After Vanderbilt’s loss to Kentucky on Oct. 24, Clark Lea didn’t hide from the defensive issues that showed up once the game settled in. He pointed to a stretch where the Wildcats were able to move through their plan quicker than the Commodores could respond, and that left Vanderbilt scrambling.
“What I experienced in the moment was they moved down their sheet faster than we moved down our sheet. And that led to us chasing a little bit,” Lea said.
That line raised eyebrows in the moment, since it sounded like Lea might have been taking aim at defensive coordinator Steve Gregory or simply venting after three straight touchdown drives by Kentucky following Vanderbilt’s strong opening. On Monday, though, Lea explained exactly what he meant.
“When I talked about getting down the call sheet faster, I’m specifically referencing just some run looks that we got. And to be super specific, it was like a nub tight end into the boundary where they gave a three-man service and they’re trying to get the ball in the corner. We can do some things to make that a little more challenging for them, but I felt like we stayed in one look a little too long,” Lea said.
The issue, as Lea described it, wasn’t a parade of huge plays. It was the steady stuff - runs that picked up about seven yards and kept Kentucky ahead of schedule. Instead of forcing second-and-long, Vanderbilt kept getting hit on first down and spent too much of the night in a tough defensive spot.
That’s the adjustment now: win first down, and stop letting opponents dictate the terms.
Lea said that fix comes down to both the call and the execution.
“There’s two components to this. There’s one, the call, and two, the execution of the call.
We talk about elite defenses being 50% what you play and 50% how you play and we talk about getting to our technique faster than the opponent,” Lea said. “There are things we can do structurally in the formation of the call that put our player in the best position.
In secondary, it’s like how do we pass the cloud, meaning a cloud corner and change leverage on the perimeter. Where do we insert a safety to change the picture offensively but also prove some protection at corner.”
For Vanderbilt, that means changing the picture in the secondary when needed, or simply winning more individual battles across the defense.
Lea also pointed to a third-down play from the Kentucky game as an example of how close the defense was to getting off the field. Vanderbilt generated pressure on quarterback Kenny Minchey, but a defender in the secondary was a step late on a crossing route, and Kentucky converted.
That kind of snap, Lea said, is part scheme and part execution. It circles back to the same idea: getting the right people in the right spots and then playing fast enough to finish the job.
After reviewing the film, Lea said he’s more focused on how his players performed than on the play-calling itself. He’s seen the defense show flashes of an identity in each of the last two games, only for things to unravel later.
“We’ve played the right way at times, we’ve just not put it together. The 50% what, the 50% how. I think we have a clear understanding of what that needs to look like,” Lea said.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Heads To Starkville With A Drought Finally Worth Watching
Saturdays trip to Davis Wade Stadium gives Vanderbilt a familiar SEC opponent and a setting the program has not navigated often in recent decades. The Commodores and Mississippi State are meeting for the 25th time since 1904, and this one comes with a little extra intrigue because it will be Vanderbilts first visit to Starkville under head coach Clark Lea. The matchup also arrives with a few of Vanderbilts top performers carrying real momentum, including wide receiver Junior Sherrill, who ranks among the nations receiving leaders and has already piled up several school records.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker CJ Heard has been a steady presence for a defense that will need to travel well in a tough road environment. He leads Vanderbilt in tackles and forced fumbles, which makes him one of the key figures to watch as the Commodores try to handle the kind of game that has often turned on field position and discipline. For Vanderbilt, this is more than just another SEC road date. It is a chance to see how far the program has come in a place where the history has not always been kind. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Needs More From Its Offense Before Jared Curtis Pays For It
Clark Lea spent the bye week talking less about a freshman quarterbacks growing pains and more about the offense around him, because Jared Curtis has been asked to carry too much too soon. Vanderbilt has seen enough progress from the young passer to believe the arrow is pointing up, but the bigger issue has been the ground game, which has left the offense too often stuck in obvious passing situations and made every mistake feel bigger than it should.
The timing matters with Mississippi State next on the schedule, because the Commodores used the break to try to get the run game moving again and ease some of that pressure off Curtis. Leas message was clear: the quarterback development is only part of the equation, and until the offense gives him more help, Vanderbilt will keep asking a freshman to absorb the consequences of a unit still searching for consistency. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Just Got Back A Piece Its Rotation Desperately Needed
Vanderbilts Monday-night win over Bellarmine came with a useful wrinkle in the backcourt, as the Commodores were able to lean on two point guards for extended stretches. The boost came from T.O. Barrett, who returned from injury and immediately gave Mark Byington another ballhandler to work with, a welcome development for a team still sorting out its rotation.
Barretts presence matters because it gives Vanderbilt more ways to organize the offense and more flexibility in how it pieces together lineups. He showed some of that value in limited minutes, and Byington sounded encouraged by the versatility he can bring once he settles back in, leaving the Commodores with a potentially important rotation piece just as the season starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]