Vanderbilt’s coaching staff took the podium on Monday to assess the team’s strengths and weaknesses and preview the start of the season. After a stellar 2024 season, in which the Commodores went 7-6 with a bowl game win, internal team expectations are higher than a year ago.
Head coach Clark Lea, offensive coordinator Tim Beck and defensive coordinator Steve Gregory spoke about the team’s drastic improvement from a year ago on both sides of the ball.
“It’s the best that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Lea said. “With where we are in terms of the skill we have — we have what it takes for us to reach for the things that we want to reach to.”
While Lea’s recruitment in the transfer portal may have lacked a big name, the depth of the roster, especially on the defensive side of the ball, has seen vast improvement from a year ago. Both Lea and Gregory spoke at length about this added depth, highlighting team cohesion as a major improvement from a year ago.
“We have a lot of players that can go in and play for us and execute at a high level,” Gregory said. “Now that we have the depth, we can rotate guys and feel comfortable about the idea of playing fast and hard all the time.”
Learning how to defend an unorthodox offense like Beck’s in training camp has been a great test for Gregory’s defense.
“With the different ways they utilize formations, shifts and motions — it forces us to think about football at a higher level,” Gregory said. “I’m tired of practicing against Tim and those guys.”
Still, the team’s cohesion on both sides of the ball has shined through during camp.
“We’ve had a really spirited camp, but we haven’t had any times where we’ve had to stop practice,” Lea said. “[The team]’s done a nice job being to the edge and not over it and competing at the right angle. And I credit [Diego Pavia] with a lot of that.”
With a year in the SEC under his belt, Pavia’s poise and development as a leader has set the offense up for sustained success.
“[Diego]’s such a connector,” Lea said. “He’s led from the front [and] been able to build connections with offensive and defensive players.”
With the departure of Quincy Skinner Jr., Junior Sherill has taken over as the clear top wideout on the team. Still, Beck pointed to his former New Mexico State receiver Trent Hudson as an impact playmaker on the offensive side of the ball.
“Trent’s became really effective for us [at New Mexico State] in the red zone,” Beck said. “He knows how to give the quarterback some room [to throw].”
Eli Stowers, Pavia’s top target a year ago, passed up a chance to be drafted to return to Vanderbilt. Lea said the return of Stowers and Pavia signified the beginning of a change in culture.
“It marks this change from losing draft-graded players to other programs,” Lea said. “It’s been neat to see Eli say, ‘This is something I want to be a part of.’”
While the outside world is just now being exposed to this culture shift, Lea and his team are focused on the team’s internal belief in themselves as a program.
“I think changing a culture is hard. As the leader of the program, what I bring to the forefront of our consciousness every day is this winning attitude, the idea that we’re capable of whatever we want to accomplish,” Lea said. “There’s a belief this group has, which is really cool.”
The consistent message across all three coaches on Monday was just that: the belief around this program is real. And while it remains to be seen how far that belief can take them, Vanderbilt Football is in a better spot than it’s been in a long time entering the 2025 season.
Vanderbilt takes on Charleston Southern on Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. CDT.
