NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the weeks and months leading up to Vanderbilt’s first season under head coach Clark Lea, the former Vandy fullback used an unconventional method to present his Commodores with a little adversity.
The student-athletes were stripped of their respective jersey numbers. Eventually, no Commodores even had a number on the official roster posted by the program online.
“One of the things in a team environment that leads to adversity quickly is the separation of the team,” Lea said. “For a team that has been mired in mediocrity, or hasn’t had the results that they’ve wanted, signs and symptoms are that people are able to function within the program at a level which doesn’t represent the standard of the program.
“What’s important? That we work to standard or that we just show up? For us, it’s to become that if we’re not to standard, we’re actually undercutting the foundation of the program.”
Lea and his staff set forth four levels of the competitor: survivor, extrinsic, intrinsic and dominant. Each level has a corresponding jersey color and once a student-athlete climbs the ladder, so to speak, it unlocks his jersey number for the 2021 season.
The method of motivation allowed the Commodores to ask tough questions of themselves – questions they perhaps had never asked them before – while allowing Lea and his staff to excel as coaches and teachers.
“It’s been really constructive from a standpoint of, again, just designing the mindset of this team. Everything is going to be earned,” Lea said. “We need to acknowledge and really be aware of our level of commitment and sacrifice. We’re not going to be validated just by showing up. That doesn’t separate us. It’s what we’re willing to do in addition, not because it’s mandated by the program, but because we want to be co-creators in this experience.
“We’re trying to give the players the chance to take hold of the wheel and steer the program to where they want it to go. This summer’s design was just a way to accelerate that.”
Lea will now be looking for his program to transition into another crucial phase starting at 5:30 p.m. Friday with the first of 20 fall practices – including two scrimmages – leading into the season-opener Sept. 4 against East Tennessee State.
Part of that immediate transition will be a polishing of the new offensive and defensive systems that began to be installed during the spring months.
Offensive coordinator David Raih and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will have the bulk of their base packages installed within the next two weeks, Lea said, and the team will then adapt and evolve as the 12-game, three-month schedule continues. And unlike the first few months of Lea’s tenure, nothing that the Commodores encounter in August will be as unfamiliar as it may have been in March.
“They’ll have a higher launch point,” Lea said. “We’re further along in terms of our environment and some of the fundamentals of our program. It will definitely be the 201 version and not the 101.”
As Vandy creeps closer to the 2021 starting point it will also need to formulate a depth chart. Lea said he also won’t force the creation of a depth chart just for the sake of having one. The student-athletes will separate themselves and create the atmosphere of competition within the locker room.
“As is important as it is for everyone to feel like they have a chance to be the guy, we also want to be great at communicating exactly where people are so that they can continue to work on their weaknesses and improve to have a chance,” Lea said. “Just like the evolution of the team, the evolution of the depth chart will evolve as the year goes, too. Just because we start a certain way doesn’t mean we’ll finish that way.”
Vanderbilt will take the field both Friday and Saturday evening this weekend before an off day Sunday. The Dores will wear full pads for the first time Monday evening and scrimmage at Vanderbilt Stadium the morning of Aug. 14.
Lea explained how in every fall camp he has witnessed a moment where a team has faced a crossroads and that has often dictated that team’s future path. That happened as recently as this spring, as a matter of fact, when the first-year coach saw a squad who refused to leave practice after the final horn and demanded at least one more play be run.
How the Commodores have adapted by the 17th practice will say much more about the 2021 season than their first outing Friday.
“In the fall it’s going to be the ability to maintain that energy level and then what we’ll see in the scrimmages is are we understanding the significance of going to practice or training to performance? Are we disciplined enough to reach into our training and to deliver performance in those scrimmage settings?” Lea said. “That will kind of give me an indication of what our level of consistency is, what our level of work capacity is and from there – the first game is on the schedule and it’s not moving. Where we are at that point will be measured by East Tennessee State.
“From there, it’s about how we continue and rapidly evolve this team to be ready for each challenge that awaits thereafter.”
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
