March 14, 2015
Nashville – The Commodores enjoyed their first outdoor practice of Spring Ball Saturday, staging a productive scrimmage in Vanderbilt Stadium that delighted their head coach.
The 63-play effort, staged in a steady drizzle, included two touchdowns and several big plays from the offense, a hard-hitting defense and few miscues.
Mason praised the team afterward, saying he saw improvement from both sides of the ball. “We definitely got better today,” the head coach said. “The offense was making plays and guys up front being physical. I thought the defense was aggressive, attacking and played with good energy.
“There were a few mistakes and we’ll make those corrections, but for the most part, I thought we competed at a high level. I saw a lot of positives and improvement from both sides of the ball.”
The scrimmage came one week before the program hosts its Black & Gold Spring Game in Vanderbilt Stadium. It will start at 1 p.m., with gates opening and pre-game activities beginning at 11 a.m.
Quarterbacks Patton Robinette (R-Jr.), Johnny McCrary (R-So.) and Wade Freebeck (So.) registered big plays while sharing equal snaps during the scrimmage. Arguably the top performance by a offensive skill performer came from Dallas Rivers (So., RB) who tallied one rushing touchdown and broke numerous tackles during the session.
Stephen Weatherly (R-Jr., OLB) and Torren McGaster (R-Jr., CB) were among the defensive standouts. Weatherly contributed three quarterback sacks and applied constant pressure in the backfield. McGaster deflected three passes intended to receivers he was covering. Sekou Clark (R-Fr., DE) posted the only defensive turnover, recovering a fumble handoff.
Mason hopes to stage more outdoor practices this week leading to the spring game. The Commodores next practice is scheduled early Monday.
A brief summary of the scrimmage follows:
1st Drive
Starting from the 1-yard line, Robinette manages a 7-play possession that includes two first downs until he is unable to find an open receiver on 3rd-&-7. RB Dallas Rivers is impressive early, registering gains of 8, 6 and 12 yards on consecutive rush attempts. Defensive backs Tre Herndon, Taurean Ferguson and Jahmel McIntosh blanket receivers on the unsuccessful third down.
2nd Drive
Starting at the 25-yard line, Robinette finds WR Caleb Scott open for 16 yards on first down. The only offensive turnover came on the next play, as DE Sekou Clark recovered a botched handoff.
3rd Drive
The possession ends prematurely after a couple of first downs. Robinette connects with RB Darrius Sims for 13 yards and hands off to Rivers for 12 yard and another first down.
4th Drive
The defense forces a quick 3-&-out possession with McCrary directing his first possession from the 1-yard line. On second down, DE Adam Butler tackles Rivers for no gain. On 3rd-&-6, McCrary can’t connect with WR Curtis Graves, who is closer defended by CB Torren McGaster.
5th Drive
Getting impressive plays by McGaster and ILB Darreon Herring, the defense again limits their counterparts to a quick 3-&-out. McCrary finds Latevius Rayford for a short gain on first down, but can’t escape Herring’s grasp while scrambling on second down. McGaster makes a second impressive play in consecutive series on third down, deflecting a McCrary-to-Trent Sherfield attempt.
6th Drive
McCrary’s 39-yard completion to Sherfield down the left sidelines gives the offense its first big play of the scrimmage. Three plays after taking over for McCrary on the drive, Freebeck finds WR Kris Kentera open for a 20-yard scoring strike. Despite the score, McGaster contributes another defensed pass and OLB Stephen Weatherly registers a 6-yard sack of Freebeck.
7th drive
Starting from his own 35-yard line, Freebeck directs an impressive 3-play touchdown drive. On first down, Scott takes a Freebeck pass 60 yards to the 5-yard line. From there, Rivers scores on an impressive 2-yard rush where he breaks two tackles getting into the end zone.
8th drive
Impressive possession by the defense. Freebeck’s pass to WR Chandler Dorrell gains 17 yards on 3rd & 18. On 4th & 1, Rivers is stuffed by ILB Zach Cunningham for no gain. Weatherly contributes his second QB sack of the day early in the possession.
9th drive
McCrary drives the offense into scoring position after connecting on first-down completions with WR Trey Ellis and TE DeAndre Woods. The drive also includes an 8-yard rush by C.J. Duncan before Weatherly ends the threat with another third-down sack. Safety Emmanuel Smith also contributes one of the day’s top defensive plays, a punishing tackle for loss of Ellis.
10th drive
The offense posts a first down on an abbreviated 2-play drive, with Rivers getting the first down on a short gain after Robinette connects with Dorrell for 9 yards.
11th drive
Starting in scoring position at the 30-yard line, Freebeck gets the offense to the 1-yard line before safeties Andrew Williamson and Oren Burks make back-to-back stops near the goal line. On 4th & 1 from the 1-yard line, Burks tackles Freebeck for a 2-yard loss.
12th drive
DE Riley Tindol sacks QB Shawn Stankavage on first down from the 30-yard line. After Stankavage runs for 4 yards, Weatherly forces a long field goal try with another sack.
13th and 14th drives
Both possessions, starting from the 30-yard line, ended as quick 3-&-out series.