I spent some excellent quality time with Vanderbilt head football coach Derek Mason on Wednesday and received an outstanding rundown on his 2014 VU squad. Very exciting stuff. As reported last night. Patton Robinette is our starting quarterback. Derek and Offensive coordinator Karl Dorrell believe that Patton gives us the best chance to win a lot of games. Not to say that Johnny McCrary and Stephen Rivers are not quality players. They are. It was a tough decision. Johnny and Stephen both throw it well, and Johnny can really run. But after Derek and I visited, I watched practice and was particularly impressed with Patton’s passing. He was throwing the short, intermediate and long balls very well. He can really get it downfield now. Plus, he is highly intelligent, having scored a perfect 36 on his ACT his senior year in high school and he carried something like a 4.4 GPA taking honors classes. He is a leader without a doubt. Derek and Coach Dorrell believe in their decision, and after watching Patton practice on Wednesday, I couldn’t agree more with them. So we’re good at starting quarterback heading into Temple and have two high quality guys behind Patton in Johnny and Stephen. All completed over 60% of their passes in this preseason, so that’s a good sign. Should be very solid at quarterback

Here’s a look at the rest of the team.

DW: Coach, what do you think about the team going into next week’s opener against Temple? (SEC Network, 9:15 PM ET/8:15 CT)

DM: “I believe there’s a couple of things we have to be able to do in order to play the way we want to play. We have to be efficient on both sides of the ball. We have to be consistent getting ourselves lined up defensively. We have to communicate. I tell the guys all the time, ‘communication’s free, it’s not like you have to pay an AT&T or Sprint bill.’ We’re going to have to tackle because Temple is going to do a great job testing our edges (note***Temple has an athletic, talented quarterback and three good running backs). I think they believe they’re going to run the football and more or less try to attack us on the perimeter, but we have to get ourselves to third down and get off the field defensively.”

DW: How’s the kicking game? It was an issue in the spring.

DM: “I feel good about both Colby (Cooke) and Tommy (Openshaw). We’ve been at it the last six days and I’ve seen some things from those guys that I’m very confident in. The kicking situation is one…a week ago if you would have asked me, I know we don’t have waivers, but I would have sent out for some waivers. Because at one point in time, I didn’t feel comfortable one way or another. What happens with a kicker sometimes, is that it’s a confidence deal. And they go through a situation sometimes where they can get inside their own heads. Coach (Charles) Bankins had a talk with them and those guys settled down. The last three practices, we’re about 93% from all distances. I’m pretty excited about that now. I’m glad we took that dip when we took that dip because at least that allowed those guys to re-focus and get our confidence back heading into game one.”

DW: Do you have a number one punter and kicker  right now?

DM: “I’ll say this, I know I feel good about our punting situation and our kicking situation. We’re not going to go wrong. The guys we put out there will give us a chance to be successful week in and week out.”

***Note– From what I saw in practice, Colby Clark was kicking off really well. He has a very strong leg. If he’s accurate, he’ll be good. Didn’t see him kicking field goals, but the 93% is very promising. He’ll have game pressure, so we’ll see how he responds. Oppenshaw didn’t seem to have as strong a leg. Both could be involved in the punting game along with Taylor Hudson. Cooke is a sophomore, Oppenshaw is a redshirt freshman, and Hudson is a junior. Hudson can really boom it at times punting the ball. He struggles with consistency. Didn’t get a chance to see Cooke and Oppneshaw punt, but really liked Cooke’s leg.

DW: How does the offensive line look?

DM: “Joe Townsend (center) is one of our captains. He’s probably started more games than anyone still here other than Woestmann (outside linebacker Kyle). He’s a preseason candidate for All-American honors. He’s up for the best lineman in the country. He’s on one of those watch lists (the Remington Award). One thing about Joe, Joe’s consistent. When you watch him play, he’s nasty, he’s dirty, he loves to play the game and not in a malicious way. He plays in a mean, intentional way, and I like that about him. And that part reads into all of our offensive line. When you talk about (guard) Spencer Pulley, (guard) Jake Bernstein, when you talk about (left tackle Andrew) Jelks, you talke about guys that can play football. And (right tackle) Andrew Bridges is now healthy. You add Delando Crooks (Barrett) Gouger, and when you talk about depth and what we can do, I think we have a chance to be really, really good up front. And we’re going to need to be in both the run game and in protection (for Patton throwing it).”

DW: So the depth is good up front?

DM: “Oh, absolutely. I think what you have is nine guys; you have nine offensive linemen. And that’s more than most. Most guys play with a rotation of seven. We have several guys that can play center, several that can play guard. It’s more depth than the last three years.”

DW: How is your running back situation shaking out?

DM: “(Jerron)  Seymour is finally back–he’s healthy. We had to be smart with him. Jerron worked really hard and just had a minor setback. He’s a bell cow of a running back with his size (5’7″, 196), his strength, vision, ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s being hard pressed by (Brian) Kimbrow, (Ralph) Webb and Dallas Rivers (true frosh). All bring different dimensions. They are all powerful with great vision. Kimbrow has really good hands. Webb is bigger than Brian but also has home run speed. Rivers is surprising. He’s a 227 pound freshman who adds another level in short yardage. I see him making the seven to eight yards runs when we need him to. We’re going to need all four.”

DW: Is there a starter?

DM: “No starter0-it’s situational. We’re continuing to let them compete. Kimbrow and Seymour are proven commodities. The other two need to help and contribute on special teams.”

***Note-At practice, I was highly impressed with the freshman, Dallas Rivers. He’s strong, he’s got good speed and can really cut well. He’s going to help us this season. BK has definite home run speed. He can motor. If he gets in the secondary, he’s takin it to the house. Webb looked very good in the spring game, and he did some good things in practice on Wednesday.  Didn’t see as much of Seymour, but he is proven as Coach says.

DW: Will you use all four?

DM: “You have to have four good running backs and I think five. One running back doesn’t do it anymore. The season is too long, the pace of play is almost 72-74 snaps. That’s a workload. When you play so many good defenses, you have to have change-ups. As a former defensive guy, you have to game plan for both. Jerron and Kimbrow have big play ability.”

DW: How do the wide receivers look?

DM: “We are young and talented. We’ll miss Jordan Matthews, but Jordan Cunningham and C.J. Duncan are leading the way. Kris Kentera will be a match-up problem. He has really improved on his pass catching ability. Coach (Marc) Lubick did a great job showing them film of (Houston Texans All-Pro) Andre Johnson, and showing them what offseason workouts look like. You don’t just lift weights. You have to catch 275 footballs a day to become consistent. They have been watching film and seeing what they do on the next level. (Freshman) Caleb Scott’s gonna run his dad down pretty quickly. He’s talented. Ronald Monroe, Rashad Canty, DeAndre Woods are all very good players. DeAndre is healthy now. You see those dreadlocks fly out the back of his helmet. He’s fast, strong and athletic. If practice is any indication, these guys will show up well. They’re too young  to be afraid.”

***Note–Freshman Caleb Scott’s dad, Chuck, was an All-American wide receiver for the Commodores from 1981-84. Derek thinks Caleb can be better.

DW:What do you like about your defense?

DM: “We have a pretty experienced group of players coming back. If they continue to grow fundamentally in what we ask them to do, we should be pretty salty on defense. Talent-wise, we have as much talent as where I just came from (Stanford as defensive coordinator), but we need to be better at fundamentals. We need to stop the run and make teams one dimensional. Vince Taylor, Adam Butler, Jay Woods, you’re putting a pretty good group out there (up front). Along with Nifae (Laelao, the four-star freshman), one of the top (defensive) linemen in the country last year. Torey Agee has had a phenomenal camp (at defensive tackle). Being two deep is where you want to start playing against such good spread offenses in this league.”

DW: How’s linebacker?

DM: “We have linebackers coming out of our ears. (Stephen) Weatherly, Woestmann, who is our defensive captain, and Caleb (Azubike). Then you have Landon Stokes, Casey Hughes (a walk-on), Jonathan Wynn. Woestmann is the smallest at 6’2″, 249. They’re what you want. They’re good in space, they’re physical at the point (of attack), and they know how to play with  their hands. The transition has been difficult, but they’re adjusting well (from the 4-3 defense to the 3-4, these guys are outside linebackers). We’ve just honed down the game plan for Temple. We had a lot of defense, but it’s more game specific right now. We’re gonna see those guys rush, pass rush, drop and play the run. It’s interesting to see them dropping for the first time. They can all run and match in coverage.”

DW: Weatherly and Caleb were hugely talked about coming out of high school. Are they studs?

DM: “They are. The structure of the defense complements these guys. Stephen can pass rush, but had to work on putting his hands on people (tackling). But Caleb is a bull in a china shop. He’s working on how to pass rush. They each are working on their weaknesses. Woestmann is the most complete guy. Every guy has a different job to do, to use their tools.”

DW: Are Woestmann, Weatherly and Azubike adjusting to the pass coverage part?

DM: “That’s what I think people will be surprised about. I just had Trent Murphy (at Stanford, now with the Indianapolis Colts). These guys have the same length. What people don’t realize is that with the difference in this defensive scheme (the 3-4), is that we’re actually playing with a five man front. It gives you a different perspective on how to attack the offense. It’s easy for the quarterback to see four guys. But when you have three down linemen and two outside linebackers, are they running or blitzing? It puts stress on an offense to identify what we’re doing defensively. The Ravens, 49ers, the Jets, Stanford and Notre Dame have really made their mark (with the 3-4).”

DW: What about (Darreon) Herring and (Nigel) Bowden (inside linebackers)? How are they looking?

DM: “Nigel and Herring are taking over those positions. Herring has put on 12 pounds and lost 3% body fat. The guys are bigger and faster. Nigel is 253. He’s another bull in a china shop. We need guys that can physically get running backs to change their minds. Darreon is better at using his hands, along with Ja’Karri (Thomas) and Jake Sealand. Jake had health issues to get through, but he’s had an outstanding summer. He’s as heavy as ever, but as light on his feet as ever. We have a good mix of experience and youth. (Harding) Harper has had a tremendous camp. He’s now at 242 from 255 with 16% body fat. We feel good about having five guys that can play for us. Those guys are also the crux of what we do special teams wise.”

DW: How does corner, safety look?

DM: “I have a lot of talent. They are extremely athletic, extremely green, and need to be better communicators. They’ll play well if they continue to grow. We have three safties–Jahmel McIntosh, Oren Burks, who has got range and is physical, and Drew Williamson (Andrew). Drew has speed and measurables that are off the charts. Our job as coaches is to get them to play together and play smart. We need to force offenses to play underneath and not give up big plays, tackle well, and communicate. All three are starters. Williamson and Burks are the first two.”

***Note-I’ve heard incredible things about Oren Burks. He’s a stud. A hitter and a playmaker. Andrew Williamson is pretty darn good as well. Jahmel is talented.

DW:Did you see film of the UT game last year when we had to put four new guys in the secondary in the second half as all the starters were hurt? They did an amazing job.

DM: “Yeah. People talk about the secondary being the weak link. We put a chip on these guys’ shoulders, that they are the weak link. But depth is pretty good. (Torren) McGaster, Paris Head, Tre Bell, (Taurean) Ferguson, and Darrius (Sims) are all good football players (at corner and safety). The surprising guys are the true freshmen, Tre Herndon and Ladarius Wiley. They are long and athletic and probably are the future of what’s happening in our conference. Everyone has a skill set to be players (in our secondary).  They have the skill set. but have to show it between the lines.”

****Note–Sims, Head, McGaster and Ferguson all played the entire second half against Tennessee last year and were awesome. Where they lack in experience, they make up for it with a ton of talent. Ryan White is another at the safety spot. A lot of talent back there. If they pick this defense up quickly, we’ll have some game changers back there.

DW: How do the return guys look?

DM: “Darrius and a true freshman, Trey Ellis, are our guys to start with. Trey is a walk-on. He can go now.”

***Note–And Darrius is very explosive. He’s a threat to go the distance on every kickoff return. He’s electric. Look for Brian Kimbrow and C.J. Duncan to make an impact in the return game as well.