Oct. 31, 2017
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After three weeks without a home game, Vanderbilt returns to West End for its final nonconference matchup of the season. The Commodores welcome Western Kentucky to Vanderbilt Stadium at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
On Tuesday, head coach Derek Mason, quarterback Kyle Shurmur and safety LaDarius Wiley previewed the Hilltoppers. Here’s what they had to say:
– Mason said Vanderbilt’s fight in last week’s 34-27 loss to South Carolina was admirable. But its nine first-half penalties were not. “We were relentless most of that game. Tough at times, but definitely not intelligent. We’ve got to clean that up.”
– Mason’s relationship with Western Kentucky coach Mike Sanford dates back to their days as assistants at Stanford. “Me and Mike used to live right across the way from each other at Stanford… We spent four years together.”
– Mason praised Hilltoppers’ quarterback Mike White. “White is as good as any quarterback in the country. He’s proven it time and time again. He’s the key ingredient that keeps that thing moving.”
– Sanford replaced former WKU coach Jeff Brohm in the offseason, but Mason said the Hilltoppers’ offense remains dangerous under a new staff. “They’ve retooled. It looks very much the same in terms of offensive explosiveness.”
– Asked to assess the importance of reaching bowl eligibility, Mason shrugged. “I’m worried about getting a win. I’ve got to focus on here and now. I can’t tell my guys to be about the process and I’m being about something else.”
– Wiley said the Commodores refused to give up during last week’s loss to South Carolina despite an early double-digit deficit. “We fought until the last fourth down. We’ve continued to get better with the little things. It’s finishing tackles, pursuing to the ball, being physical, things of that nature.”
– Shurmur on the significance of last year’s 31-30 Vanderbilt win at WKU: “This season’s independent from last season. We’ve got different situations now. Last year, that was definitely a huge game for us, but we’re worried about ourselves and what we need to do. They’re definitely going to be hungry after we beat them up there. They’re going to come down here wanting to win.”
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics.