5 things Vanderbilt needs to accomplish in its spring game

Name: Black and Gold Spring Game
Time: Friday, 7 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network
Location: Vanderbilt Stadium (Nashville, Tenn.)
Format: Offense vs. defense. The offense will wear gold helmets and white jerseys, the defense will be in black helmets and gold jerseys.

VUCommodores.com has provided a modified scoring chart for the contest:

Vanderbilt is again the first of the SEC schools to finish the spring football season, hosting the Black and Gold Spring Game a full two weeks before the next conference school finishes spring workouts.

Here’s a look at five things that the Commodores need to accomplish at the end of Derek Mason’s third year of spring practice:

1. FIND SOME CONSENSUS ON THE QUARTERBACK SITUATION

The last thing Vanderbilt needs in fall practice is another quarterback controversy. The Commodores entered the spring with a clear favorite for the starting job in rising sophomore Kyle Shurmur, but Mason made sure to keep the competitive juices flowing by insisting the job was open.

What he found amid that competition was a very motivated Wade Freebeck, who appeared in five games as a freshman back in 2014. Freebeck has drawn rave reviews for his performance this spring, which has brought Shurmur’s status as the heavy favorite for the job into question. This needs to be settled soon, because the Commodores will need to enter fall camp with a sense of who will be the leader of the offense.

2. IDENTIFY A PLAUSIBLE SECONDARY THREAT IN THE PASSING GAME

Rising junior Trent Sherfield flashed the ability to be a solid SEC wide receiver during the 2015 season, so the Commodores have that much going for them. But if the Vanderbilt passing game is going to rise from being one of the nation’s worst, he’s going to need some help.

Whether it be creative ways to get Darrius Sims the ball in the passing game or establishing Nathan Marcus as the Commodores’ replacement for Steven Scheu at the tight end position, it would be really nice if Vanderbilt came away with a good feeling about a secondary receiving option.

3. EXHIBIT THAT STEPHEN WEATHERLY HAS BEEN ADEQUATELY REPLACED AT OLB

Stephen Weatherly was perhaps the defense’s top pass rusher during the last two seasons. His decision to enter next month’s NFL draft has left the Commodores with a void.

The Commodores have some depth at outside linebacker, and rising senior Nehemiah Mitchell, junior Landon Stokes and sophomore Josh Smith should prove capable of handling the outside linebacker role at the top of the depth chart.

4. FIND PRODUCTION IN THE RUSHING GAME FROM SOMEONE NOT NAMED “WEBB”

It’s easy to say, “Oh, Vanderbilt is set at running back because it has a returning 1,100-yard rusher in Ralph Webb.” The truth is, it takes two, three or sometimes even four contributors to make it through a grueling SEC schedule with a productive running game.

Sims is sure to draw his share of designed rushing plays, and Dallas Rivers, who serves as both a running back and fullback for the Commodores, has drawn praise for his work this spring. Rising sophomore Josh Crawford showed some promise in 2015, and converted ILB Khari Blasingame offers a new face at the position.

Former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George’s son, Jaire, is a redshirt freshman who ran for a touchdown in the Commodores’ scrimmage on Saturday.

5. SHOW COHESION ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Long-time offensive line starters Spencer Pulley and Jake Bernstein have graduated. Tackle Andrew Jelks will return after missing the 2015 season due to a leg injury. Those comings and goings are enough to shake things up.

But there’s more to it. The Commodores are under the direction of new OL coach Cameron Norcross, and must find a way to blend fifth year seniors like Jelks, Barrett Gouger and Will Holden with younger contributors like Justin Skule, Bailey Grainer and Bruno Regan while working on a modified blocking scheme.