NASHVILLE, Tenn. – At approximately 8:10 a.m. Wednesday, Clark Lea jogged onto the Vanderbilt football practice field and stood in the center of the Star V logo painted at midfield. He turned to survey his squad as the claps and cheers ascended in volume.
With a short blow of the whistle the Commodores sprinted forward to surround their first-year head coach – and Vanderbilt spring football was officially underway.
“I had a lot of fun today,” Lea said. “That doesn’t mean it always went well, but it went and it’s a great first step for us moving forward.”
A two-hour session Wednesday was the first of 15 practices leading up the program’s annual spring game April 17. Lea guided the Commodores as they worked out in helmets without pads and focused on position-specific drills during the first day. Wednesday’s session also included 7-on-7 and team periods.
Halfway through practice Lea gathered his team at midfield once again and had them take a knee while he expressed to them what he wanted to see during the ensuing team period. Fifteen minutes later Lea repeated that process before the Commodores headed inside to the David Williams Recreation and Wellness Center.
“I knew this would be different. I knew it would feel different for me,” Lea said of his first practice as a head coach. “For me this is about really taking a broad look at the program – how the program functions, how it transitions, putting my eyes on every position group and individual to make sure we’re doing the things we need to do in our drill order to be the developmental program that we want to be.
“I had a lot of fun doing that today. I’ll continue to learn more about my role and continue to grow into this role, but I’m pretty comfortable with what I’m going to need to do and felt like I was able to do that to a certain level of success today.”
Vanderbilt is scheduled to return to the practice field Friday.
Dores Spring Into Action by Vanderbilt Athletics on Exposure
