Vanderbilt 2015 Preview: Will the disaster continue?
2014 was a disaster for Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason in his first year. There’s no other way to look at it. The three victories in the season included a win by 3 over UMass, a win by 1 over Charleston Southern, and 14 over Old Dominion. They were played off the field in virtually every SEC game they played (apart from Tennessee when they lost by 7), going 0-8 and immediately putting Mason on the hot seat.
THE OFF-SEASON
Derek Mason went on the rampage, firing OC Karl Correll, DC David Kotulski, and WR coach Marc Lubick. His new OC is former Wisconsin OC Andy Ludwig, while he’s appointed himself as defensive co-ordinator (as he should have done originally, bearing in mind that’s where he made his name at Stanford).
Patton Robinette and Stephen Rivers both decided to leave, leaving the QB spot wide open.
And the rape case that had clouded the program for the last year was declared a mistrial, and will be set again for November 30th.
Recruiting-wise, the signing of four-star LB Josh Smith should bear fruit, as should highly-touted QB Kyle Shurmur. CB Donovan Sheffield was also an excellent signing, particularly with the way Tennessee was recruiting in the South.
RUN, RUN, RUN
The best thing to come out of Vandy is Ralph Webb, the excellent sophomore RB, who’s been more under-the-radar than a spy plane. He ran for 914 yards and 4 TDs last season, picking what was an awful offense onto his back.
This year, he’ll have some help from Dallas Rivers and frosh Josh Crawford, who came in as a 3-star recruit. He’ll also be helped by an experienced offensive line, led by Spencer Pulley, who’s been moved from guard to starting center to replace the excellent Joe Townsend, while senior Jake Bernstein will add some experience to a line filled with juniors. It’s actually a place of strength for the ‘Dores.
THE QB SITUATION
With Robinette and Rivers departing within the space of three months, no-one knows who’s going to be the QB in Nashville this year. Will it be Johnny McCrary or Wade Freebeck? Shurmur – it seems – will have to wait his turn. McCrary is listed as a dual-threat quarterback, which should be some fun if Vandy’s line isn’t awful.
Wide receiving-wise, C.J. Duncan’s season-ending lower leg injury is a huge loss, meaning that the pressure’s on Latevius Rayford, Darrius Sims and Trent Sherfield to catch some balls. Rayford’s probably going to be the better option.
AND DEFENSIVELY?
The best move of the off-season will have been Mason appointing himself defensive co-ordinator. If he’d been hired into the SEC just to do that position, people would have said he would have been a great hire. He’s going to kick the Commodores – who were 72nd in the country at yards/game given up – into shape.
The star of the defense – and Vandy site ‘Anchor of Gold’ reckons he hasn’t lived up to the hype – is DE Caleb Azubike. The future superstar of the defense – we predict – is going to be freshman linebacker Josh Smith.
Vanderbilt could be even worse than they were last year, with only wins over Austin Peay and MTSU. The rest? I can’t see where the wins – or even A in-conference win from. Sorry, Derek. Does anyone?
| Sept. 5 | WESTERN KENTUCKY | Vanderbilt Stadium |
| Sept. 12 | GEORGIA | Vanderbilt Stadium |
| Sept. 19 | AUSTIN PEAY | Vanderbilt Stadium |
| Sept. 26 | at Ole Miss | Oxford, Miss. |
| Oct. 3 | at MTSU | Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
| Oct. 17 | at South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. |
| Oct. 24 | MISSOURI | Vanderbilt Stadium |
| Oct. 31 | at Houston | Houston, Texas |
| Nov. 7 | at Florida | Gainesville, Fla. |
| Nov. 14 | KENTUCKY | Vanderbilt Stadium |
| Nov. 21 | TEXAS A&M | Vanderbilt Stadium |
| Nov. 28 | at Tennessee | Knoxville, Tenn. |