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At times, it was unfair, Vanderbilt’s defense against the offense in last month’s spring game.
First-year offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, few plays worked during a dismal five-interception and seven-sack output for the SEC’s worst offense.
The silver lining was the play of Patton Robinette who emerged as the frontrunner for the opening at quarterback, but that was short-lived after the announcement he was quitting football the following week.
Coach Derek Mason, the Commodores’ new defensive coordinator, viewed his team’s overall performance from a glass half-full approach and praised how far his defense had come during practice.
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Last season, Vanderbilt’s defense ranked 10th in the SEC — despite the team’s winless league finish — and finished ahead of LSU and South Carolina for total sacks (20). Most of that production within the front seven returns for the Commodores including senior end Caleb Azubike, the team’s current active sacks leader, along with impressive linebackers Stephen Weatherly, Zach Cunningham and Nigel Bowden.
Bowden was named to the All-SEC Freshman team last season as a second-year redshirt after becoming Vanderbilt’s first rookie leader in total tackles — 78 — since Jamie Winborn in 1998.
Mason’s hand on the defense means the Commodores will increase their blitz packages and a result, create more consistent pressure leading to momentum-changing plays behind the line of scrimmage. He likes to be aggressive and Vanderbilt wasn’t last fall after forcing a league-low 13 total takeaways.
At Stanford, outside linebackers were often Mason’s top playmakers on defense with opportunities to freelance a bit off the edge. That’s where Weatherly comes in, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound redshirt junior who made nine starts last season as a tweener in Vanderbilt’s 3-4 look.
Weatherly’s 12.5 tackles for loss was the second-highest total over the last two decades at the program.
The rebuild is happening for Mason and his shift to play-calling duties on defense should work out well for the Commodores.
The offense remains a work in progress.
