Vanderbilt is trying to build a new offensive identity, and it starts with a simple reality: this is not the same group that spent 2024 leaning on control and keep-away football.
Clark Lea and Tim Beck have already lived through the version of this offense that could bleed the clock, shorten the game and do just enough to beat Alabama in the most meaningful win in program history. But that look is no longer the default. Lea said the Commodores’ offense in 2025 should be a mix of styles, one that keeps the physical run game but uses it as a gateway to more explosive passes.
“I would see this year being a blend,” Lea said in regard to the two styles. “I would see it not necessarily oscillating back and forth, but, having that plan to win and having it include game control elements where we're going to have a physical run game and anytime you start with a physical run game, you're talking about the ability to control the clock.
But, one of the things that's hard is that 15 play drives are great-they're just hard to maintain. And so how can we use these game control elements and a physical run game to in time open up the explosive passes?
And we have the personnel to do that, too.”
That personnel looks different now. Vanderbilt lost Diego Pavia, Eli Stowers, Tre Richardson and four of its five starting offensive linemen, so Beck is being asked to rebuild while also preserving what worked.
The challenge isn’t just replacing production. It’s finding a new way to function.
There are still clear pieces to build around. Sedrick Alexander and MK Young give the Commodores veteran depth at running back.
Junior Sherrill, whom Beck calls the leader of the receiver room, remains the most established wideout. Cole Spence is expected to take on a much larger role in the passing game than he has at any point in his career.
Beyond that, Beck is looking for younger players and portal additions to make themselves impossible to ignore. Vanderbilt is counting on growth from Tristen Brown, Joseph McVay, Brycen Coleman, Kayleb Barnett and Old Dominion transfer Ja’Cory Thomas. Even if a second or third receiver never fully separates from the pack, the Commodores believe the offense can still hit.
Spence put it plainly.
“It's just about execution,” Spence said. “You can make a counter play explosive if you block everybody upright, and we're running a lot of iso and those kinds of things.
But then when you get a first play first down, then we probably want to go tempo. We're going to be running a lot of those same things that have a lot of the same characteristics.
It’s just about execution, I think execution makes you explosive.”
Beck’s view goes deeper than chasing chunk plays. He believes Vanderbilt’s rise in 2025 was built in 2024 through the less glamorous stuff - perimeter blocking, clean execution and attention to detail in the margins. Lea, who calls Beck one of the best playcallers in the country, also believes the offense only reaches its ceiling if the whole operation executes consistently.
There’s another major piece to this too: quarterback. Vanderbilt will have a first-year starter in five-star freshman Jared Curtis or longtime backup Blaze Berlowitz, and the staff has not named a starter yet. Lea said the offense will be shaped around whichever player wins the job, with wrinkles tailored to that quarterback, but not a total overhaul.
He also said this is his deepest Vanderbilt team yet, which gives Beck more room to work with than he had before.
For now, though, the Commodores are still in discovery mode. Beck made that clear after Vanderbilt’s first practice of fall camp.
“This year we're still trying to find our niche,” Beck said Wednesday after Vanderbilt's first practice of fall camp. “That's exactly what this is for, to find what our identity is and who the guys that we need to get the ball to and then make sure it fits it within our system.”
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Is Finally Closing In On A Quarterback Decision
The quarterback picture at Vanderbilt is starting to shift from summer evaluation mode into decision time. Clark Lea said the staff has moved from simply developing the room to focusing reps on finding a starter as the season gets closer, a small but meaningful sign that the competition is sharpening. Four quarterbacks are still in the mix, and the staff has spent camp sorting through the options with an eye toward who can best handle the job when the games begin.
The next big checkpoint comes with the first scrimmage, which should give the coaches a clearer read on where things stand. There has already been plenty of talk around the battle, with freshman Jared Curtis and veteran Blaze Berlowitz drawing the most attention, while Jack Elliott and Whit Muschamp remain part of the picture. For Vanderbilt, the appeal is obvious: settling the position sooner would give the offense more time to settle in, but Lea is still waiting for the evaluation process to tell him which direction to go. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Enters Camp Healthy But One Defensive Concern Still Lingers
Vanderbilt heads into fall camp on Aug. 5 in a better physical spot than it has been in recent years, a welcome shift for a program that has spent too much time managing its way through August. Clark Lea said the roster is relatively healthy as camp opens, with most of the issues amounting to the normal wear and tear that comes with the start of a new season.
The one lingering concern comes on the defensive side, where depth and availability still merit a closer look as camp gets rolling. LSU transfer CJ Jackson is already lost for the season after an injury in practice, and Jacksonville State transfer Talan Carter will be held back early because of a toe injury, leaving the Commodores with at least a couple of spots that still need sorting out before the pace picks up. [Read more 🡒]
Clark Lea Sees A Big Vanderbilt Benefit In NCAA Eligibility Change
The NCAAs new Five-for-Five eligibility rule gives college football a cleaner framework to work with, and Clark Lea sees a real advantage in it for Vanderbilt. With five years of eligibility now attached to a players college timeline, the clock beginning after a student-athlete turns 19 or starts that first academic year, the roster picture gets a little less murky for coaches trying to plan ahead.
For Lea, the biggest benefit is practical: less time spent tracking redshirt status and fewer restrictions on how and when players can be used. The rule arrives as the NCAA also weighs another eligibility question, after a Colorado judge ruled that members of the 2022 class should receive a fifth year, though the organization has not finalized its decision on that matter yet. [Read more 🡒]