Links associated with this release:
Defensive Line
Linebackers
Secondary
|
Football Season Preview, Part Two: Defense 8/3/2005 Key Position Changes Aimed At Quicker Commodore Defensive Unit The Commodore defense, which showed improvement in many statistics categories in 2004, will have a different look this year as coaches work to replace five starters from a year ago. Several standouts are back, including a quartet of seniors who have started multiple seasons in a Commodore uniform. Moses Osemwegie (6-0, 228) continues the Commodore tradition of great linebackers while Kelechi Ohanaja (6-1, 200) and strong safety Andrew Pace (6-1, 198) provide experience in the secondary. Herdley Harrison (6-3, 236) is the final starting senior returning, but he will face a new challenge by moving to defensive end. Numerous position changes during spring drills also appear to have resulted in a faster overall unit. As camp opens, the coaches will look to solidify starting assignments at tackle and in the secondary. Among the departed defensive players are defensive end Jovan Haye, who signed with the Carolina Panthers as a sixth round draft pick, cornerback Bill Alford, who signed a free agent deal with the Ravens and cornerback Dominique Morris, who spent time earlier this year in camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Vanderbilt will look to a pair of veterans and several second-year players to fill key roles among a defensive line corps that is missing a NFL sixth round draft pick in Jovan Haye and two tackles that started much of the 2004 season. While the Commodores will not rely on a bevy of experienced players, the prospective replacements do offer plenty of athleticism and eagerness to handle the expanded responsibilities. For three years, senior Herdley Harrison (6-3, 254) has been one of the Commodores’ most consistent performers, always willing to accept the role designated by his coaches. In 2005, Harrison will face a significant challenge, moving from linebacker to defensive end, offering the Commodores an upgrade in speed on the front. Coaches labelled Harrison’s transition to end as one of the team’s top successes in Spring Practice. Three players — Chris Booker (6-4, 252, Sr.), David Carter (6-4, 255) and Theo Horrocks (6-3, 275) — are competing with Harrison for starting duties at defensive end. Booker passed a huge physical test last spring by experiencing little effects from a troublesome knee. Horrocks, who was held out of spring drills by the coaches, and Carter have the physical tools to win starting roles at end. Both sophomores demonstrated flashes while playing last year as true freshmen. Redshirt freshman Brandon Holmes (6-3, 275) also showed progress during spring and a trio of incoming signees, Derrius Dowell (6-3, 245), Broderick Stewart (6-5, 210) and Steven Stone (6-5, 230), could add quality depth. Senior Ralph McKenzie (6-4, 305) and junior Ray Brown (6-3, 296) have the inside track to start at tackle after seeing substantial action in 2004, but they should be pushed by a pair of improving sophomores, Lamar Divens (6-4, 300) and Gabe Hall (6-1, 295). Divens, a contributing end last year, has added strength and weight in anticipation of playing tackle while Hall was one of the team’s most improved players during Spring Practice. If healthy, redshirt freshman DeMarcus Bradley (6-2, 290) also has the ability to compete at tackle. Senior Moses Osemwegie (6-0, 228) enters the season as the latest in a growing roll of outstanding linebackers at Vanderbilt. An All-SEC selection in 2004 and consensus preseason pick this year, Osemwegie returns for his final year at weakside linebacker as the league’s active leading tackler and one of the team’s biggest playmakers. Osemwegie’s versatility and ability to play any of the three linebacking positions, also allows the coaching staff to take an interesting view of different combinations in what appears on paper to be the team’s deepest position. No Commodore showed greater progress during the spring than junior strongside linebacker Kevin Joyce (6-3, 220). A major contributor toward the end of 2004, Joyce took another step forward last spring, allowing the coaching staff to move Herdley Harrison to defensive end. As Joyce continues to gain physical maturity and on-the-field experience, his performance promises to go higher. At middle linebacker, the Commodores expect to start sophomore Jonathan Goff (6-4, 236), though former starter and senior Otis Washington (5-11, 247) enters preseason camp off an impressive spring campaign. Goff showed plenty of awareness and athleticism as a late-season starter in 2004 and could blossom this season surrounded by the active duo of Osemwegie and Joyce. Besides Washington, the Commodores appear to possess better depth at linebacker than any other position. Since arriving on campus, Curtis Gatewood (6-3, 222, R-So.) has looked like a linebacking asset for the Commodores. As Gatewood’s maturity and confidence grows, his impact on the field will expand. Trying to add athleticism at linebacker, the coaches moved sophomore safeties Marcus Buggs (5-11, 228) and Darnell Martemus (5-11, 228) to the position last spring. The results appeared mixed – Buggs quickly worked his way into the rotation while Martemus was limited by nagging ailments. Both could substantially help the unit, as will signees Brandon Bryant (6-0, 215), Chris Johnson (6-1, 215) and Quavian Lewis (6-4, 210). The Commodores used Spring Practice to reevaluate the secondary personnel following the departure of both starting cornerbacks, Bill Alford and Dominique Morris. By the conclusion of spring drills, the Commodores resolved the puzzle by moving a veteran safety to the corner, allowing a talented redshirt freshman every opportunity to join the unit as a starter at safety. With two years as a starter under his belt, senior Kelechi Ohanaja (6-1, 202) should be a stablizing force in the secondary, though he has moved to free safety. The move opens the way for Reshard Langford (6-1, 212, R-Fr.) at strong safety. Langford has all the tools to become an outstanding player in the SEC, combining a physicality to go with a nose for the football. Senior Ben Koger (6-1, 196) showed coaches a new dimension at free safety during Spring Practice and pushed Ohanaja for playing time. A former linebacker, Funtaine Hunter (6-3, 222, Jr.), also could be in the mix at safety, as could signee Ryan Hamilton (6-1-205) and walk-on Adrian Reif (6-2, 214, Jr.). The importance of senior Andrew Pace (6-1, 198) to the Commodore defense cannot be overstated. After serving as an on-field captain at safety in 2004, Pace fully accepted a position move during Spring Practice and enters preseason camp as a likely starter at cornerback. Across the field, the coaches will enter camp with junior Sean Dixon (6-0, 186) and senior Cheron Thompson (5-11, 185) competing for the starting role. Though inexperienced, Dixon has solid athletic ability and an eagerness to absorb the system. Thompson was one of the Commodores’ most valuable defensive backs last year, concluding the season in the starting lineup at nickel back, and shows signs of being fully healed from a 2003 knee injury. Sophomore Khalil Sutton (5-11, 200) also will get a look. Two speedy redshirt freshmen — Josh Allen (5-9, 172) and Jared Fagan (5-10, 175) — were impressive during the spring and will get every opportunity this August to earn substantial roles in the inexperienced group of defensive backs. |