CLARK LEA TUESDAY COMMENTS

Opening statement
They’re looking for context as a program; they’re 3-3 and can still achieve a lot
They’ve lost to three top-15 teams
They’re facing a third top-10 team in a row this weekend so they’re getting measured against the best
The results are a measure of where they are and not where they’re headed
Once you get past the sting of the result you can see progress
They don’t back away from wanting to build the best program in the country
Continue to pour into the process they started and that’ll deliver the results they want
They’re excited to go into Athens and play in a fun environment on the road
They’re anxious to see if they can pull from positives, which includes the first half of the Ole Miss game
As painful as the result is, they’re not defeated or discouraged
Once you get past the sting there was some joy in putting themselves to win at half
They need to stretch that over four quarters

Do they discuss last year’s loss to Georgia?
They won’t and they haven’t
He feels like he’s coaching a different team
RB room being down to 2 on the depth chart
Joked he and Norval McKenzie played running back and you could see them
The depth chart took a hit with Rocko’s departure and they have to work on a plan for that
The team’s banged up midseason, they need a formula to stay fresh and healthy and be at their best
The two on the depth chart are proven commodities
Ray Davis had a great effort on Saturday
Patrick Smith is a guy they’ve leaned on before also
Cooper Lutz and Chase Gillespie could be the third piece
They can also play multiple personnel groups
They’re excited for what they have

Status of Sannienola and Gillespie?
They’re soft-tissue injuries and day-to-day, Gillespie should be further along

Daevion Davis
He’s progressing, still a few weeks out, he’s getting closer and out of the pool

Is playing him four games and getting him back next year a possibility?
Yes, depending on if he wants to play

Christian James
He’s banged up and has a maintenance injury

Do they re-evaluate how they play pass coverage?
They look at where breakdowns are
Young guys are getting experience now against top-flight teams, that magnifies mistakes
In the first half, Wright was in Cover-4 and closed the middle… they get a pick. End of half, they didn’t get an extra body there to defend. Same guys, similar situations, responses have to be consistent
It’s painful to learn that way
There’s design and structure to close the middle and they’re looking into that
They have to build to the stop, they have to eliminate escape routes and down the ball

AJ Swann, how has he progressed, do they want to throw deep more?
They missed Carter on a post, the shots are in the plan and part of the plan is also ball control to stay in rhythm

Georgia losing so much talent and yet is still No. 1, how is Georgia similar and different to last year?
They’ve recruited well and re-loaded
QB and TEs are good, they’re No. 1 for a reason

De’Rickey Wright
They want to be a team that attacks the ball and De’Rickey can do that
They’ve got to be better and they want his ball-hawking mentality to be part of that
Improvement on run defense but not in pass defense, do you agree with that?
Early in the season, they didn’t play to an identity at corner, that improved on Saturday
Russell and Anderson still haven’t played a lot of football
They’ve got to do a better job of alignments and discipline and that bit them Saturday
Those two and Wright haven’t played a lot and Mahoney’s been a safety
They’re frustrated with pass defense and want to be better
A screen went for an explosive score on Saturday
Credit Ole Miss, when their eyes were in the wrong place or they were a step slow. Ole Miss made plays.

On offensive improvement
They believe in their guys
A year ago, “we would have said we were a mess.”
What Lynch has done is design things and grow within that design
OL is working as a unit
They can improve in spots
When 11 guys focus on doing theiir job, you have a chance
The same thing will apply to the defense and they’ll find it through experience and maturity and design
They’ve been able to do those things on offense
Credit to the players for development and the staff for design
To come out of the Ole Miss game was a product of getting the ball out on time and on rhythm
AJ is doing a good job of avoiding rush and extending plays
They’re developmentally-focused and pushing forward every day
Every day they’e getting closer to four quarters of putting it together

Stetson Bennett
He’s confident
Gets the ball out on time
He knows where to take risks
He believes in the targets he’s throwing to
He’s elusive and athletic and that’s a challenge

Does having faced tough QBs help the defense?
Yes, they’re getting experience against the best in the country
Vs. Ole Miss, when they don’t close the middle on a post, it doesn’t go well
They haven’t problem-solved on the move on defense
That comes with comfort in a position and in a system
They think the players are capable but their margins are thin
They have to get this headed in the right direction quickly and continue to improve
Saturday, they gave up a lot of passing yards but when you watch it again you do see some strong play and strong play calls, but when the floodgates open they couldn’t close them.

More on Cody Pagach, the Independence (Tenn.) signal-caller was back at Vandy this past weekend

Before organizing something, is there any interest in a watch party Saturday? Between NSC starting the playoffs at 2pm @ LA, the Vandy game, and Alabama beating Tennessee at the same time, seems like locally a busy sports afternoon. Would work on finding a location that can show all of the above but would give Vandy the sound...

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Did I miss the start of fall baseball and did Corbs hold a press conference? Don’t the play Sanford and Arizona State soon?

...I demand we get better coaches, better athletic directors, and recruit players with comparable SEC speed.

Waived by the Jazz and signed by the Suns . . . but does not have an NBA contract as of this moment in time . . . .

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I caught up with Vanderbilt commit Cooper Starks. He talks about his senior season and more. Also attached his senior highlights at the bottom of the article.

Have an extra family member coming into town for the game. Just need one.

I missed their report when it came out and someone may have already mentioned it. ESPN designated Vandy the 20th best class this year, naming all three players four stars. I always feel like Vandy’s MBB recruits are ranked lower by ESPN than by Rivals and 24/7. Refreshing to see the opposite this year. I‘ve never bothered to track which MBB recruiting ranking site is most accurate, largely because once one gets to a certain level of granularity, the numbers become arbitrary—for example, there’s unlikely to be much qualitative difference between, say, the 36th and 68th ranked players. That said, this year the Vandy players are much lower ranked by Rivals and 24/7 than by ESPN.

Not copying the language over because it’s behind a paywall, but ESPN has ranked five SEC teams in the top 25 so far this cycle. Vandy is number four. There’s a lot of time left to go and a lot of top players not yet committed, so the rankings will change quite a bit. Though I’ve only watched YouTube clips of the three recruits, I have been impressed by them generally (agree with @Friedas_Boss on Lang).

More on the local Father Ryan product, who picked up a Vanderbilt offer recently. Story from @drew_toennies

At the beginning of the season, I would’ve never thought that it would now be one of the slimmest rooms on the team. We are basically down to two backs if I’m correct, and to me Patrick Smith is not between the tackles back. If Davis goes out, we’re in a world of hurt.

Their sideline celebration is trash.

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Chris tell us something

The emerging 2023 DE out of Kansas City recaps his Vandy visit and has plans to return in December for an OV

Obviously, I'm ticked about the second half of the game. Just a poor performance but I was doing some stuff with the family so I listened through the Vanderbilt App with an Airpod in and the radio broadcast is brutal, minus Norman Jordan's insight. So, instead of griping about the game, I want to air my grievances regarding the state of the radio broadcast as a whole.

• They take a commercial break during a player injury and come back to Andrew stating that fans wouldn't have wanted to hear the previous play that they missed any way. I don't recall now if it was a touchdown or just a first down but the producer dropped the ball sending to a commercial on that.
• Kevin Ingram's mic was on at one point when it should have just been going to the team. You clearly hear him say, "Shepherd headed to the locker room," then Andrew kicks down to Kevin where he gives an official report about "14 heading down the tunnel". Once again, poor job on the production team.
• Finally, Andrew was handed a note regarding 1st downs in the second half and he rattles off something along the lines of "Vandy with their second 1st down." Then he proceeds to joke about how the stats guy probably thinks he's an idiot.

And this is the state of Vandy athletics. Give me Joe Fisher. Good grief.

I had a friend ask me why I religiously watch Vanderbilt football games. He asked if I know we are not competing to win the SEC how can I justify watching. I told him I watch Vanderbilt and college football for different reasons than just to see who wins the championship. Follow the storylines of a season, the intense rivalries and underlying hatred and pettiness. I find myself rooting for the individual kids on Vanderbilt's roster. I watch to see improvement and hope for wins. I'm not sure what I expect out of the rest of the year, I would love to win a few games but if we win one or none I'll still be back next year. I am watching for the future. It may be a sad fan existence but it is the existence we have chosen (or been born into).

SO I ask you this, what are you watching for the rest of the year? Individual performances, Individual improvements, team identity, close games, SEC wins, or anything else that could draw you to watch Vanderbilt football. I'm genuinely interested.

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Summarizing what Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said regarding Vanderbilt heading into Saturday's matchup....

- Has a lot of respect for Clark Lea. Alumnus of his school, similar to him. Always respected the job he did. Says he did a tremendous job when he was at Wake Forest. They copied a lot of the things he did defensively there and competed against him as a defensive coordinator at Notre Dame as well.

- Gotten to know Lea better through SEC meetings and loves the way he carries himself and the way he leads his program.

- Says Vandy has improved a lot from year one to year two under Lea. Said they played well against Ole Miss, came out and attacked and reiterates they are well-coached. Says Vandy is one of the most improved teams in the league in terms of how they are playing right now.

- Says he's learned studying schemes from Clark Lea. Mentioned his defenses at Notre Dame had elite tackling, were really physical, and disguised things really well. Says Lea was the architect of that and they copied a lot of those things in the offseasons.

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Another 2023 offer this morning

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Ray Davis is a great running back. But Rocko Griffin is strong through the gaps and quicker to the outside and through the hole. I just don’t understand why he didn’t play more.

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The Commodores are five games into the season, and Chris Lee and Seabass dissect what they've seen so far, from the blowout of Hawaii to a blowout loss to Alabama. Also, in addition to winning games ,there are some cultural changes Vanderbilt must undergo to start winning back fans, what does that look like?

So who are the DLs we are recruiting and are we hitting the transfer portal for some?