B&S preview series: Vanderbilt looks to keep building in year two under Lea
It will be another difficult year in Nashville, but the program needs to focus on the details to keep setting the foundation for a future winner.
By: Bossman Slim
Clark Lea aims to keep Vandy looking up in year two (Photo: Bryan Lynn, USA TODAY Sports)
It’s been a tough few years in Nashville, but there remains hope that favored son Clark Lea can turn this ship around. Vanderbilt has made the commitment to invest in the program, committing $300 million to a new upgrade their facilities and showing the Commodore faithful that maybe they will be able to field a winner in the near future. This issue is that the rest of the SEC is lightyears ahead of Vandy and the Black and Gold have a lot of ground to make up. The good news: James Franklin had this team as a winner not long ago, and it can be done. For Vandy, their theme word this year is build. It’s time to put their heads down, focus on the details of program building, culture building, and doing the right things to construct a future winner.
Let’s dive in to what 2022 looks like for Vandy.
Flashback
Last season was Clark Lea’s first season at the helm in Nashville, and to say there were growing pains would be to put it mildly. The Commodores posted a 2-10 stinker of a season, going winless in SEC play for the second straight year and only notching wins against FBS basement dwellers UConn and Colorado State. They nearly pulled off an upset at South Carolina but took it on the chin from Georgia (62-0) and a weak Florida team (42-0). And the stats backed up the abysmal season: dead last in total offense and dead last in total defense. The bad news is it was terrible. The good news is it can only go up from here.
Coaching Staff
Clark Lea assembled a solid staff in his first year on the job, and much of that staff returns for another run in 2022. The biggest loss was defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who left Nashville after one season to head to Michigan to take the same position for Jim Harbaugh. Offensive coordinator Joey Lynch returns and will continue coaching QBs, while Nick Howell was promoted to defensive coordinator to replace Minter. Howell was the defensive coordinator and DB coach under Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia from 2016-2021 and before that at BYU. The continuity on offense should help Mike Wright blossom in year two of this offense, and Howell has some solid coaching chops from his time under Mendenhall.
Offense
The season goes as QB Mike Wright goes. Wright posted 1,042 yards through the air and 9 total TDs and 379 yards rushing in five starts in the back half of the season in relief of injured Ken Seals. Wright beat out former starter Seals in the offseason for the starting job and also held off 4-star freshman AJ Swann who is viewed as the future under center for Lea. Wright is a versatile QB and will have a bunch of unproven wideouts to throw to including juniors Will Sheppard and Devin Bodie, plus sophomore Quincy Skinner. Vandy lost their top receiver Chris Pierce from last years team and two others transferred out of the program. They’ll need a receiver to step up and be the guy for Wright this year as he can’t do it all with his legs. He’ll have some help in the backfield as Clark Lea has a stable of returning RBs led by sophomore Re’Mahn Davis. The offensive line has big shoes to fill after losing LT Tyler Steen to the mighty Crimson Tide through the transfer portal along with five others. Depth is a big issue for this line that returns three starters. Staying healthy will be paramount up front for the Commodores this year and they must improve in pass protection to keep Mike Wright upright and give him a chance to make plays.
Defense
Everyone knows you win in the SEC by imposing your will on your opponent in the trenches. And the fastest way to improve in the league is to recruit and develop the talent of the big uglies on both sides of the ball. Vanderbilt will need to do just that. Vandy only had 9 sacks last year and gave up close to 200 yards rushing per game. There’s some talent that needs to have big years like Daevion Davis and Michael Owusu. The linebacker unit is the strength of this defense led by 3rd team All-SEC pick Anfernee Orji and INT leader from last year Ethan Barr. Clemson transfer and former 4-star Kane Patterson also joins the mix. The Commodores secondary has leaked like a sieve for multiple years and they likely will again, but they just need to keep moving up and making improvements from when they ranked dead last in the Phil Steele Pass Defense Rankings in 2020.
Special Teams
I’m interested to see Jayden McGowan at kickoff return and punt returns this year. The freshman was a 3-star recruit out of South Carolina and is raw receiver but has blazing speed that should help in the return game. He’s listed as a starter on the KOR team and behind Will Sheppard for punt returns for the season opener. Vandy returns kicker Joseph Bulovas who was 14/19 and had a long of 53 last year.
Prediction
Just keep swimming, Vandy. It’s going to be another tough year, but as Steven Willis mentioned in our preview of Week 0, there is a scenario where Vandy could start the year 4-0 or 3-1 heading into the Alabama game with a favorable early schedule and a crushing injury to QB Sam Hartman at Wake Forest. After that, it will be downhill when SEC play starts. Focus on the details and keep building the program and culture.
Vanderbilt 2022 Schedule
Aug 27: @ Hawaii
Sept 3: Elon
Sept 10: Wake Forest
Sept 17: @ Northern Illinois
Sept 24: @ Alabama
Oct 8: Ole Miss
Oct 15: @ Georgia
Oct 22: @ Mizzou
Nov 5: South Carolina
Nov 12: @ Kentucky
Nov 19: Florida
Nov 26: Tennessee
As I talked about with Tennessee, there is a three game stretch for every team that can make or break a season. Vanderbilt doesn’t really have that luxury right now, every game is their Super Bowl as they try to scrap out wins to keep clawing up the ladder. However, I’d choose the Missouri-South Carolina-Kentucky stretch as the most important of the season for the Commodores. They are likely going to be 3-4 headed into Mizzou. If they can pull out one win against any of those three, it will be seen as a huge stepping stone win and give the Commodores some hope and give Lea some wind in the sails on the recruiting trail. He’ll have a W under his belt that he can point to to continue pitching his vision on the trail.
I don’t see a win on the schedule after Northern Illinois, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Commodores can clip Mizzou on October 22. Final prediction has Vanderbilt at 3-9 as they’ll take their lumps again in 2022.