Aug. 15, 2011
Nashville, Tenn. – The Commodores practiced for just over two hours Monday evening at the John Rich Practice Facility. Vanderbilt continued to work on specific situations throughout the practice starting with individual work. Offensive players worked on protecting the football while defensive players worked on takeaways. The practice concluded with the team working in the red zone while crowd noise was piped in over the speakers.
Tate on the Move
Sophomore Wesley Tate has switched positions from running back to wide receiver. Head Coach James Franklin said moving Tate to wide receiver helps with the depth at wide receiver.
Matthews’ Big Day
Jordan Matthews enjoyed a big practice Monday night that saw the wide receiver dominate 1-on-1 drills and catch several deep balls during pass skeleton and 11-on-11 drills. During red zone work Matthews hooked up with quarterback Larry Smith for a touchdown on a flag route in the back of the end zone.
On the Mark
Quarterbacks Larry Smith, Jordan Rodgers and Josh Grady were sharp during pass skeleton with very few balls hitting the turf. Freshman Chris Boyd was one of the main targets catching several passes along with Matthews and sophomore Jonathan Krause. Senior Udom Umoh joined the party catching a touchdown down the middle of the field on a post route from Jordan Rodgers, who also threw a TD pass to junior Austin Monahan during red zone work.
He Still Has It
Coach Franklin showed off his quarterback skills during a drill against the first team defense. Franklin led a team of freshmen skill players in a non-contact, two-minute drill eventually scoring on the last drive on a quarterback keeper. The former East Stroudsburg QB did throw a pair of picks with junior DB Trey Wilson making a one-handed grab and junior LB Archie Barnes returning his interception for a touchdown. On the return sophomore DB Andre Hal made the mistake of trying to block Franklin, who ran over Hal in an attempt to get to Barnes.