March 16, 2010
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With the start of spring drills one day away, Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson says it’s okay for his Commodores to be reminded of last year’s disappointing season. He simply does not want them to repeat it.
“Everyone associated with this team knows how disappointing last year was, and nobody wants to repeat it,” Johnson said. “Our team has to focus its energy and rededicate ourselves to getting the most out of every practice available to us. Each day, we need to be a little bit better when we leave the football field.”
Johnson will welcome 13 starters and more than 40 letter winners from the 2009 squad that finished 2-10 overall. The poor finish came just one year after the Commodores went 7-6 and captured the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl in their first postseason bowl appearance in 27 years.
The squad features 11 starters back from 2009, including Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year Warren Norman at tailback and kickoff returner, linebacker Chris Marve, safety Sean Richardson, cornerback Casey Hayward, tight end Brandon Barden and wide receiver John Cole.
For Johnson’s Commodores, it’s back to proper fundamentals, discipline and full effort aimed at one goal – daily improvement. “We’re going to take a close look at everybody, especially the redshirt freshmen and younger players, to see what they can do. We have some young guys that can really help this team become much better.
“Watching young guys step forward, work hard in practice, and earn playing time is the fun aspect of spring practice. I expect several guys to be up to that challenge this spring,” the coach said.
The Commodores will hold more than a dozen practices leading to the featured Black & Gold Scrimmage, scheduled Saturday, April 10, in Vanderbilt Stadium.
The Commodores need to see improvement with the offense, a unit that struggled much of last year. After offseason reassignments in responsibilities, the offensive staff will look to rebuilt the interior line, find additional playmakers and get more consistency from the quarterback position. Across the line of scrimmage, more physicality against the rushing attack, better success in third-down and red-zone situations, and identifying more depth at linebacker and safety are spring goals. On special teams, the Commodores hope to settle on a new punter.
Five Commodores to Miss Contact Drills
At least five Commodores, including two that opened the 2009 season as offensive starters, will be limited in contact drills this spring as they continue to recover from injuries.
The two offensive starters still rehabilitating injuries are James Williams, a redshirt junior right tackle, and redshirt junior tight end Austin Monahan. Williams suffered a lower leg fracture early in the 2009 season against LSU. Monahan is recovering from a late-season knee surgery. Others expected to miss much spring contact are sophomore linebacker Tristan Strong (knee), redshirt freshman tailback Wesley Tate (foot) and redshirt freshman linebacker Marc Panu (chest muscle).
Vanderbilt medical staffers expect all five Commodores to be healthy when the team reports for summer camp in early August.