TUESDAY, AUGUST 16 (practice No. 16)
Vanderbilt scrimmaged a good bit outside today in what was a rather physical practice in which, if you’ve watched practice (and I think we’ve had a presence at all but one of them) you didn’t learn much new. So instead of rehashing that, here are my thoughts on the depth chart (please note, this is MY TAKE on this and NOT NECESSARILY THE STAFF’S, the staff was not consulted for input here) along with some brief thoughts at every position.
QUARTERBACK
1 AJ Swann / 2 Ken Seals / 3 Drew Dickey / 4 Walter Taylor / 5 Brennan Storer
No movement that I can see in camp. Swann’s the starter, Seals has been good and while Dickey seems the clear No. 3 to me, Taylor is the guy that a lot of the media who pass through for one practice ends up talking about. Clearly the talent is there, he’s just not nearly as consistent as the others.
RUNNING BACK
1 Patrick Smith / 2 Chase Gillespie / 3 Sedrick Alexander / 4 AJ Newberry / 5 Deago Benson / 6 Dylan Betts-Pauley
We talked about this in the podcast yesterday, our guess is that it’s Smith and Gillespie to start the year, but to us, Alexander and Newberry have looked like the most explosive backs on the roster, and not necessarily in that order. I’ll be really interested to see if workload shifts over the course of the season.
WIDE RECEIVER
X: 1 Will Sheppard / 2 Gamarion Carter / 3 Wilson Long / 4 Shawn Naim
Y: 1 Quincy Skinner / 2 London Humphries / 3 Richie Hoskins / 4 Hutch Baird
Slot: 1 Jayden McGowan / 2 Junior Sherrill / 3 Ezra McAllister / 4 Landon Wells
I think we’ve said this a few times but this is the best position group on the team. Sheppard has bene outstanding, Skinner has been excellent at times and Humphries and Sherrill look like the two best freshmen on the team, while Hoskins would win the “most valuable walk-on” award if they gave one. The two freshmen are just too good not to play, especially since they can use Sherrill outside the slot at times, too. Carter has been fine but I’m not sure what to do with him at this point, especially with Humphries, Sherrill and Hoskins playing so well.
TIGHT END
1 Justin Ball / 2 Logan Kyle / 3 Chris Boyle / 4 Kam Johnson / 5 Josh Palmer
Still not crazy about this group; Ball has had a respectable camp but the Cole Spence injury completely changed the room. You’ll see Kyle and Boyle out there some and maybe Johnson, too, while Palmer wasn’t participating today and is almost certainly a year of work in the weight room for even being in consideration since he’s listed at 192 pounds.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT: 1 Gunnar Hansen / 2 Leyton Nelson / 3 David Siegel / 4 Anthony Miles / 5 Misael Sandoval
LG: 1 Delfin Xavier Castillo / 2 Kevo Wesley / 3 Levi Harber
C: 1 Julian Hernandez / 2 Grayson Morgan / 3 Duncan MacDonald
RG: 1 Bradley Ashmore / 2 Gage Pitchford / 3 Cooper Starks
RT: 1 Junior Uzebu / 2 Charlie Clark / 3 David Siegel
The starting 5 hasn’t changed for a second and the 2s are fairly consistent, though Siegel may be ahead of Clark on the right side (and he can play left also. I haven’t seen anything to suggest a true freshman will be a factor this year.
DEFENSIVE LINE
DE: 1 Yilanan Outtara / 2 Linus Zunk / 3 Brayden Bapst
NT: 1 Devin Lee / 2 De’Marion Thomas / 3 Michael Spencer
DT: 1 Nate Clifton / 2 Daevion Davis / 3 Bradley Mann / 4 Ted Gregorie
STAR: 1 Aeneas DiCosmo / 2 Miles Capers / 3 Alex Brown / 4 Jailen Ruth
ALSO: Darren Agu (would be the starting end, if healthy) and Christian James (would probably be running second team at any number of spots if healthy) and BJ Diakate (also hurt, my guess is he’d be competing for second-team reps at “star.”)
This is probably one of the best defensive line groups I’ve covered; I don’t think the overall talent and size is there to break into the top half of the SEC but they’ve closed the gap considerably in two years; the fact that Davis isn’t as big a factor as I’d have guessed says more about what the others have done to get better than it does about him. Other than the guys at the “star” position, most of these guys can play one or two other spots. Clifton and Lee are better than they were a year ago and I’ll be interested to see what Outtara can do with the extra time he gets because of the Agu injury. I’m thinking Thomas will be part of the rotation pretty quickly but I wouldn’t guarantee it. I’ve got Gregorie listed fourth, but don’t sleep on him as a potential factor this year; he can play inside or outside.
LINEBACKER/ANCHOR
WLB: 1 Kane Patterson / 2 Bryan Longwell / 3 Nick Rinaldi
MLB: 1 Ethan Barr / 2 Langston Patterson / 3 Carson Casteel
ANCHOR: 1 CJ Taylor / 2 Bryce Cowan / 3 Ethan Crisp / 4 Dante Kelly / 5 Dominc Rezac / 6 Ty Bartholomew
ALSO: Errington Truesdell (hurt all camp; would have fought for a backup linebacker spot), Jeffrey Ugochukwu (would have fought for time at anchor, been out all camp) and Prince Kollie (LB)
I don’t think any group has been more affected by injury in camp than this one. Some good news: Taylor was out there a little today; his absence has allowed Cowan to get a lot of reps and play well. I would probably slot Kane Patterson ahead of Ethan Barr, but coach Clark Lea referred to Barr (who’s been out a couple of weeks) as a “starting linebacker” recently. I feel like Longwell’s recent surge has put him ahead of Rinaldi but the latter can play a bit, too, and so I’m not sure about that. I have no idea if or when Kollie will play; last we asked they were confident he’d be back soon but he’s not been in pads at any point and most practices is just sitting out and not even participating in drills. Crisp would have been further up the depth chart on any of the Mason teams and will eventually play, and this is just what happens when you upgrade your overall talent levels.
SECONDARY
FCB: 1 BJ Anderson / 2 Truedell Berry / 3 Gumbo Gaskins
BCB: 1 Tyson Russell / 2 Martel Hight / 3 Alan Wright / 4 Mustafa Dannett
SS: 1 Jaylen Mahoney / 2 Savion Riley / 3 Jalen Gilbert
FS: 1 De’Rickey Wright / 2 Marlin Sewell / 3 John Howse IV
Also: Jameson Whaton (has missed almost all camp, would have been competing for second- or third-team corner), Steven Sannienola (out all camp, would have been a factor for safety depth)
I get the feeling they’re going with Anderson and Russell to start; could be wrong. Again, I think Hight is the most talented corner on the roster and he’ll play a lot. Gaskins has been out some and I’m not sure what they have there. Riley benefitted from a lot of reps with Mahoney out. I can’t remember if for sure Gilbert was playing on the strong or weak side but Howse has been out there a lot more than he has and would be their fourth or fifth safety.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PK: 1 Jacob Borcila / 2 Brock Taylor / 3 Will Faris
P: 1 Matthew Hayball / 2 Conor Weasler
KOR: Jayden McGowan
PR: Will Sheppard / Martel Hight
Hayball is clearly the punter. I get the impression Borcila will be the kicker but special teams coach Justin Lustig left the door open for Taylor to win the job, too, and it sounds like Faris might kick off. In other words, you could see all three. Not sure who the other kickoff returner is outside McGowan and that’s probably on me for not paying better attention.
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