Vanderbilt may be getting a key piece back right when it needs him.
Coach Clark Lea said Tuesday that tight end Cole Spence is day-to-day and will be listed as questionable on the first SEC Availability Report ahead of Saturday’s matchup with Auburn. Lea stopped the room briefly to make sure the update got out.
“Super excited,” Lea said. “The injury he suffered, nine out of 10 people are gonna be out for the season.
But, here's a guy who has done everything the right way. We say sleep, hyrdration, consumption.
This guy takes care of his body, and his body takes care of him.”
Lea also said Spence could have a chance to help Vanderbilt in its SEC opener, and that the program is encouraged by the possibility.
That matters because Spence is projected to start at tight end and is expected to take on a larger role after Eli Stowers’ departure from the program. In 2025, Spence set career highs with 15 catches, 233 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He started 10 games and appeared in all 13, so his absence would leave a real gap in Vanderbilt’s passing game down the field.
The issue first surfaced the Sunday before Vanderbilt’s opener against Austin Peay and kept Spence limited for almost the entire first week of the season.
It’s not the first time injuries have slowed him down. Spence was coming on after his freshman season before a torn ACL cost him 2023, and he has also dealt with several minor injuries since arriving at Vanderbilt in 2022. Still, when he does get back, he gives the offense a needed answer.
“I’m excited,” Spence told Vandy On SI over the summer in regard to the idea of replacing Stowers. “When you talk about playing tight end, there are two facets to the game: the blocking and the receiving.
In the past couple years, the team has needed me to lean more into my blocking ability because we had such a talented guy in Eli, and I mean, you can't replace that guy. But I'm really excited to be able to just step into that other part of the game, because keep in mind I was a receiver first, so that was my bread and butter.”
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The focus now turns to whether the Commodores can turn that message into something tangible on Saturday. Leas standard is straightforward: keep explosive touchdowns off the board and make Auburn settle for field goals when drives get into scoring range. For a Vanderbilt defense that has already been put on notice, the opener offers an immediate chance to show the issues from last week were a warning, not a pattern. [Read more 🡒]
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Jordan-Hare Stadium will provide the first true conference measuring stick for a team that has already beaten Auburn in each of the last two meetings. The challenge now is whether Vanderbilts start is a sign of something sustainable once the SEC schedule begins, or just the kind of fast September run that gets tested the moment league play arrives. [Read more 🡒]