Vanderbilt will hold a cookout event today and have a handful of commitments, targets, and underclassmen on campus. A list of expected visitors below...

2024 Commits: Markeis Barrett, Harrison Moore, Jaren Sensabaugh, Guylijah Theodule
Notable 2024's: Three-star S Kaleb Harris (target)

2025 Visitors:
Tristan Norman, ATH, Carver Montgomery (Ala.) *target
Clarence Taylor, WR, Pleasant Grove (Ala.) *target, camped in June
Ta'Khyian Whitset, OL, Antioch (Tenn.) *target
Dalen Penson, DB, Sandy Creek (Ga.) *target, camped in June
Dominic Taylor, DB, Riverdale (Tenn.) - offers from Indiana, Memphis, Marshall, WKU, others

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His last story on here was in 2017.

This month's concept is a turn-key opportunity that offers a home-based, no inventory business model.

• Offers a flexible schedule
• Scalable business model
• Recession proof
• Low overhead - no retail storefront required, few employees
• Amazing product selection and quality
• Unparalleled training and support
• Exclusive vendor partnerships
• Solid average ticket

What concept do you think it is?
Thanks for playing!

Maybe it’s an Apple thing, but a real pain to have to login into my Rivals account and navigate back to this forum every time I fire up my iPad.

Anyone else notice this?

Antioch (Tenn.) standup, @drew_toennies catches up with 2025 OL Ty'Khyvian Whitset

@drew_toennies with more on the 2025 WR target out of Alabama

This is for @ElRey52 – future owner if I Like Turtles Stadium

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Practice No. 4 (Saturday, July 29)
Practice started indoors and went for about 45 minutes, then, moved outdoors, were temps were around the mid-90s (and I don’t know what the heat index would have been, but it was brutal). At one point they took groups of players and stuck them in the large outdoor freezer for a few minutes (yes, they took them all back out alive).
I was really impressed at how the players handled the heat. I didn’t see anyone losing a temper and getting a stupid penalty, there was no hunching over or hands on hips and they moved efficiently from one drill to the next. So if you’re looking for bigger-picture signs that the program is headed in a better direction, perhaps there’s that.

OFFENSE
- The offense definitely won the day the first part of practice, which I think coach Clark Lea alluded to near the start of his post-practice interview. Mostly this came in the passing game but Lea talked about the running game getting untracked for some nice games though four practices.
- QB AJ Swann had a nice day. Highlights included a 1-yard TD strike to the perpetualy-unstoppable WR Will Sheppard. Lea afterward said some things about Swann that included “he’s in a better place (than a year ago),” that he’s a “smart player” and is “gaining mastery in the system.”
- QB Ken Seals also did some nice things, including about a 20-yard TD to WR Gamarion Carter.
- Some of the other receivers did nice things in the indoor portion of practice in 1-on-1s. Sheppard got terrific separation against a double-team and easily hauled in what was about a 30-yard pass.
- Freshman WR Logan Humphries had a long catch down the sidelines that was probably good for 30 or 40 yards.
- True freshman TE Josh Palmer caught my eye for a moment this morning when he won a one-on-one battle to make a nice catch over the middle in 1-on-1s.
- Another writer asked about WR Daevon Walker, who’d been a disappointment to me the first two practices but looked better today. Lea said he “was building on a strong spring” and that he’d “made a lot of off-field progress.”
- RB Patrick Smith looks like the first-team guy at the moment; I’ve seen him out there a little more the last two practices.
- RB Chase Gillespie had a nice run at one point.
- Freshman RB Deago Benson got a little work today and didn’t stand out good or bad when I saw him today.
- RB Dylan Betts-Pauley is listed at 234 pounds and looks lighter than that to me and also noticeably quicker; I’m not sure how big a factor he’ll be but maybe with the re-shaping of his body, he’s putting himself in position to be something besides just a blocking fullback.

DEFENSE
- Guys who had picks today: LB Langston Patterson (1-on-1s), DB Mustafa Dannett, DB Jeffrey Ugochukwu (that was about an 80-yard pick-6 off a deflection in 11-on-11s.
- I have been waiting to see something from LB Prince Kollie, who I’ve not seen a ton in 11-on-11s. Today, Kollie had what I think would have been a tackle for loss had full contact been allowed on a running play.
- DB Savion Riley, who got a lot of time this spring and is probably their top safety backup, broke up a ball today that I think would have gone for a TD if he hadn’t.
- STAR Aeneas DiCosmo had a sack today, I think he had one in 11-on-11s in one of the other two practices I witnessed. He seems like he’s got the edge to win the starting job there so far.
- I’m still not sure I’ve seen ANCHOR CJ Taylor play a snap yet, but I think that’s a load management issue (or maybe something soft tissue) that they’re monitoring and having asked around a little, I haven’t sensed any concern there.
- Someone asked C Julian Hernandez about going up against the defense and he mentioned true freshman NT De’Marion Thomas as being “just as physical as some of the SEC guys” he’d played against.

SPECIAL TEAMS
- This is the most we’ve seen of the kickers so far (and it still wasn’t a lot) and I’d stand by the earlier statement that Jacob Borcila is probably going to be starter, especially after I saw some unforced shanks out of Brock Taylor and Will Faris. But it’s early and they’ve done very, very little kicking in game simulations so far.
- I think Martel Hight got a little work in the punt return game today but I didn’t write it down and could possibly be dreaming that.

They’re off Sunday, so we’ll be back at it on Monday morning to cover. I think Billy Derrick will be re-joining me next week and if so, we’ll probably split up where I’ll keep an eye on defense while he watches offense.

Will have the usual post-practice report and videos of whichever coaches and players they put in front of us.

The kid is my favorite recruit from this cycle

Couple weeks old but huge for Sonny to get to the 10 year MLB service timehttps://www.mlb.com/news/all-star-s...,” as boasted by the MLB Players Association..



Sonny, Price and Minor… any others hit 10 years?

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I think my camera overheadted and cut off about the last 45 seconds of the interview.

I just binged Swagger in part because was excited to see our new freshman who seemingly popped out of nowhere, and who now seems to be outperforming in early camp. It's actually a really good show. Jason Rivera Torres is an important character, but he's not the focus on much of the plot. That notwithstanding, it reminds me a big of a basketball version of Friday Night Lights. The characters are decently developed and not one-dimensional, and they touch on current events without being too preachy. It's about basketball without being just about basketball. It also covers something (AAU basketball) that we talk about all the time, but without very much insight or depth. This has both. I'd recommend it if you need a show to binge.

I've tried to link these individually but it's not working, here's a link to our channel where you can (hopefully) see all these.

PRACTICE NO. 3 (FRIDAY)
Vanderbilt started practice around 10-ish inside and then moved outside around 10:45 or so and continued until about 12:30. Temperatures outside were in the 90s with a heat index over 100. Here is what I noticed that stood out.

OFFENSE
- Probably the two biggest highlights of the day were QB AJ Swann connecting with WR Will Sheppard on throw that I’d guess were about 30 and 40 yards, most (all?) of that in the air. The sky is blue, water is wet, Sheppard has just been about impossible to cover when he’s out there in fall and spring camps.
- RB Chase Gillespie had a TD run of about 10-15 yards in 11-on-11s.
- Offensive coordinator Joey Lynch was asked after practice about their sets this year and whether they’d go four-wides more or not because of the depth issues at tight end. Lynch mostly answered that they’ll be “multiple” and you can hear his answer in the interviews we put up, so I guess maybe that’s in the cards at times.
- I asked Lynch how concerned he was with pass protection and blocking assignments with the running back room being so young. His answer was that he “wasn’t concerned” and went on especially to rave about the job RB Patrick Smith has done there.

DEFENSE
- Two guys jumped out at me today for something they did. The first was CB Truedell Berry, who had, on consecutive plays, pass break-ups that saved touchdowns. I think Berry started camp behind Tyson Russell at the field corner spot but that’s a position battle I’ll have on my radar after what I saw today.
- The second was STAR Miles Capers registering a sack of I-can’t-remember-which- QB. Capers was a guy I meant to put eyes on him and I had kind of forgotten about it, and he moved so well I had to consult the roster to make sure there wasn’t another No. 29 on the roster. As you probably remember, Capers ripped up his knee about this time last year and I was really happy for him to see him moving that well.

SPECIAL TEAMS
- Freshman CB Martel Hight has seen some time in the punt return game and special teams coach Justin Lustig talked about how he’d “flashed” enough to be in consideration to play. Hight had a pick in the first practice.
- I’d be lying if I told you I’d spent any time watching kickers—I honestly don’t recall seeing them work as much as is usually the case most practices—but the sense is that Kansas transfer Jacob Borcila may be the guy to beat there. Borcila’s play at Kansas was uneven (22-of-38 on field goals, though he hit all but one of 86 PATs) but the perception is he may not have been 100% healthy. I’ll keep an eye on that.

I’ll try to have a little more from practice tomorrow, I had a business call I had to take that ate into my powers of observation a bit, but I think we’ll be at every remaining practice and scrimmage so I promise I’ll make up for it.

Stumbled across this. I always enjoy reading a positive article from another school about VU. Lea is getting some attention.

Neither Billy nor I could make it due to conflicts; I tried to resolve mine but could not.

Barring something unplanned (or just late-camp exhaustion) I think one or both of us will be at the remaining 18 practices or scrimmages.

Sorry about today, next year Joey should be in Nashville to help out in case neither Billy nor I could make it.

Is Thom a new hire?

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I have PM'd a couple of you (though the site messaging) who had reached out to either Luke or I about helping with the podcast. So a few of you may wish to check your messages.

The latest update: as most of you know, we have gotten two commercial sponsorships that will underwrite Joey Dwyer for the next year. If you missed it, Joey worked for free last year and so I am thrilled to be able to keep him on and financially reward him for what he has done.

Now, for what we need next.

I have brought Billy Derrick on to assist with podcasting and writing. Billy has taken a leap of faith that we can create something that people will want to sponsor and is currently working for free. So, my next order of business is to be able to pay Billy a fair wage for his contributions here.

After that, I would like to put money towards travel. A Billy/Joey trip to Wake Forest is on the wish list, perhaps some more during football season. Certainly, a baseball post-season fund would help and also for hoops, provided there is an NCAA tournament trip.

Third would be some minor equipment needs and help with expenses.

Beyond that, I'd be happy to talk with anyone who'd like to support what I do here. But my first priority is to take care of Billy and first provide things that help improve the product.

As far as how to fund: Some have suggested Patreon. That is a possibility. However, they take a nice chunk of what's donated. My preference would be to perhaps take a check and that way, all the money can go towards us and our product. But I'm open to suggestions here and what folks think will work best. (And there are probably some who don't even have physical checks anymore, so that may be a consideration). Whatever the case, feel free to private-message me through the site or email me at chrislee70@gmail.com

I do have a few commercial "asks" out also, so say a prayer that we might get some help there.

Also, someone came up with the idea of site and podcast testimonials. I had never thought of that before but it's a terrific idea. So feel free to drop those in the thread and I'll use them as needed.

Thanks again to all who have either helped or reached out. It is a real relief to have not one, but two guys helping. You will absolutely be able to see a difference in our work this year because of it and it has meant so much that folks would pitch in and respond the way many of you have.

Thanks again, and here's to a great 2023-24 sports season!

Chris