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Vandy Spring Football Notebook

Vanderbilt nears the midpoint of spring practice under head coach Clark Lea

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With five practice sessions in the books, the Vanderbilt football team heads toward the midway point of the spring workout period. The Commodores completed four practices, each about two hours long, and a fifth workout that was a scrimmage inside the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center on Saturday.

Vandy is back to practice this week with workouts Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Commodores’ spring game will be at 11 a.m. April 17 with coverage provided by SEC Network+.

LEARNING WITH LUSTIG
Assistant head coach Justin Lustig has been a valuable resource for head coach Clark Lea during the first few months.

Lustig was one of Lea’s first assistant coaching hires earlier this year. The Bucknell graduate came to West End after stops at Eastern Illinois, Louisiana Lafayette, Ball State and Syracuse, respectively. A more notable stop along the way was at Edinboro (Pa.) where, as head coach, he led the Fighting Scots to a 9-2 record one year after that program was 0-11.

The mentality of knowing what it takes to turn a team victorious stood out to Lea.

“He’s a winner,” Lea said. “That guy is a winner. I value having him here so it’s been a lot of fun to grow that relationship on a personal level.”

“From each strength training session to the mental performance part to each special teams meeting – it’s all important,” Lustig said of the start of spring practice. “We’re just taking it step by step and trying to get one percent better.”

ANCHOR DOWN ATTITUDE
Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is focused on one thing this spring – attitude.

“It’s that put-the-ball-down-and-play mentality, no matter what the stakes are. Let’s go play,” he said Thursday. “We’ll go play in the parking lot. That’s the attitude we need to create.”

A College of Mount Joseph graduate, Minter worked his way from Notre Dame to Cincinnati to Georgia State where, at the latter, he became a successful and respected defensive coordinator at the FBS level. In 2017 he jumped at the opportunity to work in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.

“I think being on the ground floor of something has been unique and fun at the same time to really help build it up. You’re dealing with a much deeper level of development with these guys,” Minter said. “It’s about us being able to take our drill work, apply it to the field, take what we learned in the meeting room and apply it to the field. That’s an ongoing process. The guys are working really hard and I definitely appreciate their efforts up to this point.”

FIRST SCRIMMAGE COMPLETE
Vanderbilt held its first spring scrimmage Saturday inside the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center. The 90-minute event was the first of two Saturday scrimmages prior to the April 17 spring game.


Saturday Scrimmage by Vanderbilt Athletics on Exposure

ON A MISSION TO REBUILD
CBSSports.com national writer Dennis Dodd caught up with Lea, head baseball coach Tim Corbin and athletic director Candice Storey Lee to talk about Lea’s addition to the Commodores and the staff he has put in place.

An excerpt from Dodd’s story:
The job of raising the Commodores to respectability has become a vocation. In his three seasons donning the uniform from 2002-04, Vanderbilt won six games. As a senior with Jay Cutler as his quarterback, he rushed once for 1 yard. Lea also left a piece of himself behind. The year after he graduated in 2005 with a degree in political science, Vanderbilt started 4-0.

“I shared in that success,” Lea said. “Those were still my teammates. You felt like, watching from afar, that was built on the effort we had on some really hard times. Those challenges are what drove me into coaching.”

Click here to read the full story.

RECRUITING IMPACTS
With verbal commitments coming in, Vanderbilt looks to continue to gain momentum on the recruiting trail.

“Once we get the chance to get players and coaches around this coaching staff and around this program, that’ll only help with traction and recruiting,” Lea said. “With our prospects, it should be important them not to make compromises in their decision. Obviously education has to be important. I think that’s a that’s a separator for us in terms of when we go in and make decisions to offer, or whatever the case may be.

“Our job is to get out there and find the ones who fit our profile, as far as the importance of education, and then obviously meet the marks for us as far as our evaluation.”

LIVE LOOKS AT PRACTICE
While the Commodores’ spring practices are not open to the public, fans can get a live look at workouts by following @VandyFootball on Twitter and Instagram.

Director of player development Earl Bennett and general manager Barton Simmons have gone live to cover portions of each morning’s practice.

Replays are available on InstagramTV.

FORMER COMMODORE HELPING SOLVE WATER CRISES
Jamail Carter was a three-year letterman (1996-98) for Vanderbilt and a two-time SEC Honor Roll selection. He has gone on to make an impact across the country with Varuna, a startup company he began with Seyi Fabode.

Varuna is named for the Vedic deity associated with water, truth and enlightenment. The platform provides cities and towns with Google AI-powered alerts, recommendations and predictions to reduce inefficiencies and violations in their water management operations.

With a series of connected sensors in the distribution systems, Varuna reduces the number of times technicians need to collect water samples to lab test for quality issues.

Click here to read more about World Water Day.

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season tickets for the 2021 campaign are now on sale.

“As our team begins the journey through spring practice, we are so excited to be welcoming you back to Vanderbilt Stadium this fall. Thank you for getting behind our program by purchasing season tickets. There is much to look forward to as we begin this new era!” Lea said. “Please know that we are hard at work building a program we can all be proud of and certainly appreciate your support.”

Fans who purchase season tickets now for the 2021 season are guaranteed the same price for the same seats in 2022.

Ticketing highlights for the upcoming season include:

  • Season ticket price adjustments in all areas of the stadium, with some sections seeing a 29 percent decrease, but no section seeing greater than a 10 percent increase.
  • Per-seat gift components return to season tickets. The per-seat gift is included in the price of the season ticket and is not an additional fee or expense.
  • A portion of each season ticket purchase will count towards a gift to the National Commodore Club, making every season ticket holder a Vanderbilt donor. To learn more, click here.
  • A family season ticket package, which includes two adult and two youth season tickets for $475.
  • An option for a youth season ticket for those 17 years of age or younger.
  • A choice for young alumni available to all graduates within the last five years.
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