Vanderbilt’s offensive line enters 2026 with a very different look, but not a lot of panic.
The Commodores lost four starters from the group that was the best of Clark Lea’s tenure in 2025, yet the expectation inside the program is that this unit can hold together again. Lea sounded confident about where things stand, pointing to both the talent in the room and the coaching around it.
“The people are there, the snap experience is there. I think we have the best o-line coaches in the country.
I totally trust their ability to get this group playing as one,” Lea told Vandy On SI. “I saw it happen in the spring, and we need to double down on that in the summer.
But I’m excited about this group. Obviously you cannot win in our league if you can’t win on the offensive and defensive lines.”
The biggest reason for that confidence is the amount Vanderbilt put into reshaping the group. The Commodores added Cooper, Johnson and DeBose through the transfer portal, and they’re also counting on McConnell to take a major jump in his second year as a full-time starter. The other guard spot is still unsettled, but sources around the program are leaning toward Azibuke for now because of his physical tools and age.
There are other names in the mix, too. Wesley is viewed as a worthwhile option because of his experience, though health remains a concern.
Irving is considered solid, but not as dynamic as some of the other choices. Givens, meanwhile, still has some ground to make up.
Chris Klenakis has the task of welding all of that into one functioning unit, but the early read is that the group has come together faster than Vanderbilt’s recent offensive lines typically have.
That matters even more because the Commodores are expected to have a first-time starter at quarterback.
At center, Cooper is stepping into a huge role after Jordan White’s departure. He may not be the same player, but Vanderbilt sees a lot to like: experience, steadiness and a veteran presence.
Cooper spent two seasons starting at center at Pittsburgh, was a team captain, started all 12 games last season and posted a 77.3 pass-blocking grade on PFF. His numbers were lower than White’s, but Vanderbilt believes it landed one of the better portal options at the position.
“His snap experience is there even though it’s not been in the black and gold,” Lea said, “I think we can lean on that. I also think for guys like Lyndon, it’s learning about our program and making sure he’s taking an approach that looks like Vanderbilt football.
As a center, this was where Jordan [White] was masterful a year ago. I felt like he became Vanderbilt football and Vanderbilt football became him.
Lyndon needs to go through that same process.”
Johnson, meanwhile, is one of the more important pieces on the entire roster. He’s also one of Vanderbilt’s highest-compensated players. Klenakis described him as a “blue collar” worker who doesn’t draw attention to himself, but keeps showing up and doing the job.
That fits the way Johnson has talked about himself, too.
“I just put my head down and keep working,” Johnson said during the spring. “That’s how I roll, that’s how I grind. It’s how I do my business.”
And then there’s McConnell, the lone returning starter in the group. He was Vanderbilt’s second-highest graded full-time lineman a year ago, and now he’s talking like someone who sees a much bigger ceiling in front of him.
“I think an All-Conference player, an All-SEC player, All-American, all those big tag words are at the forefront of my mind,” McConnell told Vandy on SI. “Personally, I think my ceiling is whatever I want it to be.”
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Is Finally Closing In On A Quarterback Decision
Vanderbilt is getting closer to a decision at the games most important position, with Clark Lea saying the quarterback reps are now being directed toward finding a starter rather than simply developing the group. As preseason work continues, the Commodores are treating the coming days as a real evaluation period, and the first scrimmage is expected to carry major weight in how the staff sorts through the depth chart.
The battle still includes four quarterbacks, but the conversation has naturally started to narrow around the more prominent candidates, with freshman Jared Curtis and veteran Blaze Berlowitz drawing the most attention while Jack Elliott and Whit Muschamp remain in the mix. For a team trying to settle its offense before the season arrives, the next stretch of camp is less about experimentation and more about forcing clarity, even if the final answer is still a few practices away. [Read more 🡒]
Clark Lea Sees A Big Vanderbilt Benefit In NCAA Eligibility Change
College footballs new Five-for-Five eligibility rule is already drawing praise from Clark Lea, who sees a practical win for Vanderbilt as much as a philosophical one. The NCAAs change gives student-athletes five years of eligibility, with the clock starting after they turn 19 or at the beginning of their first academic year if they turn 19 after Sept. 1, and Lea said the biggest benefit may be the simplicity it brings to roster planning.
For coaches, the rule cuts down on the kind of year-to-year bookkeeping that has long complicated depth charts, especially the need to track redshirt status and participation limits. It also comes as the NCAA continues to sort through another eligibility question, after a Colorado judge ruled that players from the 2022 class have a fifth season available to them, pending the associations final decision. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilts Tennessee Opportunity May Come Down To One Vols Weakness
The build-up to this rivalry game has turned into a true freshman quarterbacks spotlight, with Vanderbilt and Tennessee both leaning into new faces as they prepare for the next chapter of one of the SECs sharpest in-state meetings. Tennessee has spent the offseason reshaping its defense, bringing in Jim Knowles as coordinator and adding new personnel, while Vanderbilts own path to an edge may come through a defense that has to hold up against a more experienced, better-stocked opponent.
For Vanderbilt, the appeal is obvious: if the game stays tight, home-field pressure can matter, and the Commodores have reason to believe this one could live in that range. The Vols have changed enough on one side of the ball to make the matchup harder to sort out than it looked a few months ago, but there is still a sense that one area of Tennessees defense could leave an opening. If Vanderbilt can make the right plays at the right time, the door to a home upset stays open deep into this one. [Read more 🡒]