Vanderbilt came within one win of bowl eligibility in 2022. The Commodores weren’t able to build upon that success in Clark Lea’s third season at his alma mater.
The Commodores followed up a five-win season with a 2-10 record for the second time in a three-season span. The 2023 season actually started with optimism after wins over Hawaii and Alabama A&M in the first two weeks.
Vandy wasn’t able to sustain the momentum with road losses at Wake Forest and UNLV before dropping all eight SEC contests by almost 23 points per contest.
This season sees Vanderbilt play a nonconference schedule that opens with Virginia Tech and includes Alcorn State, Georgia State and Ball State.
The matchup against the Hokies, which is the first between the teams in Nashville since 1985, has two intriguing storylines. Hokies coach Brent Pry served as Vanderbilt’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2011-13. Linebackers coach Chris Marve was a three-time All-SEC selection during his playing days with the Commodores.
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Vanderbilt is expected to spend a second straight season playing at FirstBank Stadium as construction continues in both the north and south end zones.
Last matchup
Virginia Tech won 18-0 on Nov. 4, 1989
What happened?Virginia Tech claimed an 18-0 win late in the 1989 season at Lane Stadium behind six field goals from Mickey Thomas. It marked the Hokies’ fifth consecutive win over the Commodores and the only time Tech held Vanderbilt scoreless in the teams’ nine-game series.
The Commodores advanced into Tech territory twice. Both those drives ended with lost fumbles that were recovered by the Hokies’ Scott Hill and Roger Brown.
Position(s) of strength
Vanderbilt’s offensive line actually ranked middle of the pack when it came to protecting the quarterback. The Commodores ranked eighth in the SEC and tied for 84th nationally by surrendering a little more than two sacks per game.
One of Lea’s six new assistant coaches is offensive line coach Chris Klenakis. Klenakis spent last season as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Kennesaw State, and he was offensive line coach at Liberty in 2022.
The Commodores return six of the eight offensive linemen who started a game in SEC play last season. They also added Liberty transfer Chase Mitchell and UTEP transfer Steven Hubbard in the offseason.
The offense will have a new voice in the huddle after all three quarterbacks who played for Vanderbilt last season transferred, and the new starter will be an upgrade. Vanderbilt brought in New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia and Utah transfer Nate Johnson to battle for the starting job.
Pavia had a breakout season with the Aggies as the Conference USA player of the year. He threw for 2,973 yards and 26 touchdowns, and he added 925 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Johnson started three of the eight games he appeared with the Utes last season. He accounted for 470 yards of total and seven touchdowns.
What’s new in Nashville
Lea had to make a change after losing 10 consecutive games to end his third season. Enter Jerry Kill.
Kill wrapped up a successful two-year stint at New Mexico State by joining Lea’s staff as the chief consultant to Lea. It’s a similar position Kill previously held in 2019 on Justin Fuente’s staff at Virginia Tech.
Lea’s changes featured jettisoning all three coordinators — Joey Lynch, Nick Howell and Justin Lustig — and three other assistants. Three of the new faces followed Kill from New Mexico State.
Offensive coordinator Tim Beck and run game coordinator Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford will be integral in trying to revitalize the Vandy offense. Safeties coach Melvin Rice came from NMSU and is the only new face on the defensive staff.
Lingering questions While the defensive coaching staff largely remains intact, several of the key pieces to last season’s defense have departed for new schools.
Defensive lineman Nate Clifton is at Southern Cal after being one of Vanderbilt’s most productive linemen by ranking second on the team in tackles for a loss and tied for first in sacks.
Linebacker Ethan Barr transferred to Washington and safety Savion Riley to Miami.
The Commodores struggled against the better SEC teams. They ranked last in the league in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, passing defense, third-down defense and red-zone defense. They even ranked next-to-last in fumble recoveries.
Vanderbilt returns three of its top defensive players in safety De’Rickey Wright and linebackers Langston Patterson and CJ Taylor.
Wright entered the transfer portal before opting to return. He tied for the team lead with two interceptions in 2023.
Patterson had team-highs of 74 tackles and eight tackles for a loss, while Taylor racked up 7.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and two interceptions.
Reinforcements were brought in through the transfer portal. Safeties Maurice Hampton (Memphis) and Randon Fontenette (TCU) should help replace Riley. Edge rusher Khordae Sydnor (Purdue) and lineman Zaylin Wood (Middle Tennessee) help bolster a defensive line.
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<&rdpStrong>The last matchup:</&rdpStrong> Virginia Tech won 18-0 on Nov. 4, 1989
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<&rdpStrong>What happened?</&rdpStrong> Virginia Tech claimed an 18-0 win late in the 1989 season at Lane Stadium behind six field goals from Mickey Thomas. It marked the Hokies’ fifth consecutive win over the Commodores and the only time Tech held Vanderbilt scoreless in the teams’ nine-game series.
The Commodores advanced into Tech territory twice. Both those drives ended with lost fumbles that were recovered by the Hokies’ Scott Hill and Roger Brown.
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<&rdpStrong>Position(s) of strength:</&rdpStrong> Vanderbilt’s offensive line actually ranked middle of the pack when it came to protecting the quarterback. The Commodores ranked eighth in the league and tied for 84th nationally by surrendering a little more than two sacks per game.
One of Lea’s six new assistant coaches is offensive line coach Chris Klenakis. Klenakis spent last season as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Kennesaw State, and he was offensive line coach at Liberty in 2022. He was the offensive play-caller for the Flames’ appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl.
The Commodores return six of the eight offensive linemen who started a game in SEC play last season. They also added Liberty transfer Chase Mitchell and UTEP transfer Steven Hubbard in the offseason.
The offense will have a new voice in the huddle after all three quarterbacks who played for Vanderbilt last season transferred, and the new starter will be an upgrade. Vanderbilt brought in New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia and Utah transfer Nate Johnson to battle for the starting job.
Pavia had a breakout season with the Aggies as the Conference USA player of the year. He threw for 2,973 yards and 26 touchdowns, and he added 925 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Johnson started three of the eight games he appeared with the Utes last season. He accounted for 470 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns.
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<&rdpStrong>What’s new in Nashville:</&rdpStrong> Lea had to make a change after losing 10 consecutive games to end his third season. Enter Jerry Kill.
Kill wrapped up a successful two-year stint at New Mexico State by joining Lea’s staff as the chief consultant to Lea. It’s a similar position Kill previously held in 2019 on Justin Fuente’s staff at Virginia Tech.
Lea’s changes featured jettisoning all three coordinators — Joey Lynch, Nick Howell and Justin Lustig — and three other assistant coaches. Three of the new faces followed Kill from Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Two key pieces to NMSU’s offensive resurgence — offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Beck and run game coordinator/running backs coach Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford — will be integral to revitalizing the Vandy offense.
Safeties coach Melvin Rice came from NMSU and is the only new face on the defensive staff. Defensive line coach Larry Black, defensive end coach Jovan Haye and defensive run game coordinator/linebacker coach Nick Lezynski were retained.
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<&rdpStrong>Lingering questions:</&rdpStrong> While the defensive coaching staff largely remains intact, several of the key pieces to last season’s defense have departed for new schools.
Defensive lineman Nate Clifton is at Southern Cal after being one of Vanderbilt’s most productive linemen by ranking second on the team in tackles for a loss and tied for first in sacks.
Linebacker Ethan Barr transferred to Washington and safety Savion Riley transferred to Miami.
The Commodores had their struggles against some of the better SEC teams. They ranked last in the league in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, passing defense, third-down defense and red-zone defense. They even ranked next-to-last in fumble recoveries.
Vanderbilt returns three of its top defensive players from last season in safety De’Rickey Wright and linebackers Langston Patterson and CJ Taylor.
Wright entered the transfer portal and announced he was transferring to Texas A&M before electing to remain with the Commodores. He tied for the team lead with two interceptions in 2023.
Patterson had team highs of 74 tackles and eight tackles for a loss, while Taylor racked up 7.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks and two interceptions.
Reinforcements were brought in through the transfer portal. Safeties Maurice Hampton (Memphis) and Randon Fontenette (TCU) should help replace Riley. Edge rusher Khordae Sydnor (Purdue) and lineman Zaylin Wood (Middle Tennessee) help bolster a defensive line that will need to get after the quarterback.
<&rdpStrong>Damien Sordelett</&rdpStrong> (540) 981-3124