NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt football is represented by five student-athletes on the watch list for the 2027 Senior Bowl. Sedrick Alexander, Miles Capers, CJ Heard, Issa Ouattara and Nick Rinaldi were selected to this season’s watch list.
Alexander, who was named PFSN third-team all-conference last fall, started all 13 games for the black and gold, rushing 105 times for over 500 yards and 11 scores, the most in a season since 2018. Out of Austin, Texas, the graduate student also caught 19 passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns. Alexander posted a career day in the Commodores’ win at Tennessee last season with 10 rushes for career-high totals of 115 yards and three touchdowns, tying for third in school history for rushing scores in a game while surpassing 1,500 career rushing yards with the performance. He enters the fall in a tie for third in program history with 21 career rushing touchdowns as well as with 26 total career touchdowns. Alexander was named preseason fourth-team All-SEC by Athlon Sports.
Capers started all 13 games for the Commodores and finished with 40 tackles, including 9½ for a loss of 60 yards. Out of Sumter, South Carolina, Capers led the Dores in tackles for loss and added five quarterback hurries. He finished with a career-high seven tackles in Vandy’s win over No. 15/14 Missouri and made five tackles on senior day in a win over Kentucky. While visiting No. 10/11 Alabama, Capers took down Ty Simpson for a loss of 10 yards, recovered a fumble at South Carolina and forced a fumble in the opener against Charleston Southern.
Heard, entering his second season in black and gold, had a team-high-tying 71 tackles during the 2025 campaign. A native of Atlanta, Heard finished last season with 3½ tackles for loss, two sacks for a loss of 23 yards, adding an interception, forced fumble and recovered fumble. Starting all 13 games for Vandy, he finished with back-to-back games with seven tackles to end the season at No. 18/18 Tennessee and in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Iowa. Heard had a season-high 12 tackles in a victory at No. 11/10 South Carolina and was named TSWA Defensive Player of the Week.
Ouattara, a team captain during 2025, missed a majority of the season due to injury. During the 2024 campaign, he played in all 13 games and made 10 starts for the black and gold while recording 31 total stops including five behind the line of scrimmage. Out of Cologne, Germany, Ouattara has made 48 tackles (6½ for loss) with 2½ sacks in 34 career appearances for the Dores, also recovering one fumble and breaking up four passes. The defensive lineman was named preseason fourth-team All-SEC by Phil Steele.
Rinaldi, nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and the Wuerffel Trophy, saw action in all 13 games during the Commodores’ historic 2025 season, finishing with 47 tackles including 3½ sacks for a loss of 26 yards. Rinaldi became the first Dore to be selected SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year and was also named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society and the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. He was named the Burlsworth Trophy Walk-On of the Week after posting seven tackles with a career-high-tying with 2½ stops for loss highlighted by a sack in a win at No. 11/10 South Carolina.
The Dores kick off the 2026 season with three consecutive home games, starting with Austin Peay on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m., followed by hosting Delaware and NC State on Sept. 12 and Sept. 19, respectively.