After all of the change and uncertainty it dealt with this offseason, Vanderbilt Football entered the new year with a resounding bang, upsetting Virginia Tech 34-27 in overtime. It was a team win, but quarterback Diego Pavia was undoubtedly the star of the show, winning SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Vanderbilt was also named the Cheez-It Team Of the Week for its stunning upset. Considering all of this, Lea took the podium with quite the fanfare. He touched on the victory against the Hokies but mostly focused on where the Commodores must go from here.
“I celebrate any shine that is out there for us. These kids work so hard to have success, and I want them to feel the feeling of being celebrated for that success. Everything we want is out in front of us,” Lea said. “I want this to become our new normal.”
The defining moments of the game came down the stretch, in situations where it seemed almost certain that Virginia Tech would emerge victorious. When asked about these moments, Lea pointed to one player in particular that stood out to him — Diego Pavia.
“[Pavia] is very authentic and has a quiet confidence. He’s a proven winner with a track record since high school,” Lea said. “I’ve seen responses to him on a team level that I haven’t seen before. He speaks with his actions and is super consistent. On Saturday, they were ready and willing to follow him.”
Lea was thrilled with the overall intensity and physicality that the Commodores played with on Saturday. He credits a large part of the success to toughness and aggression, especially on defense.
“That first half was the image of what I’ve wanted this program to be for four years. We were complementary. Long drives on offense, forcing turnovers on defense,” Lea said. “We did a very nice job defensively forcing a tough run game outside. On the perimeter, we were physical and aggressive. We limited exposure to their offense and delivered body punches.”
Despite the huge win, Lea made one thing clear: Vanderbilt’s performance was not all sunshine and rainbows. Especially with what he saw in the second half, Lea felt there were some clear issues for the Commodores to work on.
“We need to take our operation to another level. The ball was on the ground way too many times on Saturday, and we need to clean that up,” Lea said. “On defense, I need to put the guys in a better call. The possession that stands out to me was when they started at the three. They complete a flat route right off the gate, which sets up the long touchdown pass. That can’t happen.”
On the injury front, Vanderbilt suffered two major losses on the defensive side of the ball — Khordae Syndor and Kolbey Taylor. Taylor, who was involved in a scuffle with De’Rickey Wright on the sideline on Saturday, wasn’t listed on this week’s depth chart. However, Lea feels confident that the Commodores are prepared to replace them.
“Khordae is week-to-week with an ankle sprain. I just don’t see him being available this weekend. Kolbey is an internal matter. I’ll leave it as he’s just not going to play this weekend, and as we get clarity, we’ll communicate more,” Lea said. “Linus Zunk and Zaylin Wood were phenomenal this weekend [on the defensive line], and we expect them to continue to be stars. Martel [Hight] and Tyson [Russell] were great [in the secondary]. Jaylen Lackey and Alan Wright are also guys who are preparing to play more.”
Looking ahead to next week, Lea first shouted out the Vanderbilt crowd, especially the student section.
“The student section support was very meaningful to me as a former student. I celebrate the fact that they were there for the whole time and enjoyed what they saw. We’re gonna keep putting on a show that inspires people to show up,” Lea said. “Our vision for this program is that this is a sellout for Vanderbilt fans. Not 50/50, but a sea of Black and Gold.”
With all of the celebration this week, Lea made it clear that his group is still looking forward to Alcorn State, a potentially tricky matchup for the Commodores.
“Alcorn State’s coach Thomas will have [his team] ready to play. It’s a defense that disrupts the ball and plays in a manner that keeps you from explosive plays. We’ll have to find a way to consistently generate yards,” Lea said. “We could’ve been a lot cleaner last week. We won because of how we played. Now we’ve got to clean up what we’re playing. That’s how you become an elite team.”
The Commodores are looking to build on their statement win as they gear up to take the field against Alcorn State at 6:30 p.m. CDT on Sept. 7 at FirstBank Stadium.
