NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea and his program celebrated Team 2 at the second annual RISE Awards on Saturday night on the Vanderbilt campus.
Senior linebacker Anfernee Orji was named the team’s Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season, while Gavin Schoenwald collected the Team 2 Player of the Year Award, Will Sheppard was named Offensive Player of the Year and CJ Taylor earned Defensive Player of the Year.
Other awards included the Scholar of the Year (Ethan Barr), scout team top performers and the Lance Brown Impact Award, given to Director of Sport Nutrition Julia Baird.
The award ceremony was held at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music. The evening officially concluded the 2022 campaign which saw the Commodores more than double their win total from a year ago as Lea completed his second season at the helm of his alma mater.
2022 RISE Awards
| Freshmen of the Year | Jayden McGowan & AJ Swann |
| Newcomer of the Year | Gunnar Hansen |
| O-Show Award (Offensive Scout) | Cole Spence |
| Skull & Bones Award (Defensive Scout) | Linus Zunk |
| Rough Riders Award (Special Teams Scout) | Alan "Taco" Wright |
| Offensive Most Improved | Quincy Skinner Jr. |
| Defensive Most Improved | Devin Lee |
| Reaper Award (Strength & Conditioning) | Jaylen Mahoney |
| Scholar of the Year | Ethan Barr |
| Special Teams Player of the Year | Cooper Lutz |
| Specialist of the Year | Matthew Hayball |
| Courage Award | Daevion Davis |
| Fighting Spirit Award | Gamarion Carter |
| Offensive Trench | Jacob Brammer |
| Defensive Trench | Nate Clifton & Christian James |
| VUFB Warrior | Ben Bresnahan & Maxwell Worship |
| Respect & Appreciation Award | Charlie Dallape |
| Stone Cutter Award | Bradley Ashmore |
| Lance Brown Impact Award | Julia Baird |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Will Sheppard |
| Defensive Player of the Year | CJ Taylor |
| Team Two Player of the Year | Gavin Schoenwald |
| Most Valuable Player | Anfernee Orji |
