Vanderbilt’s new-look roster doesn’t come with the same headline names it had a year ago, but the Commodores still have plenty of belief inside the program. That’s the backdrop for the latest entry in Vandy on SI’s top 20 player rankings, where defensive lineman Yilanan Ouattara lands at No. 11.
Clark Lea is trying to steer Vanderbilt forward after a program-best 10-3 season, even with star quarterback Diego Pavia and star tight end Eli Stowers gone. The staff’s confidence starts with experience. Vanderbilt ranks 34th nationally in offensive experience, No. 4 on defense, No. 2 in game experience and No. 12 in returning starts.
“Just in terms of quality depth, I mean, this is probably the best team we've had,” Lea told Vandy on SI. “Obviously, we have some big gaps to fill, and some of those gaps were our production leaders from a year ago, but I like this team. I like where we are.”
Ouattara fits the kind of player Vanderbilt is banking on this season: big, gifted and still climbing. Former Vanderbilt defensive line coach Larry Black once described him as having a 97-million dollar body, and Ouattara clearly understands the opportunity in front of him.
“I feel like I’ve been taking steps every year I’ve been here,” Ouattara told Vandy on SI. “But, I don’t feel like there’s ever a real sense of arrival.
I don’t feel like I have a genetic ceiling. God has blessed me with a lot of talent, so I feel like it’s just in my hands to polish the gift he’s given me and just become the best player I can be.”
He arrived at Vanderbilt with very little experience, improved each season and looked poised for a breakout before a shoulder injury cut most of the 2025 season short. Now he gets another shot to show how far he’s come.
The staff believes he’s capable of much more, and Ouattara sounds ready to match that expectation. He’s been working on his body, says he’s better across the board, and knows there’s still another level to reach. For now, he sits at No. 11 on the list, but he may have as much upward movement as anyone on the roster.
“I’ve had two offseasons leading up to this season, if you think about it,” Ouattara said. “For me, missing last year, I kind of took it as an opportunity and a challenge to work on myself and be able to put the best product out there next year.
Obviously there’s numbers that you want to hit, but to me, just wreaking havoc-it’s not something that you can always quantify. I just want to be a dominant force out there, it just goes with getting recognized as All-Conference, All-SEC and All-American.”
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Faces One Huge Question After Eli Stowers Exit
Replacing an All-SEC tight end is never a one-player fix, and Vanderbilt is approaching Eli Stowers departure with that reality in mind. Stowers is off to the NFL, leaving the Commodores to rebuild a position that mattered in both phases of the offense, and the early answer is a group effort built around Cole Spence, Jayvontay Conner, Walter Taylor and Maurice Veney as they learn the system and build chemistry under tight ends coach Brendan Flaherty.
The staff believes those pieces can be blended to cover what Stowers provided as both a receiver and a blocker, with each bringing a different skill set to the table. Spence, Conner, Taylor and Veney are still settling into their roles, and the bigger question for Vanderbilt is how quickly that collection can become a reliable part of the passing game without losing the edge Stowers gave the run game. [Read more 🡒]