Dores return to stadium for Tuesday practice

NASHVILLE – The Commodores were back on the gridiron early Tuesday with a morning practice in Vanderbilt Stadium. The team donned full-pads for the practice but stopped short of full contact during the session. 
 
Vanderbilt coordinators, Jason Tarver and Andy Ludwig met with the media after the 90-minute practice. Both spoke to the high competition on both sides of the ball. 
 
Tarver specifically spoke about Vanderbilt’s inside linebacker corps. “What we like is the competition at that position. They are flying around and competing to see who is going to be on the field,” he said. “They are learning and their communication is getting better every day. What has been cool is to watch those guys learn. There were good plays by all the young ones today. The competition is how how you get better and its definitely going on (at inside linebacker).” 
 
Tarver also praised the play of Louis Vecchio, a graduate transfer defensive lineman who earned first-team All-Ivy honors last year as a standout at the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
“What we love about Louis is how he fights every play,” Tarver said. “He’s the same guy every day. He’s been impressive since he got here. During offseason workouts, he was winning a lot of battles and pushing our other guys and making them work. He’s smart, tough and improves every day. We’re excited about how he will help us this season.” 

Taste of Tennessee Mini Plan Available for MTSU, TSU and Tennessee home games 
 
Ludwig talked about the strong competition along the offensive line. 
 
“We have really good competition at several sports (on the offensive line) right now,” said Ludwig. “We haven’t set a true depth chart yet, we talk about practice order and if the players don’t like the practice order, it’s up to them to change it through practice. Getting Saige (Young) back is a huge plus. We need every ounce of competition we can get all through the football team and it’s just amplified at the left guard spot.” 
 
Vanderbilt will be back on the field on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as they prepare for the season opener against Middle Tennessee on Sept. 1 at 6:30 p.m. from Vanderbilt Stadium. 
 
Quick Hits
-Vanderbilt senior Kyle Shurmur was named to the 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List on Tuesday. The award, named for the legendary former Baltimore Colts quarterback, is presented annually to the nation’s top college quarterback.