When Vanderbilt takes the field against South Carolina on Sept. 1, the Commodores will send out their sixth opening day starter at quarterback in as many years.

Change at the position has become a way of life in Nashville, through both the success of former coach James Franklin and the struggles of current coach Derek Mason.

From Larry Smith to Jordan Rodgers, Rodgers to Austyn Carta-Samuels, Carta-Samuels to Patton Robinette, Robinette to Johnny McCrary, and now McCrary to the 2016 starter, Vanderbilt quarterbacks have passed the proverbial baton as often as the relay team at your local track.

That doesn’t even begin to approach the instability the Commodores have experienced past the first game of the season. Mason has started five different quarterbacks during his two-year tenure, including four in 2014 alone.

Needless to say, the Commodores hope to find a more permanent solution in 2016.

And if we’re being honest, the future of Mason’s tenure as Vanderbilt’s head coach may depend on it.

Where’s Johnny?

Vanderbilt thought it had its quarterback problem solved when the Commodores named Johnny McCrary the starter at the beginning of the 2015 season.

With three years of eligibility remaining and the clout of a four-star recruiting rating out of high school, the Georgia product was given the reins to a program that saw former starter Patton Robinette quit the team after spring practice to pursue medical school.

But 10 interceptions and four losses through six games indicated that McCrary was not the answer.

Vanderbilt threw true freshman Kyle Shurmur into the SEC fire for the second half of the season, and while McCrary still contributed in a complementary role, he ultimately bowed out of the competition after the season by announcing his intention to transfer.

“As for McCrary leaving, it was a multitude of things,” said Chris Smith, who covers the Commodores for Scout’s VandyMania.com. “I think Johnny kind of saw the writing on the wall after the kind of up-and-down season he had last year.

“After the type of opportunities he was given to produce in big games and the way he performed in those games, it would have been hard for Coach Mason to not give a guy like Shurmur an opportunity. Johnny had been there for three years and was still very inconsistent with what he gave them from the quarterback position. You had to question whether he was going to be the long-term answer for the program at that point.”

McCrary, arguably the most coveted quarterback prospect to ever step foot on campus, will leave Vanderbilt after three years with just 2,518 career passing yards and more interceptions thrown (20) than touchdowns (15).

Committing to Shurmur

While Shurmur didn’t set the world on fire once he was handed the keys to the Commodores offense during the 2015 season, he kept his head above water.

And that was enough to make him the team’s best option at the position.

Shurmur led the team to two conference wins as a true freshman in the SEC, which is no small feat for a team that went without a league victory in 2014.

It was enough for Mason to be optimistic that he may finally have a stable base on which offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig can build his offense.

Shurmur is going to continue to lead this program exactly where we need to go.

“We have some young talent, and we saw the emergence of a young quarterback in Shurmur,” Mason said following the final game of the regular season. “Shurmur is going to continue to lead this program exactly where we need to go.”

The son of long-time NFL coach Pat Shurmur, Kyle showed that maturity of a quarterback that had grown up around the game, with good awareness and an increasingly quick grasp of the play book as the season went along.

“I think they see a long-term solution with Kyle Shurmur at quarterback,” Smith said. “But I’ll be honest with you, I’m still not completely, 100 percent sold that Kyle is going be the guy. Do I think he can be? Yes. But I still think Kyle has a lot to learn and improve on to eventually be that type of top-tier option at the position that they’re going to need.”

If you simply glance at the numbers, it might be easy to feel underwhelmed.

Shurmur completed just 42.7 percent of his passes and averaged 100.6 yards passing per game.

But Smith saw some good things out of that five-game sample.

“I think the biggest thing that I saw from Kyle last year was his poise in the pocket,” Smith said. “He doesn’t seem to get rattled much at all by incoming pass rushers or the protection breaking down. He seemed to be able to stand in the pocket and deliver the throw regardless of whether he was going to get hit or not.

“That was especially important given that he was playing behind an injury-riddled offensive line.”

Smith also praised his mental capacity, size and arm strength, all of which he says are at an SEC level.

So what’s the bad news?

“I think he needs to continue working on his feet,” Smith said. “I think he is slow on his drop back and I think he is slow in setting his feet when it comes to throwing the ball to a particular position. He needs to buckle down and get a little more athletic with his foot work.

“I’m not saying you can’t succeed with a pocket passer at Vanderbilt in this league, but with so much of today’s SEC football being built around speed and rushing the passer, he’d be best served to develop those areas.”

Smith says that, baring injury, he’s certain that Shurmur will receive the first crack at being the Commodores’ starting quarterback in 2016.

“Do I think Vanderbilt is in a better spot now at quarterback than it was last year? Yes, I do,” Smith said. “But it is still wait-and-see, to a certain extent.”

What about the others?

All of the Commodores’ chips seem to be pushed to the middle of the table on the Shurmur bet, but we all know that relying on one quarterback at the college level is not exactly a likely scenario.

Things happen.

Between injuries, grades, suspensions, transfers and all of the other things 18- to 22-year-old males could dream up, there has to be a Plan B – and sometimes even a Plan C – for the Commodores.

Wade Freebeck is a name that was highly regarded when he arrived on campus in 2014, and could be the guy to emerge as the No. 2 QB on the depth chart.

But he was completely overwhelmed when he was thrown into the quarterback carousel as a true freshman, throwing five interceptions in 72 pass attempts.

He saw action in just one game during the 2015 season, completing 2 of 6 passes and throwing an interception in mop-up duty against Austin Peay in Week 3.

“I don’t want to say they’ve lost faith in him,” Smith said. “But he has some limitations when it comes to his mobility. He has a big arm and can make all the throws, but he has that same kind of issue as Shurmur showed last season with his feet being slow on the drop-back. He doesn’t have that touch or finesse on his passes; everything comes out like a bullet. Those are things he needs to work on.”

Smith warned not to write off Freebeck just yet, because his arm talent is simply too good to deny if he’s able to show improvements in ball control and foot work.

Shawn Stankavage, who is the son of former NFL quarterback Scott Stankavage, arrived with Freebeck as a member of Mason’s first recruiting class in 2014, but has yet to see game action due to injuries both in his senior year of high school and then again in practice last year.

“From talking with people and seeing him in practice, Stankavage has got the talent,” Smith observed. “He probably has the best mobility of any quarterback on the roster, and he’s got surprisingly good passing skills. He doesn’t have the power arm that Freebeck and Shurmur possess, but he’s got enough arm strength to make the throws and what he has over the others is some finesse and touch on his throws.

“The disappointing thing for him has been the injuries. If he could actually stay healthy, and given the opportunity to actually compete for that job, I think he would surprise a lot of people.”

He is presumably nearing a chance to again show what he has in hopes of moving up the depth chart.

The QB of the future may already be on campus

Vanderbilt’s quarterback commitment for the 2016 recruiting cycle is already on campus as an early enrollee.

Deuce Wallace, who hails from a county neighboring the University of Tennessee, arrived at Vanderbilt in January as the nation’s No. 23 pocket passer in 247Sports composite rankings.

He’s likely to redshirt this season to minimize the overlapping years of eligibility between him and Shurmur, but having him immersed in 2016 spring practice should be a long-term positive for his progression.

“He’s a very intelligent, very motivated guy,” Smith said after covering Wallace’s recruitment during the past few years. “He’s all about Vanderbilt. Like, he loves Vanderbilt. And you want your quarterback to have that type of attitude.”

Smith said Wallace has the potential to force his way into the lineup sooner if he can quickly exhibit the ability to command of both the playbook and the huddle.