Vanderbilt’s Saturday scrimmage offered a clear look at a few players who are starting to settle into bigger roles, and Nick Rinaldi may be the best example of that.
When Rinaldi arrived in 2022, he was still learning the game. Vanderbilt saw a body that could develop into something more, but the linebacker was coming in as a football novice, unsure of what his day-to-day role would even look like.
That uncertainty has given way to something much steadier. These days, Rinaldi knows exactly where he fits.
“I used to be a razor a little bit of STAR-like all around,” Rinaldi said, ”But I appreciate now that I feel like they've gotten a sense of my traits and what I'm good at, and where they can use me best.
And so I've started to understand that more as well. In practice paying attention to parts of my game that I can get better at, whether that's block disruption, tackling.”
That growth showed up in 2025, when Rinaldi posted 47 total tackles, including a career-high seven for loss, 3.5 sacks and a team-leading nine quarterback hurries. He still may have another level to reach before he can call himself an NFL player, but Vanderbilt people around him clearly believe that possibility is there.
Linebackers coach Nick Lezynski said the confidence has become impossible to miss.
“He loves it now,” Vanderbilt linebackers coach Nick Lezynski said. “So that’s been really cool to see because he’s watching more tape than I’m watching. He’s coaching the younger players now, so he’s become a voice and an extension of the coaches and that’s been the cool part to see about him.”
Clark Lea’s opening statement on Saturday mentioned only a few players, and Thomas was one of them. Lea liked what he saw from the receiver, who was consistently able to separate and got behind Vanderbilt’s corners multiple times during the scrimmage.
Thomas said he was slowed by a hamstring injury during the spring, which helps explain why that period didn’t stand out much. On Saturday, though, he said he felt as healthy as he has since getting to Vanderbilt, and it showed in his play.
“I’ve been progressing pretty good,” Thomas said. “I feel like my performance today was pretty good. I play receiver, so I just always want to be open for my quarterback, just to make plays for my team.”
The quarterback competition also got a nod from Lea, and Berlowitz appears to have made real progress. However people want to frame the battle, Lea said Berlowitz has improved a lot since this time last year and hasn’t been displaced by Jared Curtis.
“I'm really proud of the camp Blaze has put together,” Lea said. “ I think even coming from spring, I thought he had a really good summer and part of his strength is in system awareness and really best positioning the 11 guys on the field.
That is a part of his advantage, right? His edge.
He's done that without making mistakes with the ball on the whole.”
In Other News...
Clark Leas First Vanderbilt Defensive Read Leaves One Clear Concern
After Vanderbilts first fall camp scrimmage, Clark Lea came away with a defense that looked mostly sound in coverage, but there was one area that clearly bothered him. The Commodores head coach said the unit handled the passing game well enough overall, while also pointing to the need for cleaner work against outside rushing plays as the staff sifted through what the opening scrimmage revealed.
Lea also had praise for running back Evan Hampton after a strong showing and noted how hard the defensive staff has been pushing quarterbacks Jared Curtis and Blaze Berlowitz in practice to make sure they are ready for game-like situations. With two weeks left in camp, Vanderbilt still has time to tighten up the edges of its defense, but the first live look gave Lea a useful reminder of where the biggest work remains. [Read more 🡒]