Vanderbilt Football: I'm Excited (seriously)

There is guaranteed disappointment in Nashville every year. As I type these words, I am already anticipating fourth quarter missed field goals and dramatic double digit comebacks that will break the city's heart in twine once Vanderbilt football gets underway this year. Last season marked the third straight college football season I ended by saying "I'll never watch another Vandy game for the rest of my life." Well, here we are a month away from fall practice sessions opening up, and I'm logged in to my Rivals.com account monitoring Vandy's every shatty recruit movement, decked in my snuggly warm, vintage VANDERBILT logo-ed football jacket - so let's review my ridiculously high expectations for the team this year.

Foremost, let me go ahead and say that Bobby Johnson has done more with less than any coach in the history of the SEC, maybe even the sport. A 20-50 record over six seasons may sound laughable, but consider that the man entered a school in the hardest division of the toughest conference in football to coach a team that posted (this figure isn't accurate) seven-straight one or two win seasons. In the last three years, Vandy has won at least four games and has upset a major conference opponent including UT in 2005. Many consider that UT upset a more valuable win than qualifying for a bowl game - you can still buy DVD's highlighting the game - which I'm not sure I agree with. But still - the last time Vandy upset UT? In Knoxville? I wasn't even alive.

Johnson's development of players is freakin' incredible. Last year was the first year Vandy's team was made up entirely of Johnson recruits - Vandy had a 1st round draft pick o-lineman along with the SEC's all time leading receiver going in the 3rd, with several undrafted free agents signing with teams over the summer. None of these players achieved higher than three-star prospect ratings out of high school.

But anyway - I'm excited about this year not because I feel a bowl game approaching, but because the team is so undervalued. I haven't seen a pre-season rank higher than 70 of 120 Division I teams for VU this year. I can reasonably agree that there are problems with this year's team though I can't fully agree that Vandy is without the ability to reach four or five wins this season.

The first and foremost problem is with the quarterbacks along with the rest of the offense. Vandy somehow managed to impose a top-30 ranked defense the last few years - while their offense remained sub-100. The starting wideouts of George Smith and Sean Walker have some ability but won't be able to make the offense much better than last year's unless they can keep their effing hands on the football. My only memory of non-Earl Bennett reception attempts last year are Smith/Walker goal line or potential first down dropped passes. With the awkward QB situation of athletic but inconsistant Chris Nickson vs slightly less athletic but leaderlike Mackenzi Adams, the passing situation looks that much more daunting. My vote? Scrap the two entirely and go with redshirt sophomore and big recruit Jared Funk who during the spring game made the first team defense look tarded along with the two starting QB's. He's fast-footed and surehanded as they come - Funk's taking the field in the next year or two is just a matter of time.

Word on the street is that senior halfback Jeff Jennings is being replaced as starter by junior white-boy tailback Jared Hawkins. While I'm usually a bit weary of teams with white tailbacks (it just looks weird to me - is that racist?), Hawkins has bowled over some big defenders in his two years in a backup role. He's a tiny but powerful Texan who relies on quick hole bursts to keep things exciting - but still, I wonder how well he'll perform in the driver's seat.

In this crap-laiden offense, I still find one area where Vandy could seriously excel in the SEC if they can harness it - the tight ends. Their shortest one is 6'5" and he's not even starting. Jake Bradford is penciled in at number one (he's 6'6") with backup Justin Green (6'7") being tabbed as "the most athletic player on Vandy's offense". If Vandy doesn't line up with a couple of tight ends multiple times a game - well, then they're just stupid.

As far as defense goes, I'd agree with the analysts who point to Vandy's secondary as the bright spot, though I would not agree that this is by a wide margin. The secondary does return four starters that busted asses a year ago and is indeed going to be awesome - but what most people rule out is the potential on the defensive line. Vanderbilt hasn't seen the size or drive of D-lineman like this since I've been a fan. Steven Stone is the only returning starter - he's huge and led the team in d-line tackles. On the other side is former second-teamer Broderick Stewart who led the team in sacks as a backup last year. With pressure from the ends and a solid secondary this year Vandy may just end the season with a plus-sign in front of that turnover margin.

Running games should also feel a bit more heat from the VD this year, as tackle Greg Billinger finally gets a shot at playtime after being a heralded Georgia recruit. He suits up with big former O-lineman Adam Smotherman (I know his ex-girlfriend!) to stuff the run. All starting linebackers are gone, including All-SEC Jonathan Goff and my boy Marcus Buggs who awesomely led the team in tackles for loss last year. Surprisingly, this group may have an edge over last year's squad. Outside man John Stokes is the highest ranked recruit of Johnson's career (four out of five stars), while middle man Patrick Benoist was first among sacks for linebackers last season.

In conclusion, it's going to be a tough year again for VU - but so is every year for every other SEC team. There will be slaughters (Auburn, Florida), close ones (Tennessee, Kentucky), and even some national attention (South Carolina on ESPN). If this team closes the season with 4+ wins then watch out - next year's squad will return at least ten starters on both sides of the ball.