July 8, 2015
Birmingham, Ala. – Three Vanderbilt standouts – linebacker Nigel Bowden, offensive lineman Spencer Pulley and running back Ralph Webb – will join Head Coach Derek Mason as Commodore representatives at the Southeastern Conference’s annual Football Media Days, the league announced today.
Bowden, Pulley and Webb will appear with Mason on Monday, July 13 before more than 1,000 media members in Hoover, Ala. For the second straight year the Vanderbilt contingent will participate on opening day of SEC Media Days activity along with new SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, and representatives from the Auburn Tigers and Florida Gators.
Created 30 years ago, SEC Media Days is college football’s biggest preseason event. In 2014, more than 1,200 media outlets representing newspaper, magazines, radio and television, and web-based affiliates attended the spectacle.
This will be the first SEC Media Days appearance for Bowden, Pulley and Webb.
Bowden, a sophomore from Macon, Ga., ranks among the conference’s top young interior linebackers. The 6-2, 240-pound Bowden earned Freshman All-SEC recognition in 2014 after leading all first-year SEC defenders in total tackles.
As an 11-game starter, Bowden anchored the interior of Vanderbilt’s 3-4 defensive scheme last year. He topped the Commodore defense with 78 total tackles, become the first freshman to accomplish the feat since linebacker Jamie Winborn did so in 1998.
Bowden also contributed 37 solo tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback sack and a forced fumble. He was remarkably consistent, contributing at least five tackles in team’s first eight games. Bowden’s season high total of 11 tackles came at Missouri.
Pulley, a senior from Memphis, has been named to the Rimington Trophy preseason watch list for centers, though he is playing the position for the first time this season after the graduation of multiple-year starter Joe Townsend.
Pulley was the team’s most consistent offensive lineman in 2014, playing virtually every meaningful snap at right guard. Pulley was credited with 28 pancake blocks and 10 domination blocks last year.
Pulley also ranks as the team’s active leader with 25 consecutive starts and 29 career starts.
Webb, a sophomore from Gainesville, Fla., is featured as Vanderbilt’s representative among Commissioner Sankey’s `Beyond The Field: Stories of the SEC’ student-athletes.
In May, Webb traveled abroad, studying biodiversity with 12 other Vanderbilt students on Australia’s Gold Coast. The Vanderbilt students snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef, kayaked through mangrove forests, and hiked through rainforests on Fraser Island while studying Australian environmental and conservation efforts.
Webb was the Commodores’ most productive offensive weapon in 2014, setting several freshman rushing records. Webb’s 907-yard total broke Kwane Doster’s 12-year-old freshman record and ranks seventh all-time on the Commodore single-season rushing list.
Webb’s 166 rushing yards against Old Dominion also rank as a team freshman record. His 212 attempts on the season ranks third all-time among Commodore backs. Webb ranked second among SEC freshman running backs in regular season yardage, trailing only Nick Chubb of Georgia.
Continuous coverage of SEC Football Media Days will be available on SEC Network and the SEC’s official website, SECSports.com.
VUCommodores.com will also be in Hoover, providing an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the Black and Gold representatives.
A complete list of student-athletes expected at SEC Media Days follows:
Alabama
*Reggie Ragland, Sr. LB
Kenyan Drake, Sr. RB
Ryan Kelly, Sr. OL
Arkansas
*Jonathan Williams, Sr., RB
Brandon Allen, Sr., QB
Keon Hatcher, Sr., WR
Auburn
*Jeremy Johnson, Jr., QB
Jonathan Jones, Sr., DB
Kris Frost, Sr., LB
Florida
*Jonathan Bullard, Sr., DE
Brandon Powell, So., WR
Vernon Hargreaves III, Jr., DB
Georgia
*Malcolm Mitchell, Sr., WR
John Theus, Sr., OT
Jordan Jenkins, Sr., OLB
Kentucky
*Melvin Lewis, Sr., NG
Jordan Swindle, Sr., OT
A.J. Stamps, Sr., S
LSU
*Leonard Fournette, So., RB
Vadal Alexander, Sr., OT
Kendell Beckwith, Jr., LB
Ole Miss
*Evan Engram, Jr., TE
Mike Hilton, Sr., DB
C.J. Johnson, Sr., LB
Mississippi State
*Dak Prescott, Sr., QB
Taveze Calhoun, Sr., DB
Ryan Brown, Sr., DE
Missouri
*Kenya Dennis, Sr., DB
Maty Mauk, Jr., QB
Evan Boehm, Sr., C
South Carolina
*Elliott Fry, Jr., PK
Pharoh Cooper, Jr., WR
Skai Moore, Jr., LB
Tennessee
*Joshua Dobbs, Jr., QB
Curt Maggitt, Sr., LB/DL
Cameron Sutton, Jr., DB
Texas A&M
*Mike Matthews, Sr., C
Germain Ifedi, Jr., OT
Julien Obioha, Sr., DL
Vanderbilt
*Ralph Webb, So., RB
Nigel Bowden, So., LB
Spencer Pulley, Sr., C
* `Beyond The Field: Stories of the SEC’ Representative