POSTGAME NOTES
Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Alabama A&M Bulldogs | Nashville, Tenn. | September 3, 2023
Vanderbilt 47, Alabama A&M 13
TEAM NOTES
- Vanderbilt won the coin toss for the second consecutive game and elected to defer. Nate Clifton, Justin Ball and Kane Patterson represented the Commodores for the coin toss.
- In tonight’s victory, Will Sheppard caught two touchdowns and Sedrick Alexander ran two touchdowns, the first time that Vanderbilt had two different players score multiple touchdowns, both receiving and rushing, since Will Sheppard and Mike Wright against Elon (9/3/22).
- The Commodores had two blocked punts in tonight’s game, marking the first time reaching the threshold since at least 2002
- Vandy finished with 215 rushing yards, the last time Vanderbilt had 200+ rushing yards was last season at Kentucky (264, 11/12/22)
- Tonight’s 47 points mark the most points that Vanderbilt has scored since the 2022 season opener at Hawai’i (63, 8/27/22)
- Alabama A&M’s 13 points were the fewest amount of points Vanderbilt has allowed since the 2022 season opener at Hawai’i (10, 8/27/22)
- Attendance in tonight’s victory was 22,035
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Sheppard scored two receiving touchdowns for the second consecutive game. He also started the 2022 season with multiple touchdowns in the first two games. Sheppard now has 17 career receiving touchdowns, tied for seventh in program history.
- Sheppard finished the night with six catches for 62 yards, bringing his career total to 1,513 receiving yards.
- Jayden McGowan led the way for the receivers with six receptions for 70 yards.
- Bryan Longwell blocked a punt for the first time in his career. This was the first blocked punt since Allan George at Colorado State on Sept. 11, 2021.
- Langston Patterson led the team with seven tackles, one shy of his career-best (eight vs. Hawai’i; 8/31/23). Patterson also tallied Vanderbilt’s second blocked punt of the game
- Kane Patterson finished the night with six tackles, marking a career best
- In the third quarter, Nate Clifton tallied his first career interception
- Alexander led Vanderbilt with 12 rushes for 87 yards, including his first two career rushing touchdowns
- AJ Swann started at quarterback and threw 15-of-29 for 194 yards and two touchdowns
- Freshman Kamrean Johnson scored his first career receiving touchdown, a 17-yard reception from Ken Seals
