March 2, 2016
On campus in Nashville – The Commodores moved closer to their first scrimmage of Spring Ball with another quick-paced morning session Wednesday.
Working out in the indoor facility, the Commodores went nearly two hours in full pads Wednesday, adding to the offensive and defensive playbooks, and continuing to focus on special teams, position techniques and fundamentals, and conditioning.
After the practice, Head Coach Derek Mason hinted that the team’s first full-contact sessions could come Friday in a situational scrimmage. That practice will be Vanderbilt’s last before taking a week off for Spring Break.
“It will be more of a scrimmage feel Friday. We’ll get a chance to put the guys in some short-yardage and goal line situations,” Mason said. “I want to see us play fast and smart, and be efficient on both sides of the ball. The offense wants to put it in the end zone and the defense wants to keep them out. So we’ll see what that goes.”
The head coach liked the Commodores’ practice tempo Wednesday. In 9-on-9 and 11-on-11 team segments that featured “thud” tackling, Mason saw gains being made on offense and defense.
“The guys came out and did a good job of competing. Offensively, the quarterbacks looked solid and the receivers did a great job of catching the football. On defense, we played fast, were in the right alignments, and didn’t give up many explosive plays. That’s what you’re want.”
Highlights from team drills
Here’s some of the top individual plays from 7-on-7, 9-on-9 and 11-on-11 team segments Wednesday.
– Torren McGaster (Sr., CB) and Andrew Rector (So., safety) registered interceptions, with McGaster taking his pick for an apparent touchdown.
– During 11-on-11 drills, Jonathan Wynn (Jr., DE) blew up back-to-back rushing attempts, stopping Josh Crawford (So., RB) and Dallas Rivers (Jr., RB) in the backfield.
– Other contributing tackles for loss were Caleb Peart (R-Fr., OLB), Charles Wright (So., OLB), Jordan Griffin (So., ILB) and Nehemiah Mitchell (Sr., OLB/DE).
– C.J. Duncan (Jr., WR) produced two acrobatic catches, including a one-handed grab in the end zone, then capped off the practice with a leaping reception in heavy traffic.
– Khari Blasingame (So., RB) continues to impress as a new member of the Commodore offensive backfield. Blasingame produced the most explosive rush, showing good speed on a 30-yard carry off right tackle.
– Trent Sherfield (Jr., WR) made a tough, over-the-shoulder catch on a deep sideline route from Wade Freebeck (Jr., QB).
Impressed with the running back corps
Mason has been impressed with the team’s depth and overall talent at running back behind two-year starter Ralph Webb (Jr., RB). This spring, Dallas Rivers (Jr., RB/FB), Josh Crawford (So., RB), Jalen Banks (Jr., RB), Jaire George (R-Fr., RB) and Khari Blasingame (So., RB/FB) have flashed their skills to the staff.
“Andy has done a terrific job of assembling more running backs. The more competition we have for Ralph, the better our play will be,” Mason said. “They all bring different dimensions to the position. Jaire George is now healthy and we’re seeing what he can do. We know what Dallas and Josh can do, and Khari looks extremely natural as a big back with great hands and the ability to pass pro.”
