March 12, 2018
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt’s spring practice on Monday ended around 9 a.m. inside the school’s Multipurpose Facility. But as players gathered their helmets and pads en route to the exit, three figures lingered on the indoor turf: quarterback Kyle Shurmur, receiver Kalija Lipscomb and former Commodore signal-caller Jay Cutler.
Cutler, a former All-SEC quarterback at Vanderbilt and first-round NFL draft pick, watched intently as Shurmur dropped back and lobbed pass after pass downfield to Lipscomb. The 12-year NFL veteran used his iPhone to film Shurmur’s footwork and mechanics, offering pointers after each attempt.
“Just certain things with my base and form that I can tighten up,” Shurmur said. “Film is very valuable. You can watch yourself in different angles. You can get a different perspective on what you’re doing and what you can do right.”
Cutler, retired and living in Nashville, has become a valuable sounding board for Shurmur.
“It’s great to have him here, him playing at a high level, being a passer in the NFL,” Shurmur said. “Playing the position is huge for experience and relating to quarterbacks. Coach G [quarterback coach Gerry Gdowski] played the position, and he’s been great. But Jay also played and can be another set of eyes out here.”
Those eyes should be beneficial to Shurmur, who enters spring as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the SEC. He has 30 career starts at Vanderbilt and set a program single-season record with 26 touchdown passes in 2017. With 2,963 passing yards and 20 touchdown passes this fall, Shurmur would finish as Vanderbilt’s career leader in both categories, surpassing – wait for it – Cutler himself.
That’s the impact Vanderbilt’s senior quarterback should have in 2018, said offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig.
“He’s grown immensely, like basically a fourth-year starter should,” Ludwig said. “He’ll have the keys to the car. He’s got to run the offense, he’s got to get us in the best protection, the best run plays. We’re going to lean on his intelligence and his experience very much.”
Last season, Shurmur completed 57.9 percent of his throws for 2,823 yards, second-most by a Vanderbilt junior. But he also hurled 10 interceptions – all against SEC opponents – against those 26 scoring passes.
This spring, Shurmur has strived to minimize those mistakes with a new-look receiving corps. Seniors CJ Duncan, Caleb Scott and Trent Sherfield are gone, leaving the junior Lipscomb (610 yards and eight touchdown catches in 2017) as the squad’s leading returnee. Donaven Tennyson, Chris Pierce, tight end Jared Pinkney and Ohio State transfer Alex Stump could become bigger targets for Shurmur.
Despite losing its all-time leading rusher in Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt returns its entire offensive line as well as Illinois transfer tailback Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who turned heads as a redshirt in 2017. But Shurmur said he must be the leader of the Dores’ offense.
“I just always talk about consistency,” Shurmur said. “I do certain things well and certain things not so well. But overall, it’s being consistent in all aspects of the game and trying to be a leader of this group.”
That’s what the Commodores expect, too.
“We’re looking for the guy to play his best ball his senior year,” Ludwig said.
Zac Ellis is the Writer and Digital Media Editor for Vanderbilt Athletics.