As per usual the Vanderbilt Commodores enter 2019 with little to no expectations from the media and fan base. Can they shock the college football world with a breakout season?
2018 Record: 6-7 (3-5) SEC
2018 Bowl Game: Texas Bowl (Lost to Baylor 45-38)
The Vanderbilt Commodores don’t get much attention in the SEC. They are the dormant of College Football’s best conference and have been for quite sometime. However the college football fan who looks at every team in the nation knows that the team has made some progress in recent years.
Vanderbilt has reached a bowl game in two of the last three seasons, defeated in-state rival Tennessee three years in a row and have produced six NFL draft picks since Derek Mason took over the program in 2014.
2019 will like always be difficult in a loaded SEC but there is enough potential and returning talent on the roster that should allow Vanderbilt to be in position for a bowl bid for the second straight season. Let’s dive into the roster.
Returning Offensive Starters: 7
- RB Ke’Shawn Vauhgn
- WR Kalija Lipscomb
- WR C.J. Bolar
- TE Jared Pinkey
- LG Cole Clemens
- LT Devin Cochran
- RT Bryce Bailey
The good news for the Vanderbilt offense is that all of their skill position players from 2018 are set to return. No returner is more important than running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn who finished 17th in the nation a year ago with 1,244 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Vanderbilt also returns all three of their primary receiving options in receivers Kalija Lipscomb and C.J. Bolar and tight end Jared Pinkey. In addition 3/5 of the Vanderbilt offensive line will be back in tact however questions loom at the center position as sophomores Grant Miller and Dan Dawkins Jr. are set to battle for the starting job during training camp. The biggest question mark for the Vanderbilt offense is at quarterback. Four-year starter Kyle Shurmur is gone and redshirt junior Deuce Wallace and graduate transfer Riley Neal are left battling it out for the starting job.
Returning Defensive Starters: 4
- DE Dayo Odeyingbo
- DT Cameron Tidd
- ILB Dimitri Moore
- FS Frank Coppet
Most of Vanderbilt’s defensive production from 2018 is gone. Vanderbilt returns just four starters from their 2018 team as last year’s group of veterans who helped the team finish in the top half of the nation (61st) in total defense have all moved on. This leaves a lot of pressure on several young players, many of whom have never started a game in the SEC before. That could lead to be fatal for Vanderbilt’s 2019 bowl hopes as they match-up with many of the best offenses in the nation playing in the SEC.
Returning Special Team Starters: 1
- K Ryley Guay
- H Harrison Smith
Vanderbilt returns kicker Ryley Guay. Last season, Guay was perfect on extra-point attempts but was just 13-22 (59.1&) on field goal attempts with his longest kick coming from 53 yards out.
Key Losses: QB Kyle Shurmur & CB Joejuan Williams
Two of the cornerstones of the Vanderbilt football program the last few seasons will not be back in Nashville this fall. Four-year starting quarterback Kyle Shurmur is now in the NFL with the Chiefs. At Vanderbilt, Shurmur set a program single-season school record by passing for 26 touchdowns in 2017, became the first Vanderbilt quarterback to defeat Tennessee three-times and led the Commodores to a pair of bowl games.
Williams was Vanderbilt’s best defender the last two seasons. He finished his three-year college carer with 119 tackles and four interceptions. As a junior in 2018 he was named Second-team All SEC after making 48 solo tackles, defending 13 passes and grabbing four interceptions. As a result, Williams was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.
Without their leaders on both sides of the football there will be a lot of growing pains for a Vanderbilt team trying to survive in the SEC.
Two of the cornerstones of the Vanderbilt football program the last few seasons will not be back in Nashville this fall. Four-year starting quarterback Kyle Shurmur is now in the NFL with the Chiefs. At Vanderbilt, Shurmur set a program single-season school record by passing for 26 touchdowns in 2017, became the first Vanderbilt quarterback to defeat Tennessee three-times and led the Commodores to a pair of bowl games.
Williams was Vanderbilt’s best defender the last two seasons. He finished his three-year college carer with 119 tackles and four interceptions. As a junior in 2018, he was named Second-team All-SEC after making 48 solo tackles, defending 13 passes and grabbing four interceptions. As a result, Williams was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.
Without their leaders on both sides of the football, there will be a lot of growing pains for a Vanderbilt team trying to survive in the SEC.
Key Newcomer: QB Riley Neal
With Kyle Shurmur gone there’s an on-going quarterback competition between redshirt junior Deuce Wallace and newcomer Riley Neal. Neal is a graduate transfer from Ball State. Last season, Neal threw for 1,917 yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games for the Cardinals. In three seasons total Neal posted passing for 7,393 yards with 46 touchdowns passes. Back in April, Neal impressed in Vanderbilt’s spring game as he completed 8 of 12 passes. Regardless if he wins the job or not, Neal brings key experience to the Vanderbilt quarterback room who will have a new starting quarterback for the first time since 2015.
Wins SEC If:
Let’s be honest, Vanderbilt has the same chance to win the SEC that the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors have to win a national championship. Thus, if they win the SEC if the greatest miracle in the history of sports were to take place.
Circle This Game: @ Tennessee November 30th, 2019
In 113 all-time meetings between the Volunteer states to biggest college football programs Tennessee leads the all-time series over Vanderbilt 75-33-5. However, the last three seasons Vanderbilt has had the upper hand as they’ve won the past three match-ups. In 2019, the Commodores will go for their fourth straight win over the Vols. If they get the job done, it will be the first time they’ve defeated Tennessee four or more times in a row since they won six straight in a span ranging from 1920-1926. With history on the line, this is the game to circle for Commodores fans.
Week By Week Prediction:
- vs. Georgia. L 48-17
- at Purdue L 34-24
- vs. LSU L 41-14
- vs. Northern Illinois W 35-20
- at. Ole Miss L 42-35
- vs. UNLV W 51-17
- vs. Missouri L 38-24
- vs. South Carolina W 30-27
- at. Florida L 45-17
- vs. Kentucky L 38-20
- vs. Eastern Tennessee State W 59-7
- at. Tennessee L 42-28
Projected Record: 4-8
It’s going to be a long season for Vanderbilt. They start the season with an SEC clash against a Georgia team with national championship aspirations, play a Purdue team that has taken major steps forward under Jeff Brohm and play in an SEC east that may have six teams at or above .500, and have to face LSU as their SEC West opponent this season. While they have the ability to steal a conference win from a South Carolina at home, it’s hard to believe they’ll be bowl-bound in 2019.
*This is part of a series of previews for Student Union Sports, for teams other than Vanderbilt, see here.