Dec. 27, 2011
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Headquarters shift to Memphis | Monday’s Blog | Bowl Central
Core Values
Let’s begin with the Quote of the Day used in the opening slide of Head Coach James Franklin’s presentation to the team Tuesday.
“Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.”
–Vince Lombardi
Day 2 of AutoZone Liberty Bowl Week started with a two-hour meeting at 7:30 a.m. with Franklin and top football officials reviewing the agenda for the day. Wake-up calls for players started at 9 a.m., followed by breakfast and film review. (We should note that every Commodore made curfew last night, so no names were added to “The Breakfast Club” list).
Franklin brought the entire squad together for their daily team meeting at 10:30 a.m. In the 15-minute session, Franklin focused on some of the core values that make up the program: having a positive attitude and great work ethic in everything, giving maximum effort, taking pride in doing the little things the right way, and always being willing to sacrifice something.
Franklin also encouraged the team to strengthen its conditioning mentality heading into the afternoon practice at Memphis University School.
“Everything we do should be a competition,” Franklin said. “You guys should be out leading the front. Everybody should be competing to finish first and not competing not to finish last. That’s got to be our mentality with everything we do, not only in this program, but in life. I hope that you guys aren’t setting standards for yourself for the rest of your life that you just don’t want to be last. You want to be first in everything you do. That’s what you’ve got to be pushing yourself for.”
Keeping with his mantra of the season, Franklin repeated that the Commodores have a 0-0 record going into the bowl game. “This is the most important game on the schedule because it’s the next game on the schedule.”
Elvis Sighting
While the Commodores were attending special teams and position meetings, VUcommodores’ ventured over to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl office.
A few observations… In the main lobby Vanderbilt and Cincinnati helmets are placed head-to-head with a replica of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl trophy. To the right there is a display of helmets representing all teams that have participated in the bowl game. Framed programs cover the walls dating back to the inaugural game in 1959 between Penn State and Alabama. Check out this image of the 1977 cover featuring Elvis Presley.
Franklin Pleased with Practice Effort
Franklin put the Commodores through an intense 25-period practice that lasted two and half hours on a chilly Tuesday afternoon at Memphis University School. It was the first time the Dores were able to practice outside in Memphis after the team had to move indoors on Monday night due to rainy conditions.
Franklin praised the team following the session for dedicating themselves to the mission at hand. The team clearly responded to Franklin’s challenge issued at the morning team meeting.
“For this late in the year, for bowl practice, that’s as good of a practice on a Tuesday of bowl week that I’ve ever been around,” Franklin noted. “The energy, the effort, the attitude; we flew around and got a lot out of it. That’s a hell of a job.”
The highlight of the day was the one-on-one battle between non-travel offensive lineman and defensive lineman at the end of practice. Franklin decided to mix things up by adding the drill, which consisted on 10 reps with the losing side having to do 20 up-downs for conditioning.
Participants for the offensive line were Joe Townsend, Jose Valedon, James Lewis, Jake Bernstein, and Spencer Pulley. Representing the defensive line were Taylor Loftley, Conor Hart, Thomas Ryan, and Jimmy Stewart.
The entire team surrounded the drill with each unit cheering loudly for their side. Franklin reminded the participants that it was important to compete until the final whistle, which cost the defense a couple of points. VUcommodores’ unofficial count had the offense winning the competition.
“We’re just trying to do some competitive stuff at the end of practice with the young guys or the non-travel guys, the ones that haven’t been getting reps to keep them involved in these practices,” Franklin explained. “We’re just trying to keep those guys involved and bring some energy to practice. We’ll try to do something like that at the end of each practice.”
Watch footage of the o-line/d-line faceoff in our sights and sounds video.
Players Receive Bowl Gifts
After returning from practice on Tuesday, each player stopped off on the mezzanine level of the Peabody Hotel to claim their bowl gifts, which were neatly laid out in numerical order by Vanderbilt’s equipment staff.
Here is the complete list of what the players will receive. Note that not all of the items were distributed Tuesday.
From Vanderbilt Athletics
Bowl Ring, Bowl Sweat Suit
Bowl T-Shirt
Bowl Shorts
Hat
Practice Sweat Suit
Practice T-Shirt
Shoes
From AutoZone Liberty Bowl
$200.00 Best Buy Gift Card
Fossil Watch
Game Ball
Nike Running Shoes
Nike Sport Sandals
Nike Jordan Backpack
Nike Sunglasses
For a closer look at the swag Vanderbilt’s players received Tuesday, watch the video of junior linebacker Archibald Barnes talking about his haul.
Team Welcome Party
The Commodores concluded their evening by joining Cincinnati at the Team Welcome Party at AutoZone Park, the home of the AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals – the Memphis Redbirds. In addition to being fed some delicious barbecue, the two team’s also competed in three friendly competitions.
The first competition was a rib eating challenge, which pitted offensive lineman Mylon Brown against a Cincinnati Bearcat. Brown won in convincing fashion and got to take home a Gibson guitar for winning the competition.
Vanderbilt looked to clinch the best 2-out-of-3 competition when the Commodores and Bearcats faced off in a virtual game on Xbox. Warren Norman was at the controls of the Commodores in the game that featured four, two-minute quarters. Cincinnati built a 14-0 lead before Norman cut the score to 14-7, but that would also end up being the final as Cincinnati evened the challenge at one.
The final competition was a singing challenge between the two schools. Representing Vanderbilt was sophomore safety Nick Aguirre, who sung the national anthem at a Vanderbilt football game earlier this season. Aguirre opted to sing “Stand By Me.” Much to the chagrin of both teams, the judges were unable to pick a clear-cut winner and agreed on a tie, meaning the competition would end in a tie.
Be sure to watch the video from the three competitions Tuesday night.
