ATHENS, Ga. - Vanderbilt left Saturday’s 38-14 loss to No. 2 Georgia with the same familiar issue hanging over its passing game: Junior Sherrill piled up the numbers, and everyone else lagged far behind.
Sherrill once again carried the receiving load, finishing with seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. That has become a pattern for the Commodores, who keep seeing the same box score shape from one week to the next. Behind him, the next most productive receiver was Ja’Cory Thomas, who caught two passes for 43 yards.
Still, Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea came away feeling like Thomas made more of an impact than the stat line shows.
“I felt Ja’Cory Thomas today. I felt him out there,” Lea said.
“He had the OPI call on him, which is what it is. But he did a nice job at the catchpoint there.
I felt him behind their defense. I was really encouraged by that.”
That kind of showing matters for a Vanderbilt offense that has been searching for a reliable second option. Tristen Brown flashed in that role against NC State two weeks ago, but the Commodores have not gotten steady production from anyone else opposite Sherrill. Thomas’ activity against Georgia stood out as his most involved game of the season, even after he had three catches for 18 yards in last week’s loss to Auburn.
The transfer from Old Dominion arrived with the idea that he could become the answer if defenses took Sherrill away. He had a solid fall camp before Vanderbilt’s opener against Austin Peay on Sept. 5, and at that point he looked like a legitimate No. 2 wide receiver.
But through the first four games, that promise had not shown up consistently. In games against Delaware and NC State, Thomas did not record a catch at all.
That has to change if Vanderbilt is going to keep moving forward.
If the Commodores want to reach bowl eligibility, Thomas needs to become the kind of player defenses have to account for every snap. Lea has pointed to him over the past couple of weeks as a possible vertical threat, and he repeated that view after the Georgia game, with a little more optimism this time.
“Obviously Junior is a trusted target. But if we can get someone opposite him that can stretch the field vertically, that’s going to help take pressure off Junior and give us another explosive threat, which I think we need,” Lea said.
Against Georgia, Thomas looked like the player Vanderbilt has been hoping for. Lea highlighted the targets Thomas got down the sideline and liked what he saw. But one active afternoon is only a start, not proof.
Vanderbilt did not leave Athens with a win, and there are no moral victories to claim. But if there was one encouraging sign in the loss, it was Thomas showing he can still become the kind of vertical threat that changes the shape of this offense. If that version of Thomas sticks, Vanderbilt may finally have the extra weapon it has been chasing.
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