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Vanderbilt Opens Spring Drills Tuesday, March 15 3/14/2005 Black & Gold Scrimmage Set For Saturday, March 26 Nashville, Tenn. – Vanderbilt opens its fourth Spring Practice under Head Coach Bobby Johnson on Tuesday afternoon in what promises to offer plenty of competition for a number of returning Commodores seeking starting roles. This spring, Johnson and his staff will look to fill five starting vacancies on both the offensive and defensive units while continuing to build quality depth throughout the squad. Sixty-eight players, including all-conference quarterback candidate Jay Cutler and All-SEC linebacker Moses Osemwegie, are expected participate on Tuesday. The Commodores will conduct 15 practices this spring, including the featured Black & Gold Scrimmage on Saturday, March 26. The scrimmage is free to the public and starts at 10:00 a.m., continuing just before the Commodore baseball team plays SEC Western Division foe Alabama nearby at Hawkins Field. Johnson said four practices are scheduled this week, barring inclement weather. The first three sessions – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – are open to the public and start at 4:00 p.m. The first practice in full pads is scheduled Thursday afternoon. Starting Saturday, all sessions except the Black & Gold Scrimmage are closed to the general public. “We’re excited about getting started, and getting back on work on the field,” Johnson said. “We’re been real pleased with the guys in our offseason conditioning program, but we have to get better on the field. We have to improve as football players. “You”ll see a continued emphasis on fundamentals because that’s a key to our team winning football games. At the same time, we’ll work on our consistency, making sure we become a more consistent team,” the head coach added. When the practices begin, 45 returning letterwinners are expected in uniform. Besides Cutler and Osemwegie, several other fulltime starters return from a year ago, including senior wide receiver Erik Davis, center Trey Holloway, tackle Brian Stamper, linebackers Herdley Harrison and Jonathan Goff, and safeties Kelechi Ohanaja and Andrew Pace. Twenty-one letterwinners from the 2004 squad are lost, including the following starters: offensive backs Norval McKenzie, Kwane Doster and Matthew Tant, wide receiver Brandon Smith, offensive linemen Justin Geisinger and Brian Kovolisky, defensive linemen Robert Dinwiddie, Matt Clay and Jovan Haye, and cornerbacks Bill Alford and Dominique Morris. Barring inclement weather, this week’s Commodore football practice schedule follows: |
