Vanderbilt football saw its quarterbacks take center stage in its first scrimmage Aug. 15, but there was plenty more to learn about the team. With tight end Eli Stowers and wide receiver Tre Richardson gone, the Commodores need to find who's up next in the passing game. The defense is also starting to take shape. The next chance for discoveries is their second scrimmage on Aug. 22. "There's some operational stuff that we've got to clean up," coach Clark Lea said. "That's why you scrimmage, whether that's personnel on and off the field, whether that's getting the call in clearly, getting lined up in the right formation at times . . . I expect next week that this group will come out just with a little more juice and we'll have cleaned up some of the operational things that at times held us back." Here are our biggest non-quarterback takeaways from the scrimmage.
Vanderbilt could get creative with running backs The Commodores' running backs room is their deepest position group. Sedrick Alexander and Makhilyn Young have had somewhat limited reps because they're proven quantities, but in their absence, other running backs like Evan Hampton and Izayah Lee have shown flashes. Hampton, in particular, might be too good to keep off the field. He may not play as much as a traditional running back, but he's able to split out wide and catch passes as well. The Commodores lack depth at receiver, and he could be part of the answer. "He's been ascending here the last couple days," Lea said of Hampton. "Really excited about what he could bring as a versatile running back . . . There's a lot of things he can do besides just lining up in the backfield and running the ball as a traditional tailback, so it's good to see him on the perimeter." The receivers after Junior Sherrill Junior Sherrill has established himself as Vanderbilt's clear No. 1 receiver, but there are questions about who is behind him. The standout second guy has been Old Dominion transfer Ja'Cory Thomas, who has a bigger frame (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and a different skill set than Sherrill (5-11, 200). During the scrimmage, Thomas caught a ball in the back of the end zone from Jared Curtis that was ruled out of bounds, but Thomas said he believed that had the play been reviewed, it would have been ruled a touchdown. "Ja'Cory got behind the defense a few times today," Lea said. "The touchdown, connected with Blaze (Berlowitz). I think he had one with Jared, too, that was ruled out of bounds, but we need to see some vertical separation." Vanderbilt is still figuring out its third receiver, but the player who has gotten the most run there is Tristen Brown, who has worked as a kick returner as well. Cole Spence is also likely to be more involved in the passing game than he was last season, and running backs like Alexander, Young and Hampton could be split out wide instead of as a traditional third receiver. The defense can make big plays, but concerns remain Vanderbilt's defense is capable of havoc. Whether it's tipped balls, forcing fumbles or getting to the quarterback, the unit can force negative plays when the offense makes mistakes. There are still some questions about the tackling on the perimeter, though. That was a problem for the Commodores a year ago, when missed tackles allowed teams like Texas and Auburn to get big plays. With an offense that likely won't put up as many points as last year, perimeter tackling will be important. "We have to be better on the perimeter," Lea said. "I thought the offense always had a 4- to 6-yard gain on the perimeter, and so we're not playing behind fence posts. We've got to be able to compress the block and stop the momentum of the running back." Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football scrimmage takeaways beyond the quarterbacks