When Derek Mason was announced as Vanderbilt’s head football coach in the aftermath of James Franklin’s departure for Penn State, most fans figured he’d regress from the back-to-back nine-win seasons Franklin posted in 2012-13.

After all, much of the talent on the roster departed when Franklin did, and Mason was a first-time head coach leading the least accomplished program in the most accomplished conference in the land.

However, few could have seen as dramatic a free fall as the one VU experienced in 2014, opening the season with a 30-point home loss to Temple on its way to a 3-9 season that included an 0-8 mark in SEC play.

The team was the bottom-feeder of the SEC once again, and Mason knew he had to take accountability. He did just that by firing both of his coordinators from a year ago, longtime friend Karl Dorrell on offense and former Stanford assistant David Kotulski on defense. Mason, who had served as the DC at Stanford before venturing to Nashville, took matters into his own hands and decided to lead the defense himself this fall.

And if last Saturday’s spring game to conclude the spring practice season was any indication, the move was the right one for the Commodores and their head coach.

The ‘Dores were the first SEC to hold their spring game in 2015 (they began and ended their spring season about a month earlier than the rest of the conference), and it resulted in a 38-24 victory for the Black team (the defense) over the Gold team (the offense). Obviously there was an adjusted scoring system in place, but the score still indicates the defense’s dominance in the form of five interceptions and seven sacks.

Granted, Vanderbilt’s offense is still very much a work in progress, and the lack of a defined starting quarterback throughout the spring likely killed any chance of cohesion on that side of the ball. Dropped passes were also reportedly an issue for the offense, which is still aiming to learn the nuances of new OC Andy Ludwig’s system.

It’s also worth noting that while the offense continues to learn Ludwig’s system, the defense already has a year of experience playing in Mason’s 3-4 system, which is not much different from the system Kotulski installed last season. According to veteran linebacker Stephen Weatherly, that experience makes all the difference.

“We are all moving a lot faster and understanding the defense a lot better than we did at this time last year,” Weatherly told The Tennesseean after the game. “That’s why you are seeing a lot more plays being made. … But you saw a lot of gears coming together today and us meshing as a defense.”

The 3-4 system can be somewhat complex for young players to fluently understand right away, so it should come as no surprise to see the defense progress this much from Mason’s first year to his second. The system is predicated on clogging running lanes and generating a push along the line of scrimmage with the three-man front, while four linebackers fill in to stop the run, rush off the edges or give unorthodox looks in exotic blitz packages and zone coverages.

For what it’s worth, Mason’s Stanford defenses led the nation in sacks in each of his last two years with the Cardinal in 2012-13 using the same system.

But what sets Mason apart from Kotulski in regards to leading the defense and teaching the system is accountability. We referenced it above in noting Mason’s divorce from his past coordinators, and that’s just a microcosm of who Mason is as a coach. He’s as serious and dedicated as they come, and his goal is not to identify problems, but to identify solutions.

The head coach understands there will be growing pains, but he’ll never accept them. Even after his defense shined so bright in the spring game, he had just the right message to bring the group back down to earth.

“We are not where we need to be. Collectively, it was a good day and a solid practice,” Mason told The Tennessean. “But for us, fall camp and our first game will be greater indicators of our strides and where we are as a football team.”

The offense scored its lone touchdown on the day when it began a drive from the opponent’s 2 yard line, indicating it was unable to sustain an extended scoring drive all game. The varying looks from Mason’s system bothered all four quarterbacks in the spring game, as three of them threw interceptions on the day (last year’s starters Patton Robinette and Johnny McCrary threw two picks apiece).

The defense looks sharper, more prepared, more intelligent than it did at any time last year. Mason may need to show some signs of growth from within his program before he can assemble Franklin-era talent in Nashville, but he’s off to a great start as the new head man on defense.

He knew it was his job to fix the troubles that tanked Vandy last season. So far he’s done just that.