Vanderbilt needs to give Ralph Webb more carries to compete in SEC
By Jason Hall
Published:
Vanderbilt’s offense is a mess. The Commodores have a -6 turnover margin with nine interceptions and five fumbles lost. The offense has five total touchdowns, with three coming from injured quarterback Patton Robinette– who will miss his second consecutive game Saturday due to a concussion.
Ralph Webb has been the one consistent bright spot for Vanderbilt. The redshirt freshman leads the Commodores with 422 rushing yards, a touchdown and a 4.7 yards per carry average on 90 attempts. So it’s beyond me why he’s seen a decrease in carries the past two weeks.
Vanderbilt’s only win of the season came in Week 3 against UMass. The game saw Webb rush for a season-high 26 attempts and 116 yards, scoring his only touchdown of the season. Since then, Webb has seen a dip in carries each week, with 19 against South Carolina and 13 at Kentucky.
With South Carolina, Vanderbilt played from behind from the second quarter on, but were in distance until the fourth. Against Kentucky, the Commodores faced an early deficit, but only trailed by 10 from halftime to the final whistle. There’s no excuse as to why Derek Mason would decide to put the game in freshman Wade Freebeck’s hands just to force bad passes and interceptions.
Aside from Webb, the Commodores also have Jerron Seymour, who led the team with 14 rushing touchdowns last season. But Seymour is hardly taking away from Webb’s production, as he’s only seen 14 attempts in three games since returning from injury. Vanderbilt’s running game is its only hope to upset SEC teams this season, especially without its only consistent quarterback.
Webb is the most talented player on Vanderbilt’s offense and needs to be the feature option regardless of the score.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
