Vanderbilt practiced this morning from 8-10:15. It was a day dominated by the defense. The offense was limited at a certain position, and it was pretty evident. Vanderbilt worked a lot of situational football as well, which often times didn't favor the offense. I'm going to give my general thoughts position by position, and then I'll touch on the scrimmage situations after.
Quarterback
The best quarterback on the day goes to redshirt freshman Drew Dickey. He accounted for the only touchdown pass on the day to tight end Logan Kyle for a long gain. Dickey has a quick release. He makes quick decisions and can run a bit. He did have one interception on a batted pass, but he was extremely accurate for the most part all day. Ken Seals had some solid throws on the day. This wasn't AJ Swann's best day. He threw two interceptions and John Howse dropped another. Walter Taylor looks the part physically. He throws a good deep ball, but he seems to be a tad slow on his reads. Taylor took off for a couple of nice runs on scrambles. The limitations at WR make this position tough to judge.
Running back
Patrick Smith and Chase Gillespie got the bulk of the work at RB. It's really hard to gauge here because there wasn't a ton of running room. Smith broke off a couple of decent runs, and Gillespie had one solid carry for a decent gain. Sedrick Alexander is short and compact. He did better in pass pro than I expected, but it was tough sledding for him most of the day. He's got a quick burst. It was a thud situation and not live. It's hard to judge RBs in that setting because they don't get the opportunity to break tackles.
Tight End
Logan Kyle has a legit shot to contribute here. Offensive coordinator Joey Lynch talked about how well Kyle had played so far in camp. He had a good TD reception in which he outran the safety. He had another catch up the sideline for a 15+ yard gain. It looks like a good move for Kyle. Justin Ball and Cole Spence didn't do a ton in the pass game. They are your more traditional big bodied tight ends. Spence looks like he has gained some solid weight. They did flash pass catching ability in the 7-on-7 periods.
Wide Receivers
This group is lacking in scholarship bodies. Jayden McGowan and Gemarion Carter missed today's practice. They were doing light work on the side. Vanderbilt's only scholarship WRs today included Will Sheppard, Quincy Skinner, Daveon Walker, and Ezra McCallister. We all know what Skinner and Sheppard are able to do, and they showed flashes throughout the day. Walker and McCallister made a play or two each on the day. I still think Junior Sherrill is going to make an impact here when he gets to campus.
Offensive line
The offensive line looks like an SEC unit, and there is a ton of experience returning in that group. Vanderbilt's first group today averaged 318-pounds, and that did not include 355-pound Delfin Castillo. There's length and size on the offensive front. It was a tough day for the offensive line, but you can see the talent. I really liked the interior with any combination of Gage Pitchford, Delfin Castillo, Juilan Hernandez, Bradley Ashmore, and Grayson Morgan. Morgan has added some good weight, and it is noticeable. Kevo Wesley's move to offensive line will give you another solid body in the interior. One thing a bit concerning is depth at offensive tackle. Gunnar Hansen and Junior Uzebu return with experience and competed well today. Redshirt freshman Leyton Nelson is going to push for some PT as well. He's really thick in the lower body, and he's started to fill out up top. He can play this season. There isn't a ton after that. Vanderbilt had a couple walk-ons out there, and it was a tough day for them. In a pinch, I'd say Bradley Ashmore would slip out to tackle.
Defensive line
This group impressed me the most today. First of all, Vanderbilt has some legit SEC sized frames on the defensive line. Aeneas DiCosmo had a tremendous day, as he was disruptive all day. He had a couple of TFLs and a would be sack on the day. He popped out physically as soon as I got there. He's not overly tall, but he is well built. When he stands next to true freshman Jailen Ruth, you get an idea of the difference between a high school senior and 5th year player in college football. It's quite different. Darren Agu had a phenomenal day. He pressured the quarterback several times and had a nice would be tackle in space at 6-foot-6 and 255-pounds. Brayden Bapst at 6-foot-8 and 275-pounds and Nate Clifton at 6-foot-4 and 280-pounds made a few plays today. Clifton was around the football a bit. In the interior, Yilanan Ouattara is impressive looking at 6-foot-7 and 305-pounds. Veterans Devin Lee and Davion Davis both flashed today as well. Redshirt freshman Linus Zunk made one play that I know of today. If you want an idea of how he looks physically, he's got similar build to Agu. Add in Miles Capers, Christian James, Bradley Mann, and BJ Diakite, and we are talking about some true depth up front defensively. Several different guys made plays, and they definitely passed the eye test. Clark Lea and staff have done a solid job of improving both sides of the line of scrimmage through recruiting and development. Compare now to when Lea took over, and the change is drastic.
Linebackers
The question here is who steps alongside Kane Patterson and Ethan Barr. I thought Kane Patterson had a solid day. He runs well, and he was around the football a lot today. Barr is more of a between the tackles linebacker that had one stop for a no gain today. Behind that, you are probably looking at Langston Patterson and Bryce Cowan. Langston Patterson is thicker than his brother, but he seems to be able to move well. Cowan has added some weight, but he's still a little thin. Cowan runs well and consistently is around the ball. Errington Truesdell was not participating. Walk-ons Carson Casteel and Nicholas Rinaldi have similar builds at around 230-pounds. Rinaldi moves well and made a few plays. CJ Taylor made several plays as did true freshman Ethan Crisp.
Secondary
I didn't watch a ton here, but there were a few guys that stuck out. Jaylen Mahoney is Mr. Consistent on the back end. He did well in run support and pass coverage. He broke up a great pass to the corner of the end zone at one point. He ran through the hands of wide receiver and poked the ball out. De'Rickey Wright has worked to change his body, and he seems to have gotten a bit quicker. He had one interception on the day. Ja'Dais Richards seems to be transitioning to the corner position nicely. Trudell Berry and Tacko Wright seemed to be in on a number of plays. Savion Riley looks the part at safety, as his body type is similar to De'Rickey Wright.
Notes from some of the scrimmage series:
This does not include every play. Just the highlights of each drive. Before we start, this isn't live which is a huge advantage for the defense. This would be if the defense tackled 100% of the time which isn't realistic.
1st drive: Swann at QB, Discosmo TFL, Completions to Skinner, Punt
2nd drive: Seals at QB, Cowan and Howse pass breakups, Completion to Long for 8 yards. Punt
3rd drive: Dickey at QB, Clifton TFL, Completion to Kyle but big hit by De'Rickey Wright, Pass to Sheppard for first down, Agu makes play in space, CJ Taylor INT (shocker I know) off of deflection
4th drive: Taylor at QB, Cowan makes tackles on first two plays, Mahoney PBU, 4th down stop by Lee.
5th drive: Swann at QB, Howse drops potential INT on first play, Passes completed to Skinner and Walker but not enough, Punt
6th drive: Swann at QB, DiCosmo TFL, Barr tackle at LOS, Agu applies pressure and Tacko Wright with tight coverage forces punt.
7th drive: Seals at QB, starts at own 1-yard line after a solid punt, safety. Couldn't tell who because of being on the other end of the field.
8th drive: Dickey at QB, Smith breaks a good run for a first down, could have been longer if live, DiCosmo with another pressure, Punt.
9th drive: Taylor at QB, Connects with Walker for a long gain. Couple of scrambles due to solid coverage, Berry deflects pass to force punt.
10th drive: Swann at QB, Linus Zunk with a pressure, Gillespie with a solid run, Pass deflected by Tacko Wright and intercepted. Couldn't tell who got it.
11th drive: Seals at QB, Skinner with first down catch, Davis TFL on run, Ethan Crisp sack forces punt.
12th drive: Dickey at QB, long gain down sideline with pass to Kyle, Avoids pressure from Clifton and completes pass to Smith. Long TD pass to Kyle.
13th drive: Taylor at QB, Devin Lee sack on only play as time runs out.
The offense started around the 15-20 yard line for a few series. De'Rickey Wright picks off Swann in endzone. Cowan sacks Seals and forces FG. Jaylen Mahoney makes great play to deflect ball in corner of endzone. Not sure who is in at QB on that one, but it was a great ball.
General thoughts:
Defensive line impressed. They pass the eye test and got pressure today. If that pressure is consistent, that would greatly take pressure off of the back end.
Offensive line returns a lot of experience and will be fine. Just a lot of moving parts at all positions right now, but the talent is there.
Hard to judge QB play with the lack of wide receivers at the moment. There was little separation today. Most balls completed were in tight windows which led to some balls being deflected for INT's
Positions that need answers: inside linebacker and running back. Can Vanderbilt replace the production of Ray Davis and Anfernee Orji? Positions to watch as spring progresses.
Players that stood out me today include: Darren Agu, Aeneas DiCosmo (I'm not saying he's a break out star coming, but he is going to help this defense), Drew Dickey, Bryce Cowan, and Logan Kyle.
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