Vanderbilt Football hosted its annual spring Black and Gold game on April 12, with the opening drive starting at 1 p.m. CDT. The ‘Dores were split into two teams: offense and defense. Vanderbilt’s offensive players wore black jerseys, and their defensive counterparts wore white.

While Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers, two of the team’s top returners, did not play, most of Vanderbilt’s projected 2025 starters were featured in the game. Blaze Berlowitz earned the start under center for the Commodores.

Team Defense was dominant in the first half and played well all game, but Team Offense came alive in the second half and scored three touchdowns — including one as time expired — to win 40-38.

“We know way more about our team now than we did a year ago,” head coach Clark Lea said after the game.

The game utilized a slightly modified scoring system from past years, with touchdowns counting for 6 points for both teams. Most of the offense’s scoring was standard (field goals, extra points, 2-point conversions). They also earned 2 points for third-down conversions and 20-plus-yard plays. 

The defense earned 3 points for every forced turnover and every three-and-out forced. Sacks and third-down stops were worth 2 points, and tackles for loss were worth 1. Lastly, the defense earned 4 points for every red zone stop. 

Some Commodores flashed potential while others struggled to find their footing — let’s take a look at which positional groups and individual players improved their stock and who faltered. 

Stock up

Bryce Cowan, who played sparingly in 2024, was the defensive MVP of the day. He ended with a pair of sacks — and he should have had a third, but the referees missed a call and didn’t rule the ball carrier down, negating the would-be-sack for Cowan. The senior also forced a fumble but failed to recover it.

Jamison Curtis, a sophomore linebacker, was sharp as well, forcing the first fumble of the game.

Martel Hight ended up playing for Team Offense in the game despite his traditional position as a cornerback. Hight has been taking reps at wide receiver in spring camp, and the team’s top cornerback has shown serious potential as a two-way player. He flashed again in the scrimmage, catching Vanderbilt’s first completed pass of the day from Berlowitz. He burnt his fellow defenders on the very next play for what would have been a 50-plus-yard touchdown, but Berlowitz overthrew him. Hight might not be able to play every snap on offense and defense next season, but he’ll see the field as a wide receiver if he can keep making big plays throughout the spring. 

Jeremy St-Hilaire, the third quarterback to come in the game, played well for the Commodores. He led them down the field in his first drive of the afternoon and made a handful of nice throws. He connected with Brycen Coleman and Chance Fitzgerald on back-to-back throws to get Vanderbilt into the red zone. The drive didn’t pan out, but St-Hilaire moved the ball better than anyone else did in the first half. 

Coleman, who has turned heads throughout spring camp, was the offense’s most consistent receiving threat. He finished with two catches and a first-down rush. 

Drew Dickey was a non-factor in the first half but led an excellent drive in the fourth quarter, connecting with Larry Benton III on a 25-yard touchdown for the offense’s first passing score of the day.

Vanderbilt’s secondary, with a slew of new faces after CJ Taylor and De’Rickey Wright aged out, looked strong as well. CJ Heard, an FAU transfer, made some nice plays in the backfield and the secondary. Cayden Daniels looked comfortable despite his status as a first-year, intercepting Berlowitz in the second quarter. 

Stock down

The offensive line, largely a new group after four of five 2024 starters either aged out or transferred away, struggled to protect the quarterback, particularly in the first half. Chase Mitchell, Isaia Glass and Jordan White, who all project as either starters or key contributors on the offensive line, have the individual experience, size and skill technique to succeed up front; now it’s just a matter of getting them enough reps together to be a cohesive group.

Sedrick Alexander fumbled on Team Offense’s second drive and didn’t see a ton of time after that, likely more for injury prevention purposes than anything else. 

Berlowitz’s first-half performance was a “down,” as he struggled to do anything for Team Offense. He and Dickey are in the midst of an ongoing quarterback competition for Pavia’s backup spot, and the former New Mexico State transfer didn’t do himself any favors in that battle, at least in the first half. 

He missed a touchdown to Hight early on in the first half and another one to Joseph McVay in the third quarter. Overall, though, Berlowitz settled in after halftime and proved why he was the starter for Team Offense.

The junior signal-caller started to salvage his day with perhaps the best overall play of the game, taking a 30-plus-yard touchdown to the house after weaving in and out of the defense. He looked extremely comfortable from there and led the eventual game-winning drive, capping off the afternoon with a touchdown to Cole Spence. 

“I thought Blaze [Berlowitz] had a really strong second part of spring. I think he’s proven that he can do some things with his legs, too,” Lea said. “He will learn through mistakes, and I’ve seen progress through the spring. I need him to continue to do that this summer and [in] fall camp for him to have a chance to be our number-two [quarterback].”

Vanderbilt will not be back in action in FirstBank Stadium until Aug. 30, when it takes on Charleston Southern during the first weekend of the 2025 season. For now, spring practices will continue as players look to climb up and down the depth chart before the start of the season.