Vanderbilt Football | Vandy finished the first week of spring practice

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Vanderbilt wrapped up the first week of spring practice Saturday with the third of 15 scheduled practices, including the April 8 spring game.

The Commodores donned full pads for the first time this spring during Saturday’s practice.

We’ve had a good back and forth. “I think the competitive margins are getting tighter, which is a good sign,” third-year head coach Clark Lea said. Every inch is harder to achieve, but you’ve got a good back and forth. So I think this is a good start.

Well watch the (Saturday) movie. We had some live situations, so some good tackling stuff comes up. But overall I think we were on course and getting ready to have a great week next week and of course enjoy the time away (after that).

Vandy plans to build 5-7 seasons and continue to strengthen the program and culture under Lea’s leadership. There are 52 upperclassmen on the roster this spring, giving Lea plenty of veterans with a full understanding of what is expected of them each day.

But there’s also a large group of second-season student-athletes who had significant special teams roles in 2022. Expectations have also been raised for the unit.

One thing we learned last year is that these guys need time to grow. We have to keep building on them and pulling it out of them every day, Lea said. We feel that we have a young, talented team and with constant investment and development we can be quite competitive come fall time.

Vanderbilt is scheduled to return to the practice field at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Offensive liner notes

Vanderbilt received some bad news this week when it learned that Jake Ketschek had suffered a significant leg injury that will sideline the junior until further notice.

Ketschek, a New Jersey native, started the final three games of the 2022 season at right tackle and recorded 212 snaps on the season.

In Ketscheks’ absence, senior Kevo Wesley has moved back to the offensive side of the ball after spending much of the 2022 season on defense. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Chicago native started his career on the offensive end, but had appeared in just one game prior to the ’22 campaign.

Vandy has also added Logan Kyle to the offensive line by moving him to tight end. Kyle, a senior, has spent his first three seasons with the Commodores as a wide receiver, serving mostly on special teams.

The Texan had one catch for five yards against Mississippi State in the 2021 season.

Cutcliffe and the Commodores

Former Duke and Mississippi head coach David Cutcliffe visited the Commodores on Friday and spoke with them.

Now the Southeastern Conference’s special assistant to the commissioner of football relations, Cutcliffe most recently spent 14 seasons at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to a 10-4 record and division title in 2013.

He has become a great partner for all of us in the SEC as coaches,” Lea said. But I think for me in particular, because he had the experience at Duke, he understands what it’s like to build a top football program at an elite institution. He is a great asset to me, but I also value the time spent with our team.

It’s great to have a coaching legend like this come out and share some wisdom with them, so we appreciate it.

Alums everywhere

Lea and his staff continually strive to build strong relationships with the former Commodorest, which was certainly evident this week at the McGugin Center.

Corey Harris, Oren Burks, Jordan Matthews, Will Holden and Jim Arnold were just a few of the former Vandy greats working out during the week. Many others were part of a large group of families, friends of the program and recruits watching the Saturday morning session.

It’s fun that people are interested in things to do and signs of progress, Lea said. We look forward to more. Hopefully at some point I have to put it up here and really prepare to participate.

Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.