Aug. 7, 2016
The fourth day of Vanderbilt’s preseason camp brought something the Commodores had yet to see… sunshine and an opportunity to practice outside.
The first three days of camp had been forced inside the team’s indoor practice facility with storms in the area but Mother Nature finally provided some sunshine on Sunday afternoon. Hundreds of fans turned out to see Derek Mason and the Commodores train for just over 90 minutes. The squad wrapped up the day by thanking the fans in attendance.
Defense stays stout
The Vanderbilt defense has been stout over the first four days of camp with Sunday serving as the latest example. The defense continued to force turnovers with Landon Stokes and freshman Josiah Sa’o forcing fumbles during team drills. Stokes stripped a quarterback while Sa’o ripped a ball out from a running back late in practice. Freshman Gil Barksdale picked off fellow freshman Deuce Wallace during 7 v 7 drills to lead a big effort from the secondary. Ryan White, Tauren Ferguson and LaDarius Wiley all made big plays to break-ups passes in team drills.
Shurmur sharp in 7 v 7
Quarterback Kyle Shurmur was sharp during the team’s 7 v 7 drills completing passes to multiple receivers, including Trent Sherfield, Khari Blasingame and freshman Kalija Lipscomb. Lipscomb was impressive catching multiple passes during the drill and taking a couple into the end zone.
Later shoe…
Running back Ralph Webb provided one of the biggest offensive plays of the day early in practice during team drills. The junior caught a screen pass before turning up field and bursting through the secondary but just as he cleared the last defender his right shoe came off. Webb was not slowed down despite having just one shoe as he finished the play in the end zone.
Strap it up
The Commodores will practice in full pads for the first time tomorrow afternoon when the team takes the field. The Dores are scheduled for their first full pads practice Monday before receiving their first day off on Tuesday.