Vanderbilt’s rise under Clark Lea has created a different kind of roster conversation this summer. The program is coming off a school-record 10-3 season, but it also has to replace Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers, two stars who shaped that run. Even so, Lea isn’t talking like a coach bracing for a step back.
The numbers help explain why. Vanderbilt enters with the 34th most experienced offense in the country, the No. 4 defense in the country, the No. 2 mark in game experience nationally and No. 12 in returning starts. That kind of continuity gives the Commodores a foundation even as some of the biggest names from last season are gone.
“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.”
This version of Vanderbilt may not have the obvious headliners that defined the 2025 team, but Lea sees a roster with answers across the board. That shows up in Vandy on SI’s top 20 player rankings, which spread across all three phases and every offensive and defensive position group.
At No. 6 is Martel Hight, one of the most established players on the roster and a player whose role has settled back where it belongs. After spending nearly all of his time on defense again, Hight looks positioned to build on what he already showed.
He wasn’t useless on defense when he also worked in snaps at wide receiver, but the difference was clear when he was able to focus solely on cornerback. Down the stretch, he was better, cleaner and more impactful in that role.
The full-season production backs that up. Hight intercepted four passes and ranks among Vanderbilt’s highest-graded returning players, according to PFF.
“I think that's the right thing for him,” Lea told Vandy on SI in regard to the position change. “He’s such a dynamic athlete, we were keeping him on the field as much as we could, but we can't do that at the expense of his ability to play corner.”
Now Hight gets a real chance to push his game forward in year four at Vanderbilt. He has shown enough flashes to matter, but he still hasn’t put together the kind of season that makes him a sure NFL name.
What he has done is establish himself as the kind of SEC corner Vanderbilt needed early in the Lea era. He was part of the program’s best season ever, and now he’s being asked to become one of the players who drives the next one.
That’s no small assignment, especially with Bryan Longwell and Sedrick Alexander also in the mix. Sorting out where Hight fits among that group is not easy.
Still, 2026 feels like the season where he can prove he’s more than a good SEC defender. The next question is whether he can become the kind of lockdown corner who can handle some of the league’s best receivers.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt May Finally Have The Safeties To Change Everything
Vanderbilts secondary has been a place where the defense has too often had to survive on effort and positioning rather than true difference-makers, but the 2026 safety group looks built a little differently. CJ Heard is moving into a bigger leadership role after establishing himself as a steady presence, and the room around him finally has the kind of experience that can make the back end feel less like a patchwork and more like a strength.
Ricardo Jones gives the Commodores another veteran piece with proven ball skills, and that changes the conversation for a defense that has been searching for more impact plays. If Heard can keep growing into the voice of the unit and Jones brings the kind of production Vanderbilt expects, the safety spot could become one of the reasons this defense looks more complete than it has in years. [Read more 🡒]