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Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea detailed Thursday how his team fell behind in NIL early in his coaching tenure.

While Lea finally saw increased investment in NIL prior to the 2024 season, that money was mostly used to add transfers.

"We still have not engaged in the paying of high school players, and we are behind because of it," Lea said. "There's not a world anymore that exists where that's not a part of the equation."

According to Lea, in 2023 the team had access to a "minuscule" amount of NIL. That amount was set to triple in the offseason, but then doubled again in the span of a week, allowing the Commodores to invest more heavily in transfers such as quarterbacks Nate Johnson and Diego Pavia, tight end Eli Stowers, offensive linemen Chase Mitchell and Steven Losoya, linebacker/safety Randon Fontenette and pass-rushers Zaylin Wood and Khordae Sydnor.

In his first year with the program, Lea said, the team had to focus on how to get recovery shakes after practice. NIL was a long way from anyone's minds. Now, Vanderbilt has built up its infrastructure, but there's a constant demand for more in every program.

"I expect (our NIL) to probably double again," Lea said. "That still puts us somewhere in the bottom half of our league. And then with high school players involved in that too, there's addition there.

So again, we're moving forward, but we're still behind."

https://www.tennessean.com/story/sp...-football-nil-clark-lea-missouri/75292848007/

Ok, gonna lift the dark cloud and get back on the horse for a minute…

I think we still have a good offense. It operates better with a healthy Cole Spence and Eli Stowers, but Pavia is still a good engine for Beck’s system.

A) Are Spence and Stowers going to play?

B) Can Pavia and the boys produce points against Mizzou?

C) Are we getting any defensive players back? Our line was awful on Saturday night.

D) Is Clark Lea still our DC?

E) Can Jerry Kill be our head coach?

How do you guys handle emotions after watching your team full of 18-24 year old lose a football game ? I don’t know how to do it.

I have no problem watching a 4 hour game. They could play for 5 hours and I would love everyminute of it.

It might be time to take a step back and take a deep breath. I really don't want to come across as preaching to anyone, but I am concerned about the use of the word "hate" in reference to Coach Lea. When you say you hate someone, it becomes a very personal attack on that person. I don't personally like or dislike Coach Lea. I have never met him. My feelings about Coach Lea as a coach most likely would not have anything to do about my feelings about Coach Lea as a person. No one has to look very far so see examples of hatred in this country and the awful effects that hatred can have. So maybe we can tone it down a little and direct our feelings and comments of likes and dislikes to how well or how poorly we think someone is doing their job rather than making our comments a personal attack.

I’ve watched that replay several times and it sure looks like the runner gave up his forward progress on his own, which means that should have been a safety. He was running diagonally backwards then went back further trying to avoid a tackle. The tackle itself didn’t cause him to go back, the runner did that on his own which means he gave up the forward progress this a safety. I mean I believe 99% it should have been a safety.

At worse no way that ball should be on the 2. No way a replay wouldn’t have at least changed it to the 1 yard line.

Another coaching blundet. VU should be 4-0 if not for pretty simple coaching

I mean Injewrd Lea post game say on the tying OT touchdown the corner got beat on a good double move. Umm when the only way you don’t win the game is giving up a TD, why your CB is on an island with the most dangerous player on the field is just bad bad coaching.

Why on 2 down when you can get a 1st on the two do you throw a jump ball when the last several drives you’d been moving the ball in other ways. That isn’t Parvias strength and the players even there.

Just frustrating.

Of course MO coaching was no better. What a gift they gave VU calling timeout just to point. How dumb was that. Take the delay of game if you are going to punt.

Expect the unexpected.

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7th, 3rd and 7th last 3 years, currently sit at #5 in 2025 with just 14 commits.

Gotta do better in the portal.

Even the folks still on the Clark bandwagon make points on how they have hope the team can win DESPITE CCL. Almost no arguments on how the team will win BECAUSE of CCL. Very telling - even if they don’t see it.

Unprepared teams, losing to bad teams, horrible record, never ending penalties, miserable defense, playing not to lose…that’s on the head coach.

Also, Pavia is amazing and it’s nice to watch him play this year.

On "Commodore Hour" tonight, Clark Lea said they submitted CJ Taylor's targeting call to the SEC office. He added, "football is becoming harder and harder on defense." If the call stands, Taylor would have to sit the 1st half vs. Missouri.

He’ll be at Vanderbilt this weekend on a visit, per source.

That's about what I thought.

I heard a stat after Notre Dame lost to NIU last week that there had only been 28 total 16 point or more underdogs had won on the road over a P4 team who was at home. Marcus Freeman now has 3 of those 28 losses.

Clark Lea is going to have to figure out how to coach defense for us to have a prayer of a chance.