When Vanderbilt unveiled its depth chart to start this season, the 4-3 look on defense was a surprise to some.

Coach Derek Mason said the shift in alignment was brought on by the changing nature of offenses that spread the field.

“We’ve morphed that way as our conference has morphed more to playing 11 personnel,” Mason said at his weekly press conference. “When you start seeing spread personnel, it morphs you out of a 3-4 structure. … I’m not sure we’ve totally gone to 4-3, I’m just saying that’s what our structure looks like most of the time.”

Mason confirmed there is still no official update on Florida transfer Malik Langham’s eligibility status.

While he hasn’t publicly made the decision on the starting quarterback, the players know who will start. Mason was asked about what’s different about Riley Neal this time.

“I think the competition between Deuce (Wallace) and him was outstanding,” Mason said. “Deuce’s expertise in what we do and how we do it challenged Riley’s idea of where he had come from. He had to change some of his mechanics, he had to focus on what we do. … Obviously when he stepped into the shoes of being a guy who was new and now putting himself in a position to compete. I think Riley’s focused, he’s got a good arm behind him, but when it’s all said and done, you can only march one of those guys out there, so we’ll see on Saturday.”

Vanderbilt will play host to Georgia at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on the SEC Network.