struggled at times, nor that the offense hasn’t shown its fair share of progress.
All signs have pointed towards New Mexico State transfer quarterback Diego Pavia being named the starter. While he’s entrenched in a position battle with Utah transfer Nate Johnson, Pavia has more experience playing. On top of that, Pavia is already familiar with offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s playbook, who worked in the same role at New Mexico State with Pavia last year.
That said, there have been questions regarding Pavia’s ability to take the top off of a defense with his deep ball. He’s done the majority of his damage in college with short and intermediate passing. He’s an excellent scrambler and a scrappy playmaker who can bring plays back from the dead, but the deep ball still needs work. There have been questions about his arm strength during the first couple weeks of fall camp. He missed a couple of longer throws throughout the course of practice. Still, he continues to prove his value in Beck’s offense, which is predicated on options, disruptive movements and quick, sharp passing. Pavia checks all the boxes there, and if his deep ball comes around, it’ll help the short game even more.
Johnson represents an entirely different player. The redshirt sophomore is perhaps one of the fastest quarterbacks in the nation, and can go entirely nuclear with his legs. In terms of raw skills, Johnson has the full package, as his arm strength is stellar too — he just struggles to accurately locate the ball at times, leading to poorly-timed interceptions. Turnovers have plagued the Commodores in recent years, and Lea and Beck have made it a focus of practice to eliminate them. If Johnson can shore up his accuracy and clean up some mistakes, there’s no reason to believe he isn’t right there with Pavia for the starting job.
Other playmakers are continuing to flash on offense. Wide receiver Junior Sherrill and running back Sedrick Alexander looked sharp as well. The sophomore duo each made nice plays during both the drill and full-team portions of practice. Sherrill’s blazing speed and Alexander’s shifty, pass-catching abilities will both function smoothly in the first year of Beck’s offense.
At other positions, the defensive unit seems poised to improve after a dreadful 2023 season. TCU transfer Randon Fontenette should fit nicely into the hybrid safety/linebacker role that CJ Taylor executed last year. Taylor will likely move back to his natural position of safety to help shore up the secondary, which was a huge weakness last season. The defensive line has the most depth it has had in years, with additions like MTSU transfer Zaylin Wood projecting to factor in. Wood will join a line full of veteran presences, with Yilanan Ouattara, Darren Agu, Miles Capers and Devin Lee, along with several others.
Both the offensive and defensive lines should be stronger and more athletic than they were in 2023, thanks to a brand-new strength and conditioning program implemented by director of sports performance Robert Stiner. Lea spoke at the SEC Media Days about how many of the team’s position groups, including both sides of the trenches, put on weight while still maintaining (or gaining) speed.
On special teams, the punting situation is close to crystal clear: Jesse Mirco, a transfer from Ohio State, punted well all practice. He had a handful of 55-plus yard kicks that resembled shades of former punter Matt Hayball, who now plays for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. Freshman Brock Taylor and Senior Will Faris seem to be in a battle for the starting kicker role. Taylor boasts a strong leg, but a lack of experience has left him vulnerable to some inaccurate kicks. On the other hand, Faris has flashed more consistency when it comes to splitting the uprights but doesn’t have the leg strength that Taylor does. This is a competition that will likely continue throughout the next week.
As is often the case with football teams in the new NIL and transfer portal era of college football, there are a lot of questions left for Vanderbilt to answer with just over a week left until opening day. Starters will emerge, and questions will be answered in the days leading up to the Commodores’ clash with Virginia Tech on Aug. 31.
