Week 0 is here, and Vanderbilt is only one week away from kicking off the 2026 season. After a month of fall camp, the Commodores have spent August sorting out roles on defense, and a few names clearly helped themselves along the way.
Up front, the EDGE picture did not change much from the pre-camp projection. Miles Capers still looks like the obvious lead option in the room entering his sixth season at Vanderbilt, and Iowa transfer Brian Allen Jr. also cemented himself as the No. 2 guy after a strong camp.
The one shift came behind them, where Boston College transfer Edwin Kolenge moved ahead of Mason Carter for the third spot. Kolenge put together a really nice camp and outplayed Carter over those weeks, though Carter still figures to have a meaningful role this season.
There is also help coming on the defensive line from Issa Ouattara, who is back after missing nearly all of the 2025 season because of a shoulder injury. He saw a few snaps in the first couple weeks of last season before the injury shut him down, and now he appears ready to bring a veteran presence back to the unit.
Jaylon Stone also emerged as a more impactful piece for Vanderbilt’s run defense, consistently causing problems in the backfield during camp. Aaron Bryant rounds out the group as the fourth option after a solid August.
At safety, the top of the depth chart stayed steady. Heard and Jones remain the leaders of the room, and Jones, in particular, seemed to find another gear late in camp as the program started to see the payoff from investing in him.
Dontae Carter is next in line, but that placement says more about the depth at the position than anything else. If not for Heard and Jones, Carter would be starting.
Even so, he closed camp like a dependable option who can be trusted when called on. Davin Chandler looked like he might climb past him early in camp, but his playmaking faded down the stretch while Carter kept stacking good practices.
Mason Lewis also entered the conversation after not being listed before camp, and while it is hard to project his season-long role, he gave the staff reason to feel better about the future of the safety room.
The STAR spot appears to belong to Carson Lawrence over Jailen Ruth. Ruth had some good days and a fine camp overall, but Lawrence simply looked better across the month.
That does not mean Ruth is stuck on the sideline; he should still play a lot of meaningful snaps. Still, Lawrence seems to have the starting job to open the season, even if Ruth could eventually make a push for it later on.
Cornerback brought one of the clearest upward moves of camp. Jordan Matthews entered August with a chance to prove he belonged among the top two at the position, and he did more than that.
His work in coverage earned him a starting spot, and by the end of camp he looked closer to Martel Hight than to Cayden Daniels. Daniels, though, had a standout camp of his own.
He was named Vandy On SI’s defensive MVP of fall camp after making splash plays and showing strong discipline in coverage, which locked him into the No. 3 spot in the room. The separation between Daniels and the rest of the corners below him was real.
Linebacker remains the most settled and strongest unit on the defense. Bryan Longwell and Nick Rinaldi are set to be the heart and soul of the group, and the fact that a veteran like Bryce Cowan is only the No. 3 option says plenty about the depth there.
Austin Howard moved up to fourth ahead of Jamison Curtis after a better overall camp, though the two can still be viewed as 4A and 4B. Josiah Broxton also boosted his stock enough to move into the “Others to Watch” category, showing he can still come off the bench and produce.
The full picture coming out of camp is straightforward: Vanderbilt’s defense has some clear established pieces, a few young or transfer additions that improved their standing, and enough depth in several rooms to make the early-season rotation interesting.