Vanderbilt’s offensive line is the foundation of head coach Clark Lea’s team. The foundation of a house is critical. It may not be pretty, but it’s the support system for the entire build because it makes it resilient. A house’s foundation must be rock solid; it has to withstand the test of time and severe weather. 

This veteran offensive squad leads by example and is dedicated to constant improvement. Whether waking up early for a morning lift or staying after practice to review film, Vanderbilt’s offensive linemen live and breathe football. During games, they sit in the trenches and selflessly serve the rest of the offensive unit. Like the foundation of a house, an offensive line can often be overlooked, but nothing can be built without it. If the pieces composing an offensive line are weak, so too is the rest of the program.

Chris Klenakis, offensive line coach

Lea made a number of impactful coaching changes following a 2-10 season in 2023.

Offensive line coach Chris Klenakis, known as Coach K by his players, entered the picture during the 2024 offseason. A leader with years of experience at the Power Four level, Klenakis was the perfect fit to rebuild Lea’s offensive front. 

“As a coach, you learn every day in this profession [that] you’re continuing your growth, and you can continue to learn through experiences,” Klenakis said. “I’m blessed to now use all those experiences to pour into this group and teach them. I didn’t know that 30 years ago, but now I do know it. So that’s an advantage — we’re able to relate [because of] the experiences I’ve had.”

Klenakis’s pre-existing relationship with Lea and his staff — along with a drive to rebuild a program — enticed him to West End. His wealth of experience and high football IQ were exactly what Lea was looking for. He’s since built strong connections with the coaching staff and his players.

“[I have] a great relationship with both [Tim Beck and Clark Lea],” Klenakis said. “[I’ve] known [Beck] for numerous years. When I was at Nevada, he used to come out there and study the pistol offense when he was at Pittsburg State. That’s where our relationship began. Lea is a ball coach, so he and I get along well, because I’m all about ball, and he’s all about ball.”

Klenakis has taken over an offensive line composed entirely of seniors and graduate students, and he believes that experience has prepared them to compete at the highest level.

“They’ve played meaningful snaps,” Klenakis said. “Whether they played them at this university or other universities, it doesn’t matter. You know the reps that they have banked through four or five years of playing. They’ve seen it, and they know how to handle it and react and respond to it.”

Despite the team’s recent success, Klenakis will never be satisfied. This constant urge to improve is precisely what makes him such a great mentor and leader—he knows a few wins over top-tier teams are just stepping stones to greater achievements. 

“We’re not satisfied at all. We’ve made progress, but we’ve still got [more] to make,” Klenakis said. “It is hard to win. This is a hard sport, and you’ve got to be prepared to play every week.” 

Klenakis’ impact has been immeasurable throughout his first season. He’s focused on the small things needed to make his position group one of the best in the SEC. He knows it’s a long road ahead, but for now, it’s just one snap, one play and one game at a time for his unit.

No. 55 Gunnar Hansen, left tackle

A football team’s offense runs through its quarterback, but it’s up to the offensive linemen to protect their signal-caller and give him time to execute the play. No other player has a greater responsibility in ensuring his quarterback’s safety than a left tackle. The left tackle is responsible for the quarterback’s blindside, and a hard hit from the blindside can be disastrous — and potentially career-ending.

Diego Pavia has done incredible things this year, but none would have been possible without Gunnar Hansen’s protection. Hansen and Pavia are good friends off of the field, too, and Hansen refuses to put him in harm’s way.

“Diego [and I] are really close,” Hansen said. “He brings the underdog mindset to our team. I know he’s going to give his all, so it makes me give my all to protect [a] guy like that. He does special things with the ball in his hand, and the longer the ball is in his hand, the more special it is.”

Hansen prides himself on attention to detail. Few positions are as high-pressure as left tackle, and it takes a specific commitment to technique to succeed.

“I’m twitched up, [and] I’m really technical. I’m going to be faster than you, and I’m going to have better technique than you,” Hansen said.

A native of Boca Raton, Florida, Hansen grew up surrounded by football, but it wasn’t until high school that he made the switch to offensive line. Hansen never doubted his ability to play in the SEC. However, only one school in the conference believed in him, and the rest is history.

“I just wanted to play in the SEC,” Hansen said. “[Vanderbilt] was the only SEC offer I had, so I took it and ran with it.”

Hansen grew into himself at Vanderbilt despite not playing during his freshman year. 

Hansen’s stats were impressive the next two seasons — 23 starts with just 2 sacks allowed in 2022 and 2023. He could’ve moved on in the portal or in the NFL Draft, but he had faith in Lea’s system.

“Coach Lea believing in his message and what he does; [the addition of] new pieces like Coach Kill [and] Coach [Klenakis] and knowing Beck was coming in [too], I was like, ‘Let’s get to work,’” Hansen said.

Hansen has already received national recognition, as he was named the SEC’s Week Six Offensive Lineman of the Week and the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week after Vanderbilt’s defeat of then-No. 1 Alabama. 

No. 64 Xavier Castillo, center

Only one player touches the ball on every snap: the center. It’s an essential but often overlooked position. Centers not only have to snap the ball, but they also have to get up and block immediately after. Xavier Castillo — affectionately named “X” by his teammates — has blossomed in this role and executed it perfectly in SEC play. 

In 2020, Castillo was deciding where to play college football. He was a three-star recruit with offers from a host of Power Four schools, including Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan State. Castillo felt most at home on West End and committed to the Commodores. His commitment to Vanderbilt didn’t waver after Derek Mason was fired, ushering in a world of change.

“I was recruited by the previous staff, but I stayed committed,” Castillo said. “I came in January of 2021, and I fell in love with [Vanderbilt] over my senior year [of high school], fell in love with the old staff, and then coach Lea brought his staff in.”

Castillo saw Lea’s vision of building Vanderbilt into an SEC-caliber program and felt confident he was the coach for the job. The success didn’t come pouring in overnight, though. The team went 2-10 during his freshman campaign. A 5-7 season his sophomore year filled him with hope, but it all came crashing down in 2023. Still, his commitment to the program — with the addition of Klenakis — never faded.

“[Coach Klenakis] has a proven track record,” Castillo said. “He’s done it at the highest level and at multiple places. It’s just his standard and his way of coaching. We saw that in fall camp when we were dominating and coming together as a unit, but he just brings that fire and that tenacity that we needed.”

Castillo moved to center midway through this season after starting 2024 as a guard. He attributes much of his success this season to the close bond he has with his teammates.

“I just think we’re really tight as a unit,” Castillo said. “We always hang out together. We’re always together. Coach K makes sure that we’re always in the building together. It just goes back to our culture [and] our union.” 

Still, Castillo knows that a few SEC upsets aren’t this team’s end goal. Postseason play — something he’s yet to experience — would be the perfect cherry on top for his senior season. Castillo and his teammates — often doubted throughout their whole college careers — understand that no opponent can be overlooked. 

“I’m most excited for a bowl game,” Castillo said. “I’m ready to go to one. I’m ready for the postseason, but not looking past anybody. Looking forward to this week, looking forward to next week, and weeks, after.”

All his hard work — the long hours of early morning lifts and late-night film reviews — has been worth it over the last four years. Castillo is finally a part of victories; victories made even sweeter by his dedication to Lea and his staff. 

No. 54 Steven Hubbard, right guard

A native of Houston, Texas, Hubbard was first “recruited” to play football when he was walking out of his uncle’s barbershop one afternoon. The man who would become his first coach convinced him to play.  

“Ever since that day, it’s just been head-down, straight-ahead football,” Hubbard said.

The offers didn’t come rolling in for Hubbard like many of his teammates. He attended Kilgore College, a junior college about three hours north of Houston, where was named the best offensive lineman in the SWJCC and a first-team All-American in 2019. When his junior college eligibility ran out, Hubbard moved to the University of Texas at El Paso.

He worked his way up the depth chart at UTEP during his three years there and took a big step up in 2022, his final year, after seeing the field in just seven games in 2020 and 2021. Hubbard saw action in 11 games, 10 of which he started, totaling 753 snaps and earning a Pro Football Focus offensive grade of 77.9 and a run block grade of 76.7. When he was done at UTEP, Hubbard looked for his next challenge at the highest level of collegiate football: the SEC. 

“Last spring, I was on the couch just going to school, working out and going to the field,” Hubbard said. “I was actually on a visit to Texas State when [Barton Simmons] called me. I came on a visit [to Vanderbilt] that weekend, and I committed [immediately].”

Known by his teammates as “Big Glo” — a self-proclaimed nickname as an ode to Chief Keef — Hubbard has played his part in transforming Vanderbilt’s offensive line with his fierceness and relentless effort be brings to every practice. Hubbard refers to himself as a pitbull in the trenches with a special competitive edge, and this mentality transfers over to the rest of the team.

“That’s an ‘every week’ mentality,” Hubbard said. “Each week, if it’s not about beating that opponent, [then] get the f— out [of] the way,” Hubbard said.

The union

How did these new or returning pieces come together to create the foundation of Lea’s team in just a matter of weeks? It started with a transformed mentality and a belief that perfection is attainable. 

“[Klenakis has] a saying [that] ‘Every day can’t be a new day,’ so every day you come in practice the next day should be building off that day. You should never take a step back,” Hubbard said. 

Klenakis wasted no time pushing the offensive line to new heights this year. Whether it was getting them up for early morning lifts or having them stay late to review film, he knew that he could build a stronger, faster and more efficient offensive line for the Commodores.

“The growth started last summer,” Klenakis said. “We had the nucleus in this group here in the spring, and then we brought in guys in June. These guys worked their tails off all summer. Five days a week, they were in the weight room. They were out hitting the sled. They were coming in on Saturdays, getting extra work [and] watching film. They were going out to dinner together. That’s where the growth really started.”

Their teammates around them started to realize the hard work they put in over the offseason and matched that dedication.

“I showed up at 6:30 [during fall camp] to do extra work, and they [the offensive line] are already beating me,” Pavia said. “Those guys, they’ve earned this [success]. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: They win or lose games [for us]. I owe them a lot because I’m the one who gets to sit in front of the camera but they’re the ones [who] set the standard every day.”

The man they are protecting in the backfield has also inspired them. From the start of his time at Vanderbilt, Pavia developed a brotherhood with his offensive line, extending past the football field.

“Diego [Pavia] makes it easy to protect him,” Castillo said. “I mean, he’s Mr. Johnny Manziel, Magic Man.”

This brotherhood and camaraderie between the offensive line and Pavia has unlocked a limitless chemistry.

“Even when they didn’t really know me, I invited them all over,” Pavia said before the season. “I got two extra rooms in my house where my family stays when they come in. We bought and blew up mattresses, and they’d all be asleep in the rooms. We would just bond talking about football, talking about life.”

The offensive line knew this season would result in success. They saw it coming together daily. They know they are among the best and carry a chip on their shoulders because of all the doubters they’ve had.

“All this hard work we’ve put in it just came to fruition,” Castillo said. “It came to show during the Alabama game. Everybody doubted us. We were the only ones in the whole world that knew that we were going to come out there and win the game. People called it a fluke game. [But] we knew in our minds, as a team, as a unit [and] as a program, that wasn’t the case. So it was just a monumental win, and it’s going to propel us forward.”

As Vanderbilt enters Week 10 of the College Football season, one thing looms ahead: that elusive sixth win that guarantees a bowl game. While one more win is certainly reasonable, this unit wants more. 

Vanderbilt Football wants to keep shocking the world this fall, and at the center of it all is the foundation that the offensive line strengthens daily.